HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay baseball team won both ends of Saturday's doubleheader on a pristine day at Pioneer Field, beating visiting Cal State San Bernardino by final scores of 4-2 and 7-2.

With the Saturday sweep, the Pioneers (13-25, 10-21 CCAA) have now taken the first three games against the Coyotes (9-30, 7-23 CCAA) to clinch the four-game series. East Bay has now won six of its last eight contests overall.

Game 1 - CSUEB 4, CSUSB 2

The Pioneers struck first in the morning game, giving starting pitcher Jacob Phillips a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. After Marcus Wise led off with a walk and stole second base, Ryan Kochan continues his hot hitting with a run-scoring single into right-center.

The Coyotes tied the game in the fourth when Phillips balked in a run, but the home team answered right back in the bottom of the frame. Two San Bernardino errors put Myles Babitt on third base, and he scored on a ground out by Dakota Conners.

The visitors rallied back, however. In the top of the sixth, three singles and a sacrifice bunt led to a Coyote run and a 2-2 score. 

Phillips was relieved after tossing six solid innings. The senior allowed two earned runs on five hits and did not walk a batter. He struck out two, but did not factor in the decision because it took the Pioneers until the eighth inning to grab the lead for good.

East Bay finally got to CSUSB starter Parks Smithey for a crooked number in the bottom of the eighth. Rudy Navarro led off with a solo home run to left-center, his second of the season, to break the tie. Then with two outs, Babitt doubled into the right field corner, and pinch-hitter Daniel Carney shot a single through the right side to give the Pioneers a huge insurance run. 

Senior Julian Garcia finished off the victory for CSUEB in the ninth. The right-hander gave up just one hit in three scoreless innings of relief to earn his second win.

Navarro and Kochan both finished with two hits and an RBI to lead East Bay offensively. Marcus Wise stole his team-leading 14th base of the season, and the Pioneers out-hit San Bernardino nine to six for the game.

Game 2 - CSUEB 7, CSUEB 2

The afternoon contest, a scheduled seven-inning game, was another nail-biter for most of the way. The teams traded scores in the first inning, as freshman Alex Vesia allowed an unearned run, but the Pioneers answered back on yet another RBI single by Kochan.

East Bay stranded two runners in the second, but they broke through and took the lead with a pair of runs in the third. Kelly Starnes led off the frame with a double off the top of the wall in left, and then Kochan bunted for a hit. Navarro gave the home team a 2-1 lead with a sacrifice fly, and then Jason Fletcher hooked a double into the left field corner to bring home another run. 

Vesia cruised through the next two innings, but the left-hander ran into some trouble in the sixth. The Coyotes eked out singles on three infield choppers sandwiched around a hit-by-pitch to plate one run. The visitors had the go-ahead runs in scoring position with just one out, but Vesia induced an infield pop-up for the second out. Kochan then made a tremendous play diving to his left on a hard-hit grounder in the hole and flipped to second to escape the jam, leave the bases loaded, and preserve the one-run lead.

The Pioneers notched four insurance runs in the bottom of the six to seal the victory. After a pair of walks, Kochan lined a single to center to plate the first insurance run. Navarro followed by launching a triple into the right-center gap, and Carney lifted a sacrifice fly to make the score 7-2. 

Vesia pitched a scoreless seventh inning to finish off the complete game victory, improving his record to 4-4. He allowed just one earned run on six hits in seven innings of work. The freshman struck out five, didn't issue a walk, and needed just 87 pitches for his third complete game of the season. Vesia leads the Pioneers with a 2.07 ERA in his first year.

East Bay racked up 12 hits in the second game of the twinbill. Kochan led the way with another another huge performance, going 3-for-4 with two runs, two RBI, and a stolen base. 

Williams also notched a three-hit game, while Starnes went 2-for-2 with a walk and a pair of runs scored. Babitt was on base three times with a hit and two free passes. 

The series concludes on Sunday, Apr. 19 with an 11 a.m. game as Cal State East Bay goes for its first four-game sweep of the season.