Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 LA JOLLA, Calif. – Cal State East Bay softball suffered a pair of road defeats to nationally ranked No. 13 UC San Diego on Friday afternoon. The Pioneers were blanked 4-0 in game one and outscored 12-9 in game two as the Tritons took over the top spot in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) standings.

UC San Diego starting pitcher Alexis Edwards (5-0) entered the weekend with a 4-0 record and 0.88 earned run average. She remarkably improved upon those numbers tossing a complete game shutout in which she scattered five singles and issued only one free pass on the day.

Cal State East Bay hurler Emily Perlich (1-3) held the Tritons scoreless through the first three innings when McKenna Clewett's RBI single broke a scoreless tie. UCSD tacked on another run in the fifth, and a pinch hit two-run blast from Bianca Devoto in the sixth secured the victory for the home side.

Marisa Lerma for East Bay and UCSD's Clewett led their respective teams with two hits apiece. Lauren Vestal, Chelsie Kakela, and Cassie Vela each singled in the loss.

The silenced East Bay offense erupted in game two starting with a five-run second inning. Meli Sanchez's bases clearing double broke open a tie game and gave the Pioneers a 5-2 lead. In the third frame Kelsey LaVaute took the full count offering over the left field wall pushing the lead to four.

The offense was firing on all cylinders while the defense struggled throughout the day. After two errors in the opener the Pioneers committed seven in game two, the most in a single game in over five years. UC San Diego scored in all four frames in which East Bay committed at least one error, including a five-run fifth that gave the Tritons a lead they would hold to the end.

Vestal led all players with three hits, followed by LaVaute and Kakela with two each. Nine different Tritons collected a base hit including two each from Clewett and Katie Saunders. Caitlin Brown, Saunders, Mya Romero, and Emily McQuaid all drove in two runs in the victory.

UCSD reliever Hannah Duarte (2-0) earned the win surrendering just the home run and a walk over 2.1 innings. Kelsey Cairns (1-2) suffered the loss allowing nine runs (four earned) in 5.2 innings.

Cal State East Bay (4-6, 3-3 CCAA) will face UC San Diego (10-2, 5-1 CCAA) in another doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 22, starting at 11 a.m.