Pioneers Drop Both Ends of Sunday Twinbill at Stanislaus

TURLOCK, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay baseball team dropped both ends of its doubleheader against Stanislaus State on Sunday, which gave the Warriors a 3-1 series victory in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) competition.

The first game saw a great deal of offense, and unfortunately, East Bay couldn't hang onto an early advantage. In the first inning, the Pioneers tallied three quick runs on singles by Steve Robinson and Adam Hollar, followed by a triple off the bat of Kyosuke Ushimaru and an RBI ground out by Joey Dice.

Stan State scored once in the second off Kyle Basch and twice in the third against Brian Martinez to even the score, but East Bay answered right back with two runs to re-take the lead. They were aided by an infield error after Brock Bueno and Matt Cantelme set the table with singles. Another Warrior error in the fifth led to a sacrifice fly for Bueno and a 6-3 lead for the Pioneers.

But that advantage was short-lived, as Stan State's bats really took off in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings. The home team scored eight times off Martinez in those three frames to take control and pull away for a victory to open the doubleheader.

Hollar, Ushimar, Bueno, Cantelme all notched two hits for the Pioneers in the loss.

The second game of the day was much more of a pitcher's battle, but unfortunately for the Pioneers, it followed a similar script to game one. Freshman Ethan Brodsky got the nod from head coach Mike Cummins and turned in an excellent outing on the mound, holding the Warriors scoreless through the first five innings.

Once again, the Pioneers struck first as Bueno led off the top of the third with a walk, which was followed by a single by Nicholas Enrico. Ryan McSwain then doubled, scoring Bueno for the first run of the game. Steve Robinson and Hollar each followed with RBI singles to put the visitors ahead 3-0.

Stan State finally pushed across a run against Brodsky in the sixth, but he would have escaped with limited damage if not for a costly error that brought home a second run and extended the inning. Ransome Alexander then came in for Brodsky and allowed a two-run triple, then balked in another run. When the dust settled on the sixth inning, the Warriors led 5-3.

East Bay's offense was quiet over the latter half of the game as they were unable to mount a comeback. McSwain finished 1 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored and Robinson knocked in a pair, but the Pioneers totaled just five hits in the game-two loss.

East Bay is now 9-9 overall with a 6-6 record in the CCAA. The Pioneers return home next weekend for a 4-game series against Chico State, starting on Friday, March 8 at 2 p.m.