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

SEASIDE, Calif. – Though senior catcher Taylor Neumann hit two homers to eclipse the Cal State East Bay softball season record, the team managed just three runs in two losses, 6-2 and 7-1, to No. 10 Cal State Monterey Bay on Friday afternoon in Seaside. The Pioneers (11-13, 3-11 CCAA) were held to just eight combined hits and extended their conference losing streak to 10 games with the sweep.

Neumann was the one bright spot for East Bay on Friday, accounting for two of the three Pioneer runs on the day, hitting a solo homer in each game. With the two homeruns, Neumann broke the Cal State East bay single season record and is now tied for first on the program's career homeruns list. Neumann has already amassed 10 homers this year, which leads the CCAA and is among the leaders in all of Division II. Just 24 games into the season, Neumann has broken the season record of nine held by three former Pioneers and last posted in 1999, while her 17 career homers tie her with Jen King (2003-06) as the all-time leader in program history less than a year and a half into her career as a transfer at East Bay.

Game 1: Cal State Monterey Bay 6, Cal State East Bay 2
The Otters jumped on East Bay starter Kelly Lowe early and often in the first game, scoring in each of the first three innings. CSUMB put together a single and a walk to put two on for Cori Reinhardt who drove in both runners with a double to center to put the Otters up 2-0. The Pioneers answered in the top of the second when Neumann led off with the first of her two solo homers of the day. East Bay looked ready to tie things up, getting a runner on second after a hit batter, but Reinhardt, also the Monterey Bay starter in the circle, got a double play ball to end the threat and maintain a 2-1 lead. The Otters added another run in both the second and third to take a 4-1 lead through three innings, while Reinhardt held East Bay without a hit for the third, fourth and fifth innings.

In the bottom of the fifth, Cal State Monterey Bay tacked on another run thanks to a pair of doubles that gave it a 5-1 advantage. The Pioneers responded in the top of the sixth when Taryn Thomas singled through the right side and advanced to second on a ground out to move into scoring position for Jamie Yaller with two outs. Yaller subsequently reached on an error that allowed Thomas to come home and cut the lead to three, 5-2. East Bay was ready to score again after Neumann singled, but Reinhardt got the out to strand two runners on the basepaths and send the game into the bottom of the sixth. The Otters were at it again in their half of the inning, putting together two singles and a fielder's choice to regain a four-run lead, 6-2. Reinhardt sat the Pioneers down in order in the top of the seventh to pick up the win, her eighth of the season.

Lowe took the loss, tossing a complete game but allowing six runs on 10 hits while striking out six and walking four. Neumann was the only Pioneer with multiple hits, leading the way at the plate going 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI on the homer.

Game 2: Cal State Monterey Bay 7, Cal State East Bay 1
The Otters picked up where they left off in game two, putting up crooked numbers in two of the first three innings while starter Kylie Linnane allowed just one run – Neumann's second homer of the day in the second inning – and four hits on the day. Cal State Monterey Bay got to starter Lauren Zweigle early, stringing together four hits and scoring three runs in the first. The Otters added another two in the third to drive Zweigle from the game and take a 5-1 lead into the fourth. Talia Ferrari came on in relief, shutting out CSUMB for two of the three innings she pitched, but the Pioneer bats were stifled by Linnane and Jessica Moon who combined to allow just two hits over the final four innings. The Otters put the nail in the coffin with two runs on three hits and an error in the bottom of the fifth inning and went on to pick up the Friday sweep and extend their winning streak to nine games.

Zweigle took the loss, allowing five runs on six hits with two walks in 2.2 innings of work. Ferrari was effective in relief, allowing just one earned run on four hits in 3.1 innings. Linnane picked up her seventh win of the year for CSUMB, allowing just the one run on four hits in six innings of work.
Emily Montanez went 2-for-3 at the plate but Neumann was the only Pioneer to score a run in the game thanks to her homerun. Ferrari, who started the game in right field, was the only other East Bay player to record a hit in the loss.

Cal State East Bay will look to snap its now 10-game conference losing streak when it meets Cal State Monterey Bay for the final two games of the series tomorrow. The Pioneers and Otters are set to get underway at 12 p.m. in Seaside on Saturday.