Game 1 box | Game 2 box

HAYWARD, Calif. – Though it hadn't played in two weeks, the Cal State East Bay softball team didn't look rusty in its doubleheader sweep of Cal State Monterey Bay on Saturday, edging the Otters 11-10 in nine innings in game one and coming from behind in a 5-4 game-two victory. The Pioneers (5-5, 2-4 CCAA) hit three homeruns and picked up their first wins of the CCAA campaign on Saturday.

Cal State Monterey Bay opened game one with a four-run top of the first, knocking East Bay starter Kelly Lowe out of the circle in favor of Talia Ferrari. After Ferrari got out of the inning, the Pioneers answered back with five runs of their own in the bottom of the first.

A leadoff walk for Kassandra Winger, followed by a pair of singles from Mishka Hamor and Nikki Freiberg loaded the bases for Taylor Neumann, who doubled into left field to drive in all three runs and cut the Otter lead to just one, 4-3. The early runs sent Monterey Bay starter Kylie Linnane back to the bench in favor of Jessica Moon, who got two outs before walking Jamie Yaller and allowing a run to score on a fielder's choice from Breezy Johnson, tying things up 4-4. With the bases loaded, Winger came back to the plate, drawing a walk to bring in Sara Holdridge and put the Pioneers up 5-4 before Moon ended the inning with a strikeout.

Ferrari started the second inning off with a pair of strikeouts but got into trouble after Jamie Moon singled to right and Shae Olds doubled in Moon to tie the game at five runs apiece. With Olds on second, Jackie Serna stepped in and sent a pitch over the fence to give the Otters a 7-5 advantage before Ferrari got the groundout she needed to end the inning.

After an inning and a half of scoreless softball, the Pioneers broke through in the third to score a pair and tie the game at 7-7. Yaller came to the plate with a runner on and one out and parked a pitch from Moon in center field to bring in another two runs for East Bay and tie the game through three innings.

A pair of singles and an error gave the Otters the go-ahead run in the top of the fourth inning and knocked Ferrari from the game. With Heidi McAllister on to pitch for the Pioneers, East Bay got out of the inning trailing the Otters 8-7.

The Pioneer bats weren't silent for long, answering back with a run in the bottom of the fifth. The inning began with back-to-back singles from Emily Montanez and Yaller. After a Hamor walk, the bases were loaded for Freiberg, who reached on an error by the first baseman, which scored a run to tie the game at eight.

Knotted 8-8 in the top of the seventh, Cal State Monterey Bay put runners on second and third with one out before Lowe re-entered the game. Angelina Orozco hit a ground ball to second but pinch runner Caitlin Wallace scored beat the throw to put the Otters up 9-8 with just three outs remaining for the Pioneers. With one out in the bottom half of the inning, East Bay pulled back even on a solo homer from Johnson, sending the game into extra innings tied 9-9.

Though Lowe got into a second-and-third situation in the top of the eighth, the redshirt freshman got out of the jam with three straight strikeouts. The Pioneers answered back with two baserunners of their own against reliever Diane Ortiz but could not get a run home, sending the teams into the ninth inning tied at nine apiece.

A leadoff double for Channing Peebles in the top of the ninth was followed by a Jamie Moon double to left, bringing in the go-ahead run again for the Otters. Trailing 10-9, the Pioneers started the bottom of the ninth off with a Winger double, an infield single from Hamor and a walk for Freiberg to load the bases for Neumann, whose single drove in the tying run and left two on for Sarah Velasquez. Batting for the first time after entering the game at third base in the top of the inning, Velasquez hit a fly ball to right field and Freiberg tagged up at third to score the game-winning run.

Lowe picked up her second win of the season, allowing three earned runs on five hits and striking out five in three innings of work. Ortiz took the loss, her seventh of the season, giving up two runs on three hits in 2.1 innings pitched.

Cal State East Bay got the scoring started in game two, with Winger and Hamor opening the game with a pair of singles. After Holdridge walked, the bases were loaded and Winger came home on a passed ball to put the Pioneers up 1-0 early on.

After a scoreless second inning, the Otters got on the board in the third, loading the bases with two outs against East Bay starter Lauren Zweigle. Olds doubled to left field to bring around all three runners to put Monterey Bay up 3-1 before Zweigle got a groundout to end the inning.

The Pioneers cut the lead to just one in the bottom of the fourth, as Montanez drove in Yaller with an RBI single to left center. The Otters, however, answered right back in the top of the fifth on another Olds double that brought in Orozco to put Monterey Bay up 4-2 through its half of the fifth.

East Bay came from behind in its half of the fifth, scoring three runs on Yaller's second jack of the day after Freiberg and Mercurio reached on a walk and a hit by pitch, respectively. Yaller sent Ortiz' pitch over the fence to notch her third homer of the season and give the Pioneers a 5-4 advantage with daylight running out.

Reliever Catherine Schorn held the Otters scoreless in the top of the sixth and McAllister came on to get the save with a 1-2-3 seventh inning. Schorn, who came on with the Pioneers trailing in the fifth, picked up her first win of the year, while Ortiz dropped her second of the day.

Yaller finished the day as the Pioneers' leader at the plate, going 3-for-5 with three runs, five RBI and two homeruns. Winger had a successful day as well, going 2-for-6 with three runs and an RBI, while Neumann was key in game one with one run and four RBI.

Cal State East Bay returns to action tomorrow when it meets Cal State Monterey Bay for the second doubleheader of the series. The Pioneers will look to pick up their first series win of the CCAA campaign when the two teams start Sunday's game one at 12 p.m.