SAN FRANCISCO -- CCAA home run leader Edwin Mendoza ripped his 10th home run and fellow senior Paul Eshleman clubbed his eighth as the Coyotes earned a split Saturday afternoon against the host San Francisco State Gators with a 6-4 win in the nightcap.

The Coyotes, who lost the opener 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth, look to take the series Sunday in the finale. CSUSB owns a 24-16 overall record and 21-14 CCAA record. SFSU is 15-29, 12-23.

The split puts the Coyotes two and a half games behind league-leading UC San Diego and one game behind second-place Chico in the CCAA race. UCSD was swept by Cal State L.A. on Saturday and Chico State took two games from CSU Dominguez Hills.

Game 2: Coyotes 6, SFSU 4 (box score)
Eshleman gave the Coyotes a 1-0 lead in the first inning when he connected on a one-out, sacrifice fly to left that scored lead-off hitter Ethan Chapman, who opened the game with a single.
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The Coyotes added another run, this time in the third and again arrived on a sacrifice fly, this one from senior Darren Dworak. With one out, Dworak lifted a fly ball to left on a 2-1 delivery that scored Curtis Cassise, who led off with a single.

CSUSB's heavy hitters helped give the Coyotes a 6-0 lead. In the sixth, Mendoza padded the lead to 4-0 on a two-run home run to left that scored Jake Pilkerton, who opened the inning with a walk.

For good measure, Eshleman put the score at 6-0 with a one-out shot to left center that scored Cassise, who again walked.

That six-run lead paid off as SFSU came back to score four runs in the seventh.

Coyotes RHP Bryant Hollingsworth improved his record to 5-1. The Riverside native gave up eight hits, four runs -- two earned and struck out four without issuing a walk.

RHP Tony Guerra earned his second save of the season. He threw the final two outs of the game, giving up a hit with one strikeout.

Eshleman and Matt Winn each had two hits.

Game 1: SFSU 4, Coyotes 3 (box score)
This turned out to be a heartbreaking loss as CSUSB led 3-2 entering the bottom of the ninth.

Closer Josh Pond walked the first two batters of the inning and sophomore LHP Kerry Kelley came on in relief. The Gators tied the game at 3-3 on Thomas Wood's single to center that scored scored A.J. Almaraz. The Gators loaded the bases via a sac bunt and an intentional walk.

Danny Souza earned the game-winning RBI with a sac fly to right.

Starter LHP Mike Mudron threw six innings. He allowed four hits, two runs and struck out three, but walked four batters.
Dworak's run-scoring double in the first scored Ethan Chapman, and CSUSB added another run in the second on Mike Newell's one-out single that scored Matt Haney.

CSUSB increased its lead to 3-0 in the fourth on Chapman's two-out single that scored Pilkerton.

Senior RHP Kyle Krogman came on in relief of Mudron in the seventh and threw two shutout innings.

Dworak and Pilkerton each had two hits.