AZUSA, Calif. — Arguably the greatest season in the brief history of Cal State Monterey Bay baseball ended came to an end Saturday as the Otters fell to Cal Baptist, 17–10, on Day 3 of the NCAA Division II West Regional at the APU Baseball Complex.

CSUMB (39–18 overall) tied the record for most wins in program history, but needed one more to advance to the regional semifinals for the first time ever. Cal Baptist (35–18) advances to play UC San Diego for the right to play on Championship Monday.

The Otters put themselves behind the eight ball early, making three errors in the top of the first inning to spot CBU four runs on just one hit. A 2–run homer by Kyle Czaplak (Pacific Grove HS) got two of those back in the Otter half of the first, but MB played from behind the rest of the game.

Trailing 10–4 in after 3 1/2 innings, the Otters made a final surge. They scored two in the fourth on a Czaplak sac fly and a Tano Garza (Santa Rosa HS/Mendocino College) double and two more in the fifth on a pair of bases–loaded walks to pull to within 10–8.

In the end, however, a season–high seven errors by the Otter defense proved too much to overcome — even for the potent Otter bats — as the Lancers responded with seven unanswered runs to pull away.

TJ Dove (River Valley HS/Yuba CC) led the 14–hit Otter attack with three hits and three runs. Seniors Myles Hager (Tarzana/Chaminade Prep) and Darren Kriz (Chaminade Prep/College of the Canyons) capped their collegiate careers with 2–hit games. Czaplak added his sixth home run and drove in four.
 

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THE GAME WAS OVER WHEN OVER WHEN… After the Otters pulled to within 10–8 in the bottom of the fifth, CBU responded with four runs in sixth inning and two more in the seventh.

OTTERS DIG THE LONG BALL… Czaplak's first inning homer gave the Otters 57 home runs as a team in 2018. That breaks the record of 54 long balls hit by the 2016 squad.

DOUBLE (FIGURE) THE FUN… CSUMB scored in double  figures for the 19th time this season (and all three games in the regional) in Saturday's game. The previous school record for double–figure scoring was 12 games by the 2015 and 2016 squads.

THE BASH BROTHERS KEEP BASHING… Hayden Duer and Jacob Tonascia put their final marks on the Otter record book Saturday afternoon. The duo finished the 2018 season with an Otter record 18 homers apiece. Duer owns the career record with 41 homers while Tonascia ends his 2–year career with 23, tied for No. 2 on the career list.

For good measure, Tonascia also raised his school record for RBI in a season to 65 with a sac fly Saturday. Duer's 60 RBI in 2018 will go down as No. 2 on that list. Prior to this season, the RBI record was 51 by Kevin Davidson (2015 and 2016).

THEY'VE GOT NEXT… Saturday's loss concludes the 2018 CSUMB baseball season. With 39 wins, the Otters tied the school record for wins in a season set by the 2013 team.