Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay baseball team scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to walk off with a dramatic 6-5 win over Sonoma State in the first game of Friday's doubleheader. The Pioneers (6-4) erased a 5-1 deficit with two walks and five singles in the ninth inning of game one to stun the Seawolves (4-4), who had led since the top of the first.

The teams split the doubleheader after Somona State outlasted East Bay for a 3-2 victory in the second game. Both squads are 3-3 to begin California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play with another doubleheader set for Saturday at 11 a.m. in Rohnert Park, Calif.

Game 1 - CSUEB 6, Sonoma State 5

The first game of the series was a battle of senior aces, and in the early part of the game, the advantage was with SSU's George Asmus. The right-hander held the Pioneers in check until the fifth inning and didn't allow his first run of the season until Chris Porter and Zac Chuvala traded doubles, which made it 5-1 at the time.

The Seawolves, meanwhile, got on the board early against East Bay starter Sean Becker. A two-out single gave Sonoma the first run of the game, and then Eric Ehlow yanked a two-run homer down the left field line to make it 3-0 before the Pioneers had a chance to bat.

Sonoma tacked on two more runs in the third on a two-out double by Devon Alexander and looked to be in control, but Becker settled down and put up three straight scoreless frames on the scoreboard. Both starting pitchers exited the game after the sixth inning with the Seawolves up 5-1. Becker allowed three earned runs, struck out two, and issued just his second walk of the season.

Head coach Bob Ralston turned to senior right-hander Chris Schmalz, who gave the Pioneer two innings of hitless relief to keep the deficit at four. He was followed by junior Kevin Richards, who had a walk and two strikeouts in a scoreless top of the ninth.

Junior Ryan Kochan led off the bottom of the frame with a line drive single to left. After Chris Porter walked, Sonoma State turned to its closer, Ricky Clark. The first batter he faced was freshman leadoff hitter Marcus Wise, who shot a base hit past the second baseman to plate the second Pioneer run with no outs.

That brought the tying run to the plate, but Clark struck out Kelly Starnes for the first out. Brandon Alexander followed with a walk after a long at bat to load the bases. Ellis Stephney then tied the game with a huge two-run single to right-field, putting the winning run on third base. That brought up Jason Fletcher, who won the game for East Bay with a shot past the diving second baseman.

"We had some great at bats in that game, especially in the ninth inning," said Ralston. "Every game is a battle in this league, there's not a lot of room for error. We have to keep improving."

Richards (2-0) picked up his second win of the young season. The Pioneers out-hit Sonoma 13 to 8, led by a 4-for-5 effort from Stephney. Fletcher finished 3-for-5, and Chuvala went 2-for-4 to notch his fourth multi-hit game of the year.

Game 2 - Sonoma State 3, CSUEB 2 (7 innings)

The Pioneers managed just four hits in the afternoon contest and once again spent much of the game playing from behind. Sonoma took the early lead with a run in the second against senior right-hander Nick Hudson.

Two innings later, East Bay mounted its only scoring rally of the afternoon. They loaded the bases with one out thanks to singles by Kochan and Wise and a walk to Chuvala. Starnes then lifted a sacrifice fly into center field to bring one run home. Chuvala tagged up and advanced to third, and he was able to score as well when the throw from the centerfielder sailed into the CSUEB dugout.

East Bay's 2-1 lead was a brief one, as the Seawolves answered back with the deciding runs in the top of the fourth. With runners on first and second, Sonoma got an RBI double and a sacrifice fly against Hudson to regain the lead.

Hayden Turpin made the lead hold up through the fifth inning to earn the victory, and Cody Lane pitched the sixth and seventh to pick up the save. Hudson scattered nine hits and walked one, punching out three, in a complete-game effort.

Fletcher went 1-for-3, finishing with a four-hit day. Chuvala reached base twice on a pair of walks and leads the team with a .444 average and .500 on-base percentage through 10 games.