STOCKTON, Calif. -- After putting up 22 runs in the first two games of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Tournament, the Cal State East Bay baseball team struggled to convert scoring opportunities in a 4-2 loss to Chico State Friday night at Banner Island Ballpark.

The Pioneers (32-19) did manage 10 hits in the game and set a new program record with 548 hits for the season. East Bay, which leads the league with a .317 team batting average, eclipsed the previous record of 547, previously held by the 1997 and 2010 squads.

Unfortunately, CSUEB left 12 runners on base against the Wildcats (33-20), including two in the seventh inning, two more in the eighth, and three in the ninth.

Senior Angel Lara made his second start of the season and was outstanding against one of the top lineups in the West. The left-hander gave up two runs on five hits in 7.0 innings with just one walk, leaving in a 2-2 tie.

The Pioneers grabbed an early lead with a run in the first on an RBI ground out by Myles Babitt with the bases loaded. Chico State evened the score on a solo home run by Dillon Kelley in the second, then took a 2-1 lead on two singles and a squeeze bunt in the fourth.

In the fifth, the Pioneers got runners on the corners with one out. The Wildcats tried to turn a double play on Chris Porter's grounder to third, but Babitt beat the throw into second base, allowing the tying run to score.

East Bay put multiple runners on base in each of the final three frames, and they left the bases loaded in the ninth. After getting four hits with two outs and runners in scoring position in Friday's win over Cal State Monterey Bay, the Pioneers couldn't manage any Saturday evening.

Chico State got three hits in the bottom of the eighth against Andrew Fernandez, and Josh Falco's two-run single proved to be the difference in the game. Fernandez's record falls to 5-3 in his team-leading 23rd appearance of the season.

Raymond Jones went 3-for-5 to raise his season average to .370. He's 7-for-16 so far in the CCAA Tournament with a pair of three-hit games. Babitt was also on base three times with two hits and a walk. Dakota Conners posted a multi-hit game as well, finishing 2-for-4.

Cal State East Bay will now have to sweep a doubleheader Saturday in order to capture the CCAA Championship. The Pioneers take on No. 21 Cal Poly Pomona at 12 p.m. in a matchup of the top seeds from each division. The winner of that contest plays Chico State in the title game at 4 p.m.