Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 HAYWARD, Calif. — The Pioneer baseball team split a pair of low-scoring games with No. 13 Sonoma State (10-4, 2-2 CCAA) at home on Saturday. In a matchup of arguably the two best pitching staffs in the CCAA so far, both teams earned a pair of victories in the four-game series. Cal State East Bay (13-6, 6-6 CCAA) won the early game 2-0 behind eight scoreless innings from junior Sean Becker. The Pioneers got a stellar effort from starter Nick Hudson in game two, but the Seawolves plated a pair of runs in the eighth to snatch the 3-2 win.

“This was a great series against a really good team,” head coach Bob Ralston commented after the second game. “There were some really close games, and we got outstanding pitching throughout the weekend.”

Game 1 — CSUEB 2, SSU 0

After falling behind in both games yesterday, East Bay was able to score first off Sonoma State starter Ian Ocon. Andrew Rodriguez led off the bottom of the third inning with a line drive to right field. Steven Filippi dove, but couldn't quite catch it, and Rodriguez ended up on third with a triple. After an out, Eren Miravalles chopped a grounder just to the right of second base to bring home the first Pioneer run.

East Bay added another run the following inning after Kyle Zozaya, the reigning CCAA and West Region Player of the Week, singled up the middle leading off. He advanced to second on a ground out and moved to third on David Castillo's base hit to center field. Cory Hearne, getting the start in right field, then picked up the RBI with a sacrifice fly to right field.

It was only the bottom of the fourth when the Pioneers went up 2-0, but that would ultimately to be the final score. George Asmus replaced Ocon and shut East Bay down after that, scattering four hits over the final 4.2 innings. Becker, meanwhile, was just as good.

The junior right-hander, who last week won both CCAA and West Region Pitcher of the Week honors, was around the plate all day, throwing 78 of his 110 pitches for strikes. He allowed seven hits and no walks and struck out two in eight innings to pick up his third win. Becker (3-1) has now pitched 17 consecutive scoreless innings over two starts.

Matt Fontaine, who got the save in yesterday's 9-6 win, came in again to close things out today. After the SSU leadoff man reached on an error to start the ninth, the senior right-hander was able to get two quick outs. He then allowed a line drive single to put the tying run on first base, but escaped the jam by striking out pinch hitter Wesley Wallace to end it. Fontaine punched out two batters in a scoreless frame, earning his second career save in as many days.

Remarkably, neither team walked a batter the entire game. Senior Brandon Alexander was 2-for-4 as the East Bay designated hitter, the only Pioneer with multiple hits.

Game 2 — SSU 3, CSUEB 2

Pitchers' duels are fairly rare by the time you get the fourth game of a series, but that's exactly what the East Bay fans were treated to in the second game of the doubleheader today at Pioneer Field. Coach Ralston gave the ball to Hudson, making his second start of the season, and the junior right-hander rose to the occasion, turning in his longest outing of the year.

The teams traded zeroes through the first three frames, then the home squad jumped on the board first. The Pioneers and Seawolves combined to commit six errors in this game, and the first one allowed East Bay to take a 1-0 lead. Miravalles laced a single up the middle to start the inning. He then stole second and moved up to third base when the catcher's throw went into center field. Jordan Wilder notched his first RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly to left.

The Seawolves tied the game up in the top of the fifth on a bizarre play. Filippi was hit by a pitch, stole second, and then moved up to third base with two outs. The next batter was Sam Montgomery, the CCAA's leading hitter. The 3-0 pitch from Hudson skipped in the dirt for ball four and bounced away from catcher Chris Porter towards the backstop on the first base side. Filippi sprinted home trying to score, Montgomery started towards first, and Porter quickly chased down the ball. He turned and fired to Hudson, covering home plate. It would have been a close play, but Montgomery was in the way of Porter's throw. The ball ricocheted off his helmet, allowing the tying run to score.

The Pioneers regained the lead thanks to a pair of Seawolf miscues the following inning. Kenny Uyetake reached on an infield error, and Porter was hit by a pitch to put two on with none out. Chuvala laid down a bunt, and pitcher Glenn Wallace tried to get the force out at third, but the third baseman couldn't handle the throw. Uyetake scored to make it 2-1 Pioneers, and the other two runners moved up to second and third, still with no outs. That was all East Bay would get, however, since none of next three batters could get a ball out of the infield. The Pioneers had the lead after five innings, but the two runners left on base would prove to be costly.

Hudson ended up pitching into the seventh inning and was replaced by Charlie Sharrer with one on and one out. The Pioneer starter gave up five hits and one run in his outing. He walked two and set a career high with six strikeouts in 6.1 innings of work. Sharrer retired the last two hitters to get out of the inning, and the Pioneers moved to the eighth still leading.

The Seawolves finally mounted a rally and were able to plate two runs off Sharrer the following inning. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases with no outs. Steven Moen then pinch hit and tied the game with a sac fly to left field. Wilder's throw back to the infield got away from the cut-off men, allowing the other runners to advance to second and third, which was another costly mistake. The next batter lined a shot to right field that Bryson Nakamura was able to track down for the second out, but it plated another Sonoma run. Sharrer didn't allow any further damage, but the Seawolves had grabbed their first lead of the doubleheader.

Robert Raymos came in to close for Sonoma in the ninth and retired the Pioneers in order to lock down the 3-2 win. Wallace (2-0) threw eighth innings without giving up an earned run to earn the victory. Sharrer (0-2) took the loss for East Bay, allowing one earned run in 2.2 innings of relief.

Namakura led the Pioneers with two hits in the second game, going 2-for-4 with a stolen base. The senior batted .500 with six total hits in the series this weekend. Rodriguez, Miravalles, and Chuvala each had a knock, accounting for the other three East Bay hits in the game.

The Pioneers are .500 (6-6) in conference play with 30 percent of the season completed. They play their next eight games at home, where they have an 11-2 record. Cal State Dominguez Hills will visit Hayward for a four-game series next weekend, starting on Friday at 2 p.m.