Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 ROHNERT PARK, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay baseball team suffered a pair of heartbreaking losses at Sonoma State on Saturday, as the Seawolves swept the doubleheader and captured the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) series three games to one. Each of the four of the contests was decided by a single run. 

The Pioneers (6-6, 3-5 CCAA) scored two runs in the ninth inning of game one to force extra innings, only to have the Seawolves (6-4, 5-3 CCAA) win on a walk-off home run in the tenth. East Bay got an outstanding pitching performance from Ben O'Bryan in the second game, but Sonoma scored twice in the bottom of the eighth to steal the 2-1 victory.

CSUEB now has a week off from CCAA play as they welcome in Hawaii Pacific for a four-game series, starting Thursday, Feb. 27 at 2 p.m. at Pioneer Field.

Game 1 - Sonoma State 8, CSUEB 7 (10 innings)

The morning game was a wild, back-and-forth affair as the teams combined for 25 hits and used nine pitchers. The Seawolves grabbed the early lead for the third straight game with a run in the bottom of the first against Pioneer starter Michael Pope. Leadoff man Jackson Stogner walked, advanced on an overthrow by Pope on a pickoff attempt, advanced again on a balk, and scored on a ground out.

Pope settled down and put up three straight zeroes, allowing the Pioneer offense to rally with five runs in the third inning thanks to some shaky Seawolf defense. Marcus Wise reached with one out on the first of four SSU errors, and Kelly Starnes followed with a walk. After Wise stole third, Starnes attempted to swipe second, and the throw from the catcher went into centerfield, allowing Wise to score the first Pioneer run.

After a walk and a fly out, the Pioneers got three straight two-out singles from Jason Fletcher, David Elzig, and and Ryan Kochan, followed by a bases-loaded walk to Zac Chuvala. When the top of the third inning finally ended after 11 batters, East Bay led 5-1.

Two innings later, Sonoma answered back and chased Pope from the game with four runs to tie it up, 5-5. An infield error, a bunt single, and a wild pitch put runners on second and third with no outs. The Seawolves then got a sacrifice fly followed by two singles to make the score 5-3. At that point, head coach Bob Ralston turned to the bullpen and junior Bryan Webster. After an RBI ground out, Justin Serrao tied the game with a double to left before the Pioneers finally got out of the inning.

Two innings later, the Seawolves took the lead on a two-run home run by Alex Crosby, who went 5-for-5 in the game. 

The Pioneers went into the ninth inning still trailing 7-5, but for the second day in a row, they pulled off some magic in their last at bat. With two outs and nobody on base, Fletcher laced a single, which promted Sonoma to bring in its closer, Ricky Clark. Eren Miravalles pinch hit for East Bay and shot a base hit to center to put two on. The next batter was the red-hot Kochan, who notched his fourth hit of the game with a single to right field to make it 7-6. Chris Porter followed with yet another opposite-field hit to tie the game, 7-7.

Julian Garcia came out the bullpen to escape a jam in the bottom of the ninth, and the Pioneers seemed to have momentum heading into extra innings. That didn't last long, however. East Bay was retired in order in the top of the tenth, and then Wesley Wallace, the first batter of the bottom of the inning, won the game with a home run to left.

Pope allowed two earned runs on six hits in 4.2 innings. Garcia (0-1) took the loss for East Bay. Kochan finished 4-for-5 with a pair of RBI, and Fletcher went 3-for-5 with two runs scored. Wise stole three bases out of the leadoff spot.

Game 2 - Sonoma State 2, CSUEB 1

The second game of the doubleheader started off as the O'Bryan show. The senior right-hander carved up the Sonoma lineup, allowing just two hits and striking out nine over seven scoreless innings. 

The Pioneers grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning, as they struck first for the first time in the series. A walk to Kochan and singles by Miravalles and Fletcher loaded the bases with one out, and Brandon Alexander picked up the RBI with a ground out.

Ralston turned to junior Brian Bynum to start the eighth. O'Bryan's exit after 109 pitches seemed to give the dormant Seawolf lineup some life. The leadoff batter singled, and then Bynum issued a walk to put the tying and go-ahead runs on base. The next batter struck out attempting a sacrifice bunt, but the pitch got away from Porter behind the dish, and the runners advanced anyway. Bynum got the next batter to line out to shortstop for the second out, but Serrao followed with a two-run double to put Sonoma ahead.

The Pioneers couldn't manage a ninth-inning rally against Cody Lane, who recorded his second save in as many days. Bynum (0-2) suffered his second loss.

East Bay out-hit the Seawolves eight to four in the game. Miravalles, Fletcher, and Porter all finished 2-for-4. Kochan was on base three times out of the leadoff spot, going 2-for-3 with a walk. He finished 6-for-8 in the doubleheader and 8-for-13 in the series. The San Ramon native now batting .471 with a .522 on-base percentage in the young season.