Box Score SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay baseball team fell victim to an eighth-inning rally by Cal State San Bernardino on Sunday afternoon, losing 9-5 on the road and splitting the four-game series with the Coyotes. The Pioneers (5-3, 2-2 CCAA) and CSUSB (2-7, 2-2 CCAA) are among six CCAA teams to have started 2-2 in the opening weekend of conference play.

East Bay fell behind in the first inning, but came back to take a 5-3 lead into the eighth before San Bernardino mounted a six-run rally to capture the series finale, despite being out-hit by the Pioneers nine to six.

The visitors took a brief lead to open the game when Kelly Starnes and Eren Miravalles each singled to put runners on first and third, and then Brandon Alexander plated Starnes with a sac fly. But the Coyotes answered right back against Pioneer starter Michael Pope, getting two base runners on an infield error and a hit batter before cleanup hitter Nick Otto cranked a three-run homer to put CSUSB up 3-1.

Pope settled down after that and posted zeroes on the scoreboard for the next six innings, allowing the East Bay bats to climb back ahead. Zac Chuvala singled and eventually came around to score on a Coyote error in the top of the third to make the score 3-2.

Two innings later, the Pioneers tied the score with Chuvala once again serving as the catalyst. The senior lined a single in the gap to lead things off, and Marcus Wise followed by bunting for a hit. After a sac bunt, Ryan Kochan, who had entered the game as a pinch runner for Miravalles, lifted a sac fly to bring home Chuvala. It was Kochan's first RBI in a Pioneer uniform.

After neither team scored in the sixth, CSUEB repeated the same script to pick up another run. Wise singled, moved up to second on an error by the pitcher, and advanced to third on Starnes' second sacrifice bunt of the game. That brought up Kochan, who notched his second RBI with a sac fly to left, giving the Pioneers the lead at 4-3. The next inning, East Bay made it 5-3 on a two-out run-scoring double by Chuvala.

It all came unraveled in the bottom of the eighth, however. With a man on first and one out, Pope hit a batter and then made an error to allow the next batter to reach, loading the bases. Trevor McMaster tied the gme 5-5 on a two-run double, which ended Pope's afternoon after 7.1 innings. Junior Julian Garcia came out of the bullpen and walked the first batter he faced to load the bases. Garcia got the next batter to ground out to Daniel Carney at third base, who was able to cut down the runner at home, preserving the tie for the moment. Unfortunately, that moment was brief. The next batter was pinch hitter Richard Mount, who hit a grand slam to give San Bernardino a 9-5 lead and ultimately the victory.

Pope (0-1) took the loss, allowing five earned runs on five hits while striking out five. Chuvala finished 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. It's already the third multi-hit game of the season for the Pioneer shortstop, who's currently batting .435.

Wise finished 2-for-4, while Starnes, Miravalles, Alexander, and Naea Kalehuawehe all notched one hit for East Bay.

The Pioneers are back in action on Friday, Feb. 21 to begin a four-game series against Sonoma State with a home doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. at Pioneer Field.