HAYWARD, Calif. – Cal State East Bay softball belted a season-high five home runs in Saturday's 7-5 win versus No. 19 ranked Humboldt State at Pioneer Field. The visiting Jacks split the day and 4-game series taking finale 4-1 behind pitcher Madison Williams.

"I am really proud of our pitchers this weekend. We held Humboldt to only one home run for the series and well below their scoring average," praised East Bay Head Coach Barbara Pierce of her staff. "Our hitters were in full force with Jaynie MacDonald having a monster weekend."

All eight Cal State East Bay runs on Saturday were driven in by home runs. Four different Pioneers launched long balls with senior Jaynie MacDonald and sophomore Ali Cerminara smashing two apiece in the game one victory.

Cal State East Bay 7, Humboldt State 5 – F (Game 1)
MacDonald connected for a home run in three consecutive at bats following her first two trips to the plate on Saturday. She ended Friday with a solo blast in the seventh inning, opened Saturday with the go-ahead 2-run shot in the first, and added another solo blast in the third.

MacDonald's leadoff homer in the third was one of three Cal State East Bay long balls in the frame. Ali Cerminara sent one over the wall in centerfield, and two batters later Gabby Gonzalez deposited the full count offering from HSU pitcher Katie Obbema into left.

Obbema, who struck out 11 batters in her complete game effort on Friday, lasted just 2.2 innings in Saturday's start. She fanned three batters but surrendered four homers to the Pioneers.

Cerminara capped off a stretch of seven unanswered runs for the home side with a 2-run blast in the fifth off relief pitcher Kellsie Domnitz. It was the only miscue by Domnitz as she tossed 3.1 innings and allowed only three hits.

All five East Bay homers came with two strike counts in Saturday's opener. Cerminara and MacDonald each finished with two home runs, three RBI, and scored twice in the victory.

CSUEB pitcher Sierra Clark improved to 7-1 on the season after tossing her sixth complete game of the year. The junior hurler looked comfortable through five innings but found trouble in the sixth as the Jacks mounted a serious comeback attempt.

A two-out double from Hanna Holland scored the third and fourth runs of the inning and cut the Pioneer lead to just 7-5, bringing the game-tying run to the plate. Humboldt State had the tying run at the plate in each of the final two innings but Clark preserved the victory forcing a pair of playable fly balls.

Clark did not record a strikeout and scattered 10 hits (nine singles) over seven innings. She threw 117 pitches and recorded 14 of the 21 outs courtesy of fly balls.

HSU's Dani Randall led all players with three hits. She was one of three different Jacks to notch multiple base hits in the loss.

Humboldt State 4, Cal State East Bay 1 – F (Game 2)
HSU's Madison Williams was arguably the most dominant pitcher over the weekend as she was the starting pitcher in both of her team's victories. Outside of a MacDonald seventh inning solo homer on Friday and a Kelsey LaVaute solo blast on Saturday, she was nearly unhittable.

Williams struck out 18, walked only four, and held the Pioneers to just a .157 batting average in her 14 innings in the circle. In Saturday's outing she struck out nine and gave up three hits while throwing 125 pitches.

She received support in the form of three first inning runs before even seeing the field. For the third time over the four game series the Jacks offense put up runs to open a contest.

Tiffany Hollingsworth and Darian Harris each went 3-for-4 with an RBI and scored once in the HSU win. Hollilngsworth ripped a run-scoring single into centerfield on the first pitch she was following a 40-minute game delay due to lightning.

East Bay starting pitcher Tatiana Beilstein was tagged with the loss allowing four runs (two earned) in 3.2 innings. Emily Perlich kept the Pioneers in the game tossing 3.1 innings of shutout relief while recording four strikeouts.

Cal State East Bay (13-7, 6-6 CCAA) will host No. 3 ranked Cal State Monterey Bay (11-2, 4-2 CCAA) for a four game league series starting on Friday, March 6.