Box Score CARSON, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay baseball team dropped the finale of its four-game CCAA series at Cal State Dominguez Hills by a score of 7-0 on Saturday. After taking three out of four from the Toros, the squad is now 23-17 for the season and 17-15 in conference play.

With eight games remaining in the regular season, the fifth-place Pioneers are still clinging to a glimmer of hope for a berth in the CCAA postseason tournament.

East Bay hit .364 as a team in the first three games of the series, but they managed just five hits against CSUDH left-hander Brennan Bernardino, who improved to 4-0 with eight scoreless innings. 

The Toros totaled 12 hits, 10 of which came in the first five innings. The home team scored a run in the second, third, and fourth innings, and then broke the game open with three runs in the fifth to make it 6-0.

Pioneer starter Michael Pope allowed six runs in 4.2 innings, taking the loss to fall to 3-4 on the season. He struck out two and did not issue a walk.

Julian Garcia followed Pope with 1.1 innings of hitless relief. Senior Taylor Kruger allowed an unearned run in the seventh, and then freshman John Tierney pitched around a single and a walk to record a scoreless eighth. 

Chris Porter had a good day at the plate for East Bay, going 2-for-3 with a stolen base. The sophomore was 5-for-8 in two starts in the series, and he's hitting .429 with six RBI over his last six games.

Kelly Starnes, Eren Miravalles, and Daniel Carney posted one hit apiece, and Ellis Stephney and Jason Fletcher both drew a walk.

The Pioneers are back at home next weekend for four games against Cal State L.A., starting on Friday, Apr. 25 at 3 p.m.