TURLOCK, Calif. – Cal State East Bay advanced to the Tournament of Champions (TOC) Bronze Bracket title game following its 11-1 triumph over Holy Names on Sunday morning. The Pioneers came up empty in hopes of a late rally and dropped a 5-1 decision to Hawaii Hilo to conclude weekend play.

Website: Tournament of Champions

Pitcher Sierra Clark and catcher Ali Cerminara were named to the All-Tournament Team, announced shortly after the conclusion of Sunday's action.

Clark's stat line includes a 2-1 record with one save, 0.88 earned run average, and 13 strikeouts over 24 innings thrown. She threw 19.2 scoreless innings to open the TOC and did not allow an earned run over her first 21.1 innings of work.

Cerminara led the Pioneer offense in most categories with a .524 batting average, eight RBI, and .857 slugging percentage. She went 9-for-11 (.818) to begin the weekend capping off that stretch with homers in back-to-back at bats over two games.

Hawaii Hilo 5, Cal State East Bay 1 – F
Clark escaped jams and avoided major damage over the first three innings despite the Vulcans collecting six hits and putting seven runners on base over that stretch. Hawaii Hilo (21-14) snapped Clark's scoreless streak just shy of 20 innings in the third with an Emily Greene RBI single.

However the Pioneers were able to turn an inning ending double play on the base hit gunning down the potential second run at home. Greene was then thrown out attempting to advance to second base following the play at the plate.

East Bay's Gabby Gonzalez eventually scored following her fourth inning leadoff double courtesy of a Marisa Lerma two out single. The Pioneers connected for only three base hits (3-for-24) off UHH starting pitcher Danielle Wilson with two coming in the fourth.

In contrast the Vulcans went 13-for-32 (.406) with the 1-2-3 hitters of Colleen Aubrey, Brittany Huff, and Greene doing most of the damage. The top third of the UHH lineup went a combined 8-for-11 and contributed all four of their team's RBI.

Four straight batters reached base safely with another Greene single putting UHH out front 2-1 in the fifth. However Clark stranded the bases loaded and kept the Pioneers within comeback range.

Hawaii Hilo finished with the top team batting average among all 26 TOC squads hitting .360 for the event. The constant pressure finally paid off in the top of the sixth inning during Sunday's finale with three two-out runs touching home.

An Aubrey double into the left-center gap made it 4-1 and the Vulcans tacked on another from a defensive miscue to push their lead to four runs.

Cal State East Bay brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the sixth as the first three batters reached base courtesy of two walks and a hit by pitch. Cerminara, the hottest Pioneer batter on the weekend, ripped a liner directly at UHH shortstop Amanda Lara for the first out.

The Vulcans came home for the force out on an infield ground ball, and Clark grounded out to second base trying to help her own cause. Cal State East Bay went just 1-for-9 at the plate with runners on base while Hawaii Hilo finished the game 8-of-18 with runners aboard.

Cal State East Bay matched its best record in six years of participation at the Tournament of Champions with its 5-2 record over the weekend.

Cal State East Bay 11, Holy Names 1 – F/6 Inn.
Once Alex Vela led off the third inning with a five-pitch walk the floodgates opened for the Cal State East Bay offense. She was the first of six straight batters to reach base safely including five straight base hits.

Back-to-back bunt singles were followed by run scoring base hits from Jaynie MacDonald, Gonzalez, and Rose Marston. Lerma added a two-out RBI single to make it 5-0 Pioneers through three innings.

Marston was a contributor in all three Pioneer run-scoring frames. She brought home the first of two runs in the fifth before ending the game in grand fashion in the sixth. Marston mashed a grand slam over the wall in center field with two outs in the bottom half of the sixth. She finished 3-for-4 and drove in six of the team's 11 runs in the win. The walk-off grand slam gave the Pioneers a season-high 11 runs in a single game.

Haley Whitney and Lauren Vestal collected two base hits and scored twice in the victory.

CSUEB starting pitcher Jordan Abel improved to 3-0 after tossing 3.1 shutout innings. She was forced from the game after taking a comebacker off her leg before throwing to first base for the out. She allowed just two base hits and struck out two Hawks.

HNU starting pitcher Vanessa Pulido was tagged with the loss after allowing five runs in two-plus innings. Lyveana Ilayan provided the lone offensive spark for the Hawks with a leadoff homer in the top of the sixth. She finished 2-for-3 and provided half of the team's hits.

Cal State East Bay (20-15, 8-12 CCAA) will return to league play on Friday, April 3. The Pioneers will hit the road for a four game series against Cal State San Bernardino (17-15, 9-10 CCAA).