Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 HAYWARD, Calif. – Sunday's conference doubleheader at Pioneer Field ended with a walk off sacrifice fly off the bat of Ali Cerminara to give Cal State East Bay a 4-3 win. Sonoma State overcame a three-run game one deficit highlighted by two home runs over the final three innings as the two teams split for the second straight day.

"We had two exciting wins this weekend. Coming from behind in game two demonstrated the character of our team and grinding out a win in game four showed or grit," said East Bay Head coach Barbara Pierce. "This group is putting it together. We hope to carry this momentum into two tough road weekends against Monterey Bay and Humboldt State."

Game one starting pitchers Emily Perlich and Amanda Llerena faced off again to open the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) doubleheader as the two battled in another pitcher's duel. However it would be the Pioneers who would strike first, doing so from an unlikely source of power.

Meli Sanchez hit her first career home run in over 200 at bats as her two-out, third inning hit scraped the top of the left field fence for the go-ahead score. Cerminara tacked on another run with a leadoff homer in the fourth as the Pioneers enjoyed a 3-0 lead.

Sonoma State (10-8, 4-8 CCAA) responded in its next team at bat as a pair of two-out base hits erased its deficit. Holli Brown's RBI single put the Seawolves on the scoreboard and on the next pitch Kelsi Chinen tied the game with a two-run blast.

The score remained tied until the top of the seventh when Megan Konieczka belted her second of three home runs in the series over the left field wall. East Bay's Kelsey LaVaute nearly did the same in the bottom half with a shot off the left field wall resulting in a triple.

With the tying run on third and only one out, Llerena (7-5) was able to strike out the next two Pioneers to preserve the victory. During her complete game effort she struck out eight batters and now has a commanding lead among CCAA pitchers having struck out 60 batters in 70.2 innings this season.

Perlich (1-6) went the distance for the fourth time in eight starts this season and struck out a season-high eight batters. She ranks seventh in the CCAA having fanned 32 batters in 44 innings this year.

Llerena would come back for game two while the Pioneers placed Kelsey Cairns (2-3) in the circle. Both would toss complete games but it would be Cairns getting the victory in dramatic fashion to close out the series.

In game two Sanchez again provided an early go-ahead base hit as her full count swing returned the pitch screaming past the feet of Llerena to score a pair of runners for a 2-1 lead. Another two-out hit from Chelsie Kakela in the following frame made it 3-1 as she connected for her team-leading fourth homer of the season.

Cairns worked out of tough spots throughout the game and stranded nine Seawolves on base. Sonoma State was down to its final out when Konieczka turned on the first pitch and watched as the ball smacked the screen of the left field foul pole to tie the game 3-3. Cairns would walk the next two batters before getting an inning ending ground out on a full count pitch.

A leadoff single from Sanchez, followed by a Marisa Lerma double put the tying run on third with one out. After the Pioneers failed to convert on its game one chance to send the game to extras, Cerminara sent a deep fly ball to left field that sent the Seawolf outfielder crashing into the wall to make the catch.

Alex Vela sprinted home to score the game-winning run as Cal State East Bay enjoyed a walk off win for the second straight day. The Pioneers came up clutch throughout game two going 4-for-15 (.267) with runners on base and scored the runner from third in the seventh. The Seawolves went just 2-for-15 (.133) with runners on base including 0-for-2 with the bases loaded, and failed to score a runner on third base on three different occasions.

Cal State East Bay (6-10, 5-7 CCAA) will be on the road for back-to-back league doubleheaders against Cal State Monterey Bay (9-4, 5-3 CCAA) starting on Friday, March 7.