HAYWARD, Calif. – Cal State East Bay won its fifth straight to open the season on Thursday as Sierra Clark tossed a complete game in a 4-3 victory over Academy of Art. The streak would end there as the Urban Knights scored twice in the seventh inning to take game two, 8-6.

Cal St. East Bay 4, Academy of Art 3 – F (Game 1)
Jasmine Dickinson gave Academy of Art a promising start in its season opener with a 2-out, 2-run homer deposited over the wall in left center. It was the only Urban Knights extra base hit of the game as the visitors collected three of their five hits in the frame.

Cal State East Bay's big inning came in the second with eight different Pioneers stepping to the plate. Jaynie MacDonald's nine pitch at bat ended in a RBI double to get East Bay on the scoreboard.

After a Nikki Foster single put runners on the corners, a wild pitch plated MacDonald to tie the game. On the errant pitch Foster hustled to take third base and scored the go-ahead run on a Lauren Vestal sacrifice fly.

Alex Vela kept the inning alive with a two out double and later scored on a potential inning ending error. The 4-2 lead would need to hold as the Pioneers were held without a hit after the second inning rally.

AAU relief pitcher Brenna Mitchell threw 3.2 innings of no-hit ball and allowed only two Pioneers to reach base courtesy of walks. She kept the Knights in it while Clark looked to hold on to the early lead.

Academy of Art made it 4-3 when Taylor Thurman's game-high second base hit drove in Haily MacDonald. It was at the expense of the third out as Thurman was thrown out at second base after Kelsey LaVaute cut off the inbound throw from center field.

Clark (2-0) retired the final six Knights in order including a pair of strikeouts along the way. She has allowed just nine hits (eight singles) in 16 innings this season and is holding opponents to a .158 batting average.

Academy of Art 8, Cal St. East Bay 6 – F (Game 2)
The Cal State East Bay offense went for a season-high 10 base hits with three apiece coming from Vestal and Ali Cerminara. However the Knights pounded out 14 hits with all nine starting batters contributing to the total.

A 2-out base hit from CSUEB's MacDonald late in the first made it 4-1 and forced an early exit from the circle for AAU starter Kamyle Glover. Mitchell, who tossed 3.2 innings of hitless ball in game one, once again settled things and kept the Urban Knights alive.

This time Academy of Art's offense was up to the challenge starting off with a second inning 2-run blast from Samantha Klune. Another two run base knock from Hallie Curtis tied the game in the fourth, and her second hit of the game came in the sixth to put the visiting side out front 6-5.

Despite a game-tying sixth inning single from EB's Marisa Lerma, Academy of Art would not be denied its first win of the year. A leadoff triple and wild pitch soon thereafter plated the eventual game-winning run in Haily MacDonald. An Elise Oldham single made it 8-6, and the Pioneers went down in order in the seventh.

East Bay starting pitcher Jordan Abel went 3.1 innings but found trouble in the fourth. An infield single with one out in the frame was the first of three straight hits and nine total within the first 10 outs.

Cal State East Bay (5-1) will open California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play on the road Friday, Feb. 13, at Cal State Stanislaus (1-1).