SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – No. 1 seed Cal State Monterey Bay saw an early lead disappear in dramatic fashion Thursday night, as host Cal State San Bernardino stormed back with a pair of late-game rallies to claim an 11-9 victory in the CCAA Baseball Tournament at Fiscalini Field.

With the win, Cal State San Bernardino advances deeper into the winner’s bracket and will face No. 3 seed Cal Poly Pomona at 3 p.m. Friday. Cal State Monterey Bay drops into an elimination game against No. 2 seed Cal State San Marcos at 11 a.m., with the winner advancing to face the loser of Friday afternoon’s matchup later that evening.

The Otters came out swinging early behind the bat of Benavidez, who wasted little time putting Monterey Bay on the board with a solo home run to right field in the top of the first inning. Monterey Bay added to the lead in the second when Benavidez delivered again, ripping a two-run double to left that scored Olimpia and Zertuche for a 3-0 advantage.

For much of the early game, Monterey Bay appeared in control behind starter Kotin, who kept CSUSB off the scoreboard through the first three innings. But the momentum shifted sharply in the bottom of the fourth.

After a sacrifice fly from Keedan Nadeau plated the Coyotes’ first run, an error extended the inning and opened the door for a massive rally. Greg Luna capitalized in a big way, blasting a three-run homer to left field as San Bernardino suddenly surged in front 5-3.

The Coyotes added another run in the fifth on Nadeau’s RBI triple, stretching the lead to 6-3 before Monterey Bay began its comeback push.

Smith cut into the deficit with a solo homer in the sixth, and the Otters exploded again in the seventh inning. Starkus doubled into the gap before Del Villar tied the game with an RBI single that also brought home another run after a defensive misplay in center field. Moments later, Olimpia launched a two-run homer to left, capping a four-run inning and putting Monterey Bay back in front, 8-6.

San Bernardino answered immediately.

Dom Dominguez opened the bottom of the seventh with a solo home run to trim the deficit to one, setting the stage for an even bigger eighth inning. After Solano singled and Eddie Alfaro worked a walk, Dominguez delivered the defining swing of the night, crushing a three-run homer to right field to give the Coyotes a 10-9 lead. Later in the inning, Jeremy Giesegh added an RBI single to provide a key insurance run.

Monterey Bay threatened again in the eighth after loading the bases, scoring once on a wild pitch to pull within two, but could not fully capitalize. Jesse Alfaro shut the door in the ninth, retiring the final two outs to secure the save and preserve the win.