STOCKTON – James Kono went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs and a run scored as No. 2-seed Cal State Dominguez Hills scored an 8-5 victory over No. 3 Cal State San Bernardino in the opening game of the 2010 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championship Baseball Tournament at Klein Family Field on the campus of the University of the Pacific in Stockton.

The win advances the Toros (38-16) to the winner's bracket where they will face the winner of Thursday evening's UC San Diego-Chico State game on Friday at 3 p.m.

Cal State Bernardino (29-16) will play an elimination game Friday at 11 a.m.

Cal State Dominguez Hills broke a 4-4 tie in the sixth inning on run-scoring singles by Ben Benavidez and Andrew Baslow to give the Toros a 6-4 lead against Coyotes starter Brandon Cunniff (8-3).

Baslow, who went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and three RBI, capped the scoring with a two-run home run to center off Cal State San Bernardino reliever Lucas Sanford in the eighth inning.

Senior Bret Montgomery (6-3) started for the Toros and earned the victory after pitching six innings, allowing eight hits, four runs, a walk and striking out seven.

Freshman Andrew Klausmeier collected his second save of the season following three innings of work and surrendering three hits, a run, one walk and striking out two.

Medina provided the early offense for the Toros as he clubbed a two-run home run to right-center field in the first inning and drove in a pair with a double to left-center field in the second that gave Cal State Dominguez Hills a 4-0 lead.

Cal State San Bernardino rallied back with a single run in the third and tied the game in the sixth on a RBI single by Andrew Harrison and a two-run single to left field by Kono.

Kevin Pillar's single to center field in the third extended his NCAA Division II-record hitting streak to 52 games. Pillar finished the game with two hits in five at-bats.

In suffering the loss, Cunniff worked 5 2/3 innings, allowed 11 hits, six runs, walked one and struck out three.