Game 1 box | Game 2 box

HAYWARD, Calif. – After posting a pair of wins in a chilly Saturday doubleheader, the Cal State East Bay softball team used a pair of walk-off wins to complete the four-game series sweep of Cal State Monterey Bay on Sunday at Pioneer Softball Field. The Pioneers (7-5, 4-4 CCAA) came from behind in the seventh inning of a 5-4 game one victory before using extra innings to pick up a narrow, 2-1 win in 10 innings in game two to secure the sweep.

With East Bay trailing 4-2, Dani Foster ended game one in dramatic fashion, parking a 3-2 pitch from Caitlin Wallace over the fence in left center for the walk-off, three-run homer. The Pioneers were down to their last out when Breezy Johnson got the two-out rally started with a single to bring up Kassandra Winger, who followed with another single to put two on with two outs for pinch-hitter Foster. After getting behind, Foster fought back to a full count before sending the next pitch over the fence to give East Bay its third one-run victory of the series.

The Otters opened the scoring in the top of the first, as Jasmine Moon hit a solo homer to put Monterey Bay up 1-0 early on. CSUMB added to its lead with another run in the top of the third when Skyler Valdivia scored on a throw down to second base.

The Pioneers finally broke through in the bottom of the third. After Johnson's one-out walk, Winger doubled to left center to bring in East Bay's first run. Though the Otters knocked starter Lauren Zweigle out of the game in favor of Talia Ferrari in the top of the fifth, the Pioneers kept the Monterey Bay lead at just one.

The bottom of the fifth saw East Bay put up another run to tie things at two each. Designated hitter Devin Salmones singled to left center and moved over on a sacrifice bunt from Johnson. Winger's infield single, followed by an error on the throw by the second baseman, brought Salmones in to score.

The tie didn't last long, however, as the Otters answered back in the top of the sixth to take a 3-2 lead. After the Pioneers went down in order in the bottom half of the sixth, Monterey Bay got to Ferrari again, as Danielle Onkin started things off with a single and moved to third on a wild pitch and a sacrifice bunt. The Otters only needed a groundout from Valdivia to bring in Onkin and secure a 4-2 advantage heading into the final half inning.

Ferrari picked up her second victory of the season in game one, allowing one earned run on two hits and striking out four in 2.2 innings of work. Despite getting a no decision, Zweigle kept the game in sight giving up two runs on four hits in 4.1 innings. Wallace took the loss, allowing four earned runs on eight hits and striking out six in 6.2 innings of work.

Winger finished the game 3-for-3 at the plate, scoring one and driving in another, while Johnson went 1-for-1 with two runs and a sacrifice hit.

Game two quickly turned into a pitchers duel between Pioneer starter Kelly Lowe and Otter hurler Diane Ortiz, who took both losses on Saturday. Though both teams had baserunners early on, neither scored a run in the first four innings. Lowe got into a brief jam in the top of the second, but got out of the two-on, one-out situation with a pair of strikeouts to end the inning.

The two squads combined for just three baserunners and one hit over the next 2.5 innings before the Otters put a run on the board in the top of the fifth. After Lowe got two outs on a pair of popups, Monterey Bay's Channing Peebles sent a pitch over the fence in left center to give the Otters a 1-0 advantage before Lowe got her third popup of the inning to end it.

The Pioneers responded by finally breaking up Ortiz' no-hitter in the top of the fifth as Salmones singled to right to leadoff the inning. Though Sarah Velasquez advanced to third after getting on by way of a fielder's choice, East Bay could not score the tying run.

After walking her third batter of the game with two outs in the top of the sixth, Lowe came out in favor of Catherine Schorn, who closed out the inning with the Pioneers still trailing 1-0. East Bay finally got on the board in the bottom of the inning, Emily Montanez pinch hit for Mishka Hamor, who returned after Montanez led off with a single. Nikki Freiberg followed and reached on an error, moving Hamor over to third to put runners on first and third for Taylor Neumann, who grounded out to first but drove in the tying run.

Now tied up 1-1, both pitchers bore down in the seventh, sitting down their opponents in order to send the game into extra innings for the second time in as many days. The Pioneers looked set for another walk-off win in the bottom of the eighth after putting a pair on with no outs, but Ortiz got out of the jam to send the game into the ninth.

Schorn got into a jam of her own in the top of the ninth, giving up a pair of singles with no outs. With runners on second and third and no outs, Schorn got three ground outs and some help from her defense to get out of the inning. Ortiz sat down the Pioneers in order in the bottom of the ninth and Schorn did the same to the Otters in the top of the 10th.

With one out, Ferrari was hit by a pitch and Winger walked. After a popup gave the Pioneers two outs, Ferrari and Winger advanced on a passed ball to put runners on second and third with two outs for Neumann. The catcher hit a groundball back to Ortiz, who fielded it but overthrew first base, allowing Neumann to reach safely and Ferrari to come around to score the game-winning run.

Schorn picked up the victory for the Pioneers, shutting out the Otters and allowing three hits in 4.1 innings of work. Lowe was impressive as well, taking a no decision but striking out eight and allowing just one run on three hits in 5.2 innings. Ortiz was the hard-luck loser for Monterey Bay, taking her third loss of the weekend after allowing two runs, both unearned, on five hits in 9.2 innings pitched.

The weekend sweep marked the first against a CCAA team since the Pioneers joined the conference last year. East Bay won all four games by just one run and finished the weekend with four homeruns and 23 total runs while the pitching staff struck out 28 and posted a 4.09 earned run average.

Cal State East Bay returns to action next weekend when it travels to Cal State Stanislaus for a four-game series. The Pioneers and Warriors are scheduled for a pair of doubleheaders on Mar. 4 and 5, starting at 1 p.m. at Warrior Field.