Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
Game 1 box | Game 2 box

HAYWARD, Calif. - The Cal State East Bay softball team got back on track with a pair of wins over Dominican, 8-5 and 9-1, on Wednesday in Hayward. The Pioneers (9-7, 3-5 CCAA) came from behind in both games, scoring a combined 13 runs over the final three innings of the two contests to bounce back after a four-game sweep last weekend.

Game 1: Cal State East Bay 8, Dominican 5
After the Penguins opened the game with four runs in the top of the first inning, the Pioneers fought back with a run in the bottom of the second thanks to a leadoff double from Sara Holdridge, a single from Devin Salmones and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Emily Montanez to cut the Dominican lead to three. While starter Andi Andersen settled in, East Bay continued its comeback with a three-run third. With one out, Mishka Hamor singled and Jamie Yaller walked to put runners on first and second for Taylor Neumann, who sent a 1-2 pitch over the fence in center field to tie the game at four.

The Penguins answered back in the top of the fourth, loading the bases and knocking Andersen out of the game in favor of Kelly Colker, who came on and got out of the jam with a pair of strikeouts but not before Dominican scored the go-ahead run. The lead didn't last long, however, as the Pioneers scored a pair of runs on two hits and two errors in the bottom of the fourth. With two outs, Taryn Thomas reached on an error and Hamor followed with a single to load the bases before a second error brought in both Breezy Johnson and Thomas to give the Pioneers a 6-5 lead. East Bay tacked on an insurance run in both the fifth and sixth innings, while Colker held the Penguins scoreless over the final three innings to give East Bay the victory.

Colker picked up the win to improve to 2-1 on the year, shutting out Dominican and giving up just three hits while striking out four. Andersen also allowed just three hits, while allowing four earned runs and striking out a pair in 3.1 innings of work. Neumann finished 1-for-4 with three RBI on the homerun, while Yaller was 1-for-3 with two runs and two RBI and Hamor finished 2-for-4 with one run.

Game 2: Cal State East Bay 9, Dominican 1 (5 innings)
Dominican scored its only run of the game in the top of the first inning on a solo homer by Kayleigh Klingberg, but from there Pioneer starter Talia Ferrari took over, allowing just one more hit over the next four innings, while striking out three and walking none. Meanwhile, East Bay got its offense going again, getting a single and a double from Hamor and Yaller to tie the game at one before an error by the Penguins brought in Yaller and gave the Pioneers a 2-1 advantage in the third inning.

East Bay was at it again in the fourth, when they scored seven runs on five hits and took advantage of three Penguin errors. After Johnson reached on an error, Devon Mercurio followed with a walk and Thomas singled to load the bases for Hamor, whose single to center put the Pioneers up 3-1. With the bases still loaded, Yaller walked to bring in another run and Neumann followed with a fly ball to center that was dropped, bringing in another two runs to give East Bay a 6-1 advantage. Holdridge plated Yaller with a sacrifice fly to right before Salmones drove in another with an RBI single to put the Pioneers up 8-1. After a Montanez single put runners on second and third, sophomore Cassidy Zeiner made the most of her second pinch-hit appearance of the season, driving in the seventh run of the inning and putting the Pioneers up 9-1 before Dominican got the last out to send the game into the fifth.

Ferrari sat the Penguins down in the top of the fifth to end the game and give East Bay the eight-run rule victory in five innings. Ferrari picked up her second win of the season in her third complete game, allowing just one run on two hits in five innings of work. At the plate, Hamor finished 3-for-3, scoring twice and driving in one run, while Yaller was 1-for-1 with two runs, two RBI and two walks.

Cal State East Bay will look to carry its momentum into this weekend's CCAA series against Sonoma State. The Pioneers and Seawolves are set to meet for four games, beginning with a doubleheader on Friday at 12 p.m. at Pioneer Softball Field.