SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - The California State University San Bernardino baseball team suffered a 9-4 defeat at the hands of Cal State Dominguez Hills in the first game of a four-game CCAA set Tuesday afternoon at a rainy Fiscalini Field.

With the defeat, CSUSB falls to 26-16 overall on the season and 15-14 in the CCAA.

Just as the teams were getting ready for first pitch, the skies opened up, causing a rain delay that lasted 50 minutes. Once the contest got under way, it was Dominguez Hills that opened the scoring, coming by way of a two-run homer in the top of the third inning.

The Yotes cut the lead in half in the bottom of the frame on an RBI groundout to second from junior Dom Dominguez (Victorville, Calif.). 

In the fifth, the Yotes leveled the score on a Jacob Mejia (Palm Desert, Calif.) sac fly to left, but the tie was short-lived, as the Toros answered with three in the top of the sixth.

The Coyotes got one back with a Jason Shedlock (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) RBI single in the bottom of the frame to grab some momentum, but at the end of the frame, an hour-and-15-minute rain delay cooled off the Yotes. 

Coming out of the delay, Dominguez Hills scored twice in the seventh and twice in the ninth to take a commanding 9-3 lead. CSUSB struck for one in the bottom of the ninth on a Benji Solano (Chula Vista, Calif.) sacrifice fly, but the comeback bid fell far short, and the contest ended 9-4.

The Yotes scattered 13 hits and drew six free passes, but struggled for timely hitting, stranding 15 runners on base in the defeat. 

Five Coyotes had multiple hits in the defeat, led by Solano, who went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.

The Coyotes and Toros will play games two and three of their four-game set on Friday at Fiscalini Field. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.
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