Box Score HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay baseball team picked up a 6-3 win on Friday afternoon in the opener of its four-game series with visiting Cal Poly Pomona, the 11th-ranked team in the nation. Nick Hudson pitched 8.1 innings for his fifth victory, and Kelly Starnes blasted his first career home run as the Pioneers (13-8, 7-6 CCAA) outlasted the Broncos (17-5, 11-5 CCAA) in California Collegiate Athletic Assocation play.

"Big win for us today," said head coach Bob Raslton. "Those guys (Pomona) can really swing the bats, but Hudson did a nice job holding them down. Starnes had a huge game for us too, both at the plate and on defense."

East Bay grabbed the momentum early in the game, jumping on the board with three runs in the first inning against Bronco starter Jake Manzhuber. After a walk to Ryan Kochan and a base hit by Eren Mirvalles, Brandon Alexander sliced a line dirve into the left-center gap past the diving center fielder. The senior plated two runs with his first triple of the season. The next batter was Jason Fletcher, who lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to bring home another run. 

Hudson shut the Broncos down over the first three innings before Pomona finally struck with two runs in the fourth. They notched back-to-back doubles, followed by a single to left and an RBI ground out to make it 3-2 Pioneers. 

East Bay answered right back in the bottom of the frame. With one out, Starnes crushed a line drive homer into the trees beyond left field to put the home team up by two runs. The junior was at the center of another Pioneer scoring rally two innings later. He led off with a single, stole second, and scored on a throwing error by the pitcher when Tyler Buchanan tried to lay down a sacrifice bunt. 

The Broncos got one run back in the seventh, as they loaded the bases with one out on a walk, a hit by pitch, and a single. The next batter lined a base hit up the middle to plate a run, but Starnes caught the runner taking too big of turn around second base and threw to Miravalles covering the bag for the second out. Hudson got the next batter to ground out to quell the rally. 

Buchanan gave the Pioneers an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth with a sacrifice fly to plate Fletcher, who had walked and advanced on an error and a sac bunt by Starnes.

The Pioneers took a 6-3 lead into the bottom of the ninth. Hudson came out to start the inning and retired the leadoff batter before allowing a single. That ended his afternoon at 115 pitches, as the Pioneers turned to left-hander Bryce Vidmar. Vidmar promptly picked off the runner at first base, and then got the batter to line out to right field to end the game.

Hudson (5-1) allowed three earned runs, walked one, and struck out two in his longest outing of the season. Vidmar picked up his second save.

Starnes finished 2-for-2 with a pair of runs scored for the Pioneers. Alexander and Fletcher both reached base twice with a hit and a walk. Miravalles, Buchanan, Zac Chuvala, and Daniel Carney all had one knock each.  

The series continues on Saturday with a doubleheader at Pioneer Field starting at 11 a.m.