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

HAYWARD, Calif. – A day after giving up 19 runs, the Cal State East Bay softball team held Chico State to just five runs but came up short, falling to the Wildcats 4-1 and 1-0 to finish the regular season on Saturday. The Pioneers (31-24, 17-19 CCAA) saw eight seniors play their final doubleheader at Pioneer Field, but likely closed out the 2012 season after being swept by the Wildcats.

Game 1: Chico State 4, Cal State East Bay 1
Though Pioneer starter Talia Ferrari loaded the bases in both the first and second inning, she got some help from her defense to keep the Wildcats scoreless, including a diving stop and heads up play from Jamie Yaller to save a run and end the top of the second inning.

East Bay looked set to score in the bottom of the second after both Taylor Neumann and Sara Holdridge worked walks, but the Wildcats got a pop up and a pair of strikeouts to end the threat. Chico State got on the board in the top of the third inning, taking advantage of a leadoff walk with an RBI single from Rachel Failla to take a 1-0 lead.

The Wildcats added to their lead in the top of the fourth, scoring three runs. After loading the bases thanks to a leadoff single, a hit batter and an error, Chico State scored on a walk. Emily McEnaney made it a 4-0 game with a bloop single just over the head of Yaller that drove in a pair of runs.

Trailing 4-0, the Pioneers got a two-out solo homer from Devin Salmones, bringing her season total to 15 and cutting the Wildcat lead to three, 4-1, through four innings. Though the Pioneers put two on in the bottom of the fifth, Kayla McConnell came on to end the threat and eventually finished off the game, stifling the Pioneers and allowing just two hits to earn the save.

Sam Baker earned her 17th win of the season, while Ferrari dropped to 11-6 to end the season despite allowing just one earned run on six hits in a complete game effort. Salmones was the only Pioneer to drive in a run and score a run and went 1-for-3.

Game 2: Chico State 1, Cal State East Bay
Lauren Zweigle and Jessica McDermott battled it out in a game two pitcher's duel that looked set to go to extra innings. Zweigle allowed just one run on seven hits, tossing a gem of a complete game and striking out three in the eventual loss. McDermott did Zweigle one better, however, shutting out the Pioneers and allowing just four hits to earn the win.

Rachel Failla was the key to the win for the Wildcats, hitting a solo homer in the top of the fifth that was the only run for Chico State. East Bay threatened to score several times, leaving five runners on base, but could not break through against McDermott.

Salmones continued her success in the night cap, going 2-for-3 at the plate to finish the day 3-for-6 with a run and an RBI.

Despite the series sweep, the Pioneers finished one of their best seasons in recent memory, tallying 31 wins to match their highest total in the last 12 years. East Bay doubled its team homerun record with 62 homers and saw several players set new records or move into the career top-10 in a number of categories. Taylor Neumann finishes her two-year career as the program season and career homerun leader, while Salmones ranks fourth all-time in homeruns and Ferrari is eighth all-time in both wins and innings pitched.

Thanks to the sweep, Cal State East Bay is likely to be out of the NCAA Championships race. If the season has ended, the Pioneers will bid farewell to the eight seniors: Neumann, Salmones, Ferrari, Yaller, Heidi McAllister, Breezy Johnson, Kelly Colker and Mishka Hamor, but will return four regular starters in the field and three members of its pitching staff for the 2013 campaign.