Game 1 box | Game 2 box

TURLOCK, Calif. - The Cal State East Bay softball team used a pair of one-run victories to sweep the first day of pool play at the Mizuno Tournament of Champions in Turlock on Friday. The Pioneers (15-15) came from behind to knock off Notre Dame de Namur, 2-1, in the opener before holding off Chaminade, 1-0, in game two. East Bay will play three more pool games tomorrow against Hawaii Hilo, Central Washington and Western Washington before moving on to Sunday's single-elimination bracket.

The Pioneers got a pair of stellar pitching performances on Friday, as starters Talia Ferrari and Lauren Zweigle both tossed complete games, with Ferrari throwing her second of the week and Zweigle notching her first shutout of the season. In game one, Ferrari allowed just one run on two hits while striking out six and walking two, picking up her team-leading sixth win of the season. Zweigle was equally impressive, holding the Silverswords to no runs and five hits, while striking out six and walking just one.

After two scoreless innings in game one, the Argonauts broke through first in the top of the third inning. A leadoff walk and a hit batter put two on with one out for Allissa Castro, whose double to left field brought in the game's first run. From there, however, Ferrari was lights out, striking out three and facing just one over the minimum in the final four innings and setting up the Pioneers for a late-inning comeback.

Held scoreless through the first five innings by NDNU starter Kristina Sewell, East Bay started off the bottom of the sixth with Jamie Yaller reaching on an error by the right fielder. After Yaller advanced to third on a passed ball, Taylor Neumann tied the game with a single. Sara Holdridge followed with a single to left and Nikki Freiberg loaded the bases after drawing a walk. With two outs, Mishka Hamor stepped in and after getting behind 0-2, worked back to a full count and battled for 12 pitches before drawing the walk to bring in the game-winning run.

Ferrari sat the Argonauts in order in the top of the seventh to secure the win and give the Pioneers their first win in pool play. Neumann finished the game 1-for-1 with the game-winning run and the game-tying RBI, while Yaller went 1-for-3 with one run.

Game two was a pitcher's duel from the start, with Zweigle battling it out with Chaminade's Kelly Korras through all seven innings. The two pitchers allowed a combined one run and 10 hits, with one walk and nine strikeouts. The only blemish came in the bottom of the second inning when Neumann scored what would turn out to be the game's only run on a leadoff homer to left center.

Though the Pioneers strung together two hits in both the third and sixth innings, Korras got out of both jams, but was the hard-luck loser despite throwing a complete game, striking out three and allowing just five hits.

Following the homeun – her fifth of the season – Neumann finished the day 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI in helping East Bay return to .500 for the first time since March 4.

Cal State East Bay will return to action on Saturday, when it meets Hawaii Hilo, Central Washington and Western Washington. The Pioneers and Vulcans open at 9 a.m., before meeting the Wildcats at 1:30 p.m. and the sixth-ranked Vikings at 3:45 p.m. Scores, live stats and schedules for East Bay and the rest of the tournament are available here.