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Kochan 15 01
Steve Connolly
Kochan led the Pioneers with four hits on Saturday, including his first career home run.
4
Winner Academy of Art AAU 1-4
3
Cal State East Bay CSUEB 2-1
Winner
Academy of Art AAU
1-4
4
Final
3
Cal State East Bay CSUEB
2-1
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Academy of Art AAU 0 0 1 0 2 1 0 4 7 3
Cal State East Bay CSUEB 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 3 4 1

W: Gercken, Nate (1-1) L: Lara, Angel (0-1)

6
Academy of Art AAU 0-4
14
Winner Cal State East Bay CSUEB 2-0
Academy of Art AAU
0-4
6
Final
14
Cal State East Bay CSUEB
2-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Academy of Art AAU 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 2 6 9 1
Cal State East Bay CSUEB 0 1 0 6 0 0 0 7 X 14 17 2

W: Harr, Justin (1-0) L: Lopez, Josh (0-1)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Steve Connolly, CSUEB Sports Information

Kochan Powers Pioneers to Doubleheader Split

HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay baseball team split its doubleheader with visiting Academy of Art on a beautiful Saturday in the Hayward Hills. The Pioneers (2-1) racked up 17 hits in a 14-6 victory in game one, but the Urban Knights (1-4) came back to capture the afternoon contest by a final score of 4-3.

Senior third baseman Ryan Kochan finished 4-for-8 in the doubleheader with six RBI and two runs scored. He also blasted the first home run of his collegiate career, a grand slam in the fourth inning to help East Bay cruise to a win in the first game.

Game 1 - CSUEB 14, Academy of Art 6

Senior Justin Harr made his first start as a Pioneer in the morning game and turned in an outstanding effort to earn his first victory. The right-hander allowed one earned run on five hits in 7.0 innings, striking out five and issuing just one walk. 

The Pioneers struck first in the bottom of the second inning. Nick Perez led off with a double to the wall in right center, and Rob Link laced a line drive single that caromed off the pitcher. Daniel Carney then lifted a sacrifice fly to center to make it 1-0.

After the Urban Knights tied the score in the top of the fourth, East Bay broke it open in the bottom of the frame as six straight batters reached base with one out. Carney singled, Marcus Williams drilled a ground-rule double to the left-center gap, and then Chris Porter gave the Pioneers a 3-1 lead with a single down the third base line. 

Dakota Conners then notched his first career hit with a single to center, and Kelly Starnes drew a walk to load the bases. That brought up Kochan, who proceeded to unload the bases with a line drive into the trees beyond left field.

Academy of Art made it interesting in the eighth inning by plating a couple runs against freshman Jacob Call, who was making his first career appearance. But the Pioneers answered right back in the bottom of the inning, scoring seven times to blow the game open.

Adam Kocina singled up the middle to lead things off, picking up his first base hit in the red and black. After a walk and an error, Kochan roped a two-run double to left, and Rudy Navarro followed with a two-run single to center. Two batters later, Jake Sola recorded his first career hit with a run-scoring double. And then Myles Babitt joined the fun with his first hit of the season, driving in the 14th Pioneer run with a single up the middle.

Call pitched the final two innings to close out the victory, allowing four hits and picking up one strikeout. 

12 different Pioneers recorded a hit in the morning game, including all nine starters. Kochan led the way with three knocks, and Perez, Carney, and Williams had two hits each. Starnes, Porter, and Conners all reached base twice on a hit and a walk.

Game 2 -- Academy of Art 4, CSUEB 3

The Pioneers were out-hit by the Urban Knights seven to four in the second game. They still had a few chances to steal it in the latter innings, but they were hurt by three defensive miscues. East Bay also faced Academy of Art's ace, Nate Gercken, who ultimately finished off the seven-inning complete game for his first victory of 2015.

The home team sent left-hander Angel Lara to the mound for his first appearance as a Pioneer. Lara suffered the loss, but turned in a solid effort, holding Academy of Art to two earned runs on six hits in 5.0 innings.

East Bay got on the board first once again, grabbing a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Marcus Wise led off with a walk, stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a grounder by Navarro.

Academy rallied to tie the score in the third, taking advantage of two singles and a two-base error in the outfield.

It stayed 1-1 into the fourth inning when the Pioneers got two runners on with two outs. Carney then ripped a line drive into left-center to give East Bay a one-run lead.

The Urban Knights struck back on a similar situation in the top of the fifth. With two on and two outs, Brett Adami sliced an opposite-field double into the left field corner to plate two runs and give Academy its first lead. They tacked on another run in the sixth as Daniel Gutierrez found a hole up the middle with two outs and a runner on second base against reliever Jason Fletcher.

The Pioneers had a chance to tie it in the bottom of the sixth when Gercken walked the first two batters of the inning. They moved up to second and third on a passed ball, and then Fletcher shot a line drive towards the middle. Academy of Art shortstop Tyler Strawn made a diving catch on the ball, and then stepped on second to compete a crucial unassisted double play. East Bay ended up scoring one run in the inning on a throwing error, but they left the tying run at second base.

Fletcher tossed the last two innings for East Bay, allowing one hit and striking out two. 

Navarro went 1-for-2 with a walk in the second game and finished the doubleheader with three RBI. Fletcher, Kochan, and Carney each went 1-for-3 in the afternoon contest.

CSUEB and Academy of Art conclude their four-game series on Sunday, Feb. 15 with a 1 p.m. game at Pioneer Field.

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