HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay baseball team erased a 4-2 deficit with a four-run seventh inning and defeated visiting San Francisco State by a final score of 7-5 on Wednesday afternoon at Pioneer Field.

The contest was the first makeup game of a scheduled four-game California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) series between the two squads that was rained out back on Mar. 11-13.

Sophomore Dakota Conners finished 2-for-2 with two runs, three RBI, and a huge two-run double that broke a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the seventh.

Junior Nick Sergi gave the Pioneers (14-7, 5-5 CCAA) a solid outing in his first career start. He pitched into the fifth inning and was charged with four runs, but just one was earned.

After the Gators took an early lead on a solo home run, CSUEB got on the scoreboard thanks to some poor SFSU defense. The Pioneers then loaded the bases in the fourth, and Marcus Williams gave them a 2-1 with an RBI ground out. However, the score stayed there into the fifth as East Bay left the bases loaded.

It was a shaky afternoon for both squads on the defensive side, as each team committed four errors.

East Bay fell behind after SF State plated three runs in the fifth. But a single, an error, and a walk put runners in scoring position for the Pioneers in the bottom of the inning. Conners then lifted a sacrifice fly to left to cut the deficit in half.

Two innings later, Gator starting pitcher Dillon Houser departed from the game, and the East Bay offense went to work. Michael Thomas was hit by a pitch and stole second to start the rally, then Rudy Navarro laced a single to left to tie the game at 4-4. After a walk and a double steal, Conners shot an opposite field double into the corner to bring home a pair of runs and give the Pioneers the lead. They tacked on another run on a Joey Dice single. 

Once again, East Bay got strong work from its bullpen. Junior Angel Lara pitched a scoreless seventh inning and picked up his first victory of the season when the Pioneers took the lead in the bottom of the frame. Joshua Kubiske pitched around a solo home run in the eighth to preserve a two-run lead, and Derek Oetken worked a scoreless ninth inning to earn his fifth save.

The Pioneers out-hit the Gators, 9 to 6, led by Conners and Dice with two-hit performances. 

The series continues next Wednesday, Mar. 30, with another makeup game at 3 p.m. at SF State's Maloney Field. But first the Pioneers close out spring break by hosting defending CCAA champion Cal Poly Pomona for a three-game series, starting this Friday, Mar. 25, at 2 p.m.