SEASIDE, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay baseball team was edged out by Cal State Monterey Bay on Sunday by a final score of 3-1 in the finale of their four-game California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) series.
The Pioneers drop to 3-5 for the season after the Otters (8-4) completed the sweep in the first weekend of conference play.
It was a tight game throughout, but defensive miscues cost East Bay as four errors led to two of Monterey Bay's three runs. On offense, the Pioneers managed just four hits.
After falling behind 1-0, CSUEB mounted its only scoring rally of that day against Otter starter Cody Gappa in the third inning.
Chris Porter and
Dakota Conners both drew walks, and then
Rudy Navarro shot a two-out single through the left side to pick up the RBI.
Three Pioneer errors led to the go-ahead run for the Otters in the fifth. The home team then tacked on another in the eighth, when Kevin Davidson reached on an error and came around to score on Ty Morris's double.
Freshman
Alex Vesia gave East Bay another strong outing in just his second collegiate start. The left-hander allowed one earned run on three hits in six innings, but he suffered the loss to drop his record to 1-1.
Junior right-hander
Jason Fletcher and junior southpaw
David Elzig combined to pitch a scoreless seventh. Redshirt freshman
Andrew Fernandez followed out of the bullpen and gave up a hit and an unearned before getting through the eighth.
Navarro had two of CSUEB's four hits on the day, finishing 2-for-3 with a walk, a double, and an RBI.
Nick Perez went 1-for-4 out of the cleanup spot, and fellow junior
Rob Link reached base twice with a triple and a a walk.
The Pioneers batted .261 in the series, led by Conners (7-for-14, 7 RBI) and
Marcus Williams (7-for-15). They committed nine errors in the four games, and the pitching staff posted a 10.39 ERA.
East Bay has a tough road ahead as the team looks to pick up its first league victory of the season. Next weekend, the Pioneers return home to host UC San Diego (10-5, 6-2 CCAA), currently ranked No. 10 in the nation. The seres begins on Friday, Feb. 27 at 2 p.m.
