CHICO, Calif. -- Michael Pope and Angel Lara combined on a two-hitter, and the Cal State East Bay baseball team notched a 4-1 road victory over Chico State on Friday night at Nettleton Stadium.

It's the fifth consecutive win for East Bay, and the team's eighth victory in the last ten games. They out-hit the Wildcats 12 to 2 as Pope out-dueled Chico ace Luke Barker.

After Pope stranded a couple guys in the first, the Pioneers scored the first run of the game in the second inning. Rudy Navarro led off with a double, and with two outs, Marcus Williams brought him home on an infield single that caromed off Barker's glove. 

Pope left two more runners on base in the second to keep it a 1-0 lead, and the East Bay offense struck again in the fourth. Ryan Kochan, the reigning CCAA and West Region Player of the Week, continued his hot hitting with a one-out triple into right center. An RBI ground out by Navarro doubled the CSUEB lead.

East Bay picked up another run against Barker two innings later after Pope hung a couple more zeroes on the scoreboard. They put two runners on when Kelly Starnes walked and Kochan bunted for a hit. They scored when the second baseman made an error on Fletcher ground ball to make it 3-0, but weren't able to do any further damage.

Pope hit four batters for the evening, but he allowed just two hits and two walks. After inducing a double play to end the bottom of the seventh, he held a 3-0 advantage. 

CSUEB added an insurance run in the eighth with Kochan again in the middle of it. He singled with one out, then Fletcher belted an RBI double to deep left to make it 4-0.

East Bay's starter gave up a hit and a walk to start the eighth, and head coach Bob Ralston turned to left-hander Angel Lara out of the bullpen. The junior allowed one run to come across on a sacrifice fly, but he retired all three hitters he faced in the eighth to quell Chico's comeback hopes. 

Lara closed out the victory in the ninth inning without drama, recording a 1-2-3 frame to pick up his five save of the season. Pope was charged with one run in seven innings and picked up his third straight win, improving his record to 4-4.

The Walnut Creek native has a 1.89 ERA over his last seven starts, and for his career he has moved into the top-10 in Pioneer history in wins, strikeouts, and innings pitched.

Kochan finished 3-for-4 with two runs, giving the senior 14 hits in his last 21 at bats. Fletcher, Williams, and Myles Babitt all went 2-for-4 for the Pioneers, and Marcus Wise stole his team-leading 15th base of the season. 

The four-game series between CSUEB (15-25, 12-21 CCAA) and Chico State (17-23, 16-21 CCAA) continues on Saturday with a doubleheader at Nettleton Stadium, scheduled for 12 p.m.