SAN FRANCISCO -- The Cal State East Bay softball team opened the 2017 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) schedule on Saturday with a pair of tough losses on the road at San Francisco State. The Gators swept the doubleheader by final scores of 6-5 and 5-3 to hand the Pioneers their first two defeats of the season.

The first game was not exactly a defensive clinic, as the teams combined for nine errors and seven of the 11 total runs were unearned. 

It started in the top of the second, when the Pioneers loaded the bases with no outs. A wild pitch got them on the scoreboard first, and then a second run came around to score on the play when the catcher threw the ball away. Jennifer Palmares followed with a one-out single to left to make it 3-0. 

But the Gators answered right back. Two straight hits to start the bottom of the frame gave SFSU its first run against Pioneer starter Abby Greer. The Pioneers then made a pair of errors to allow two more runs to come home and tie the game. 

Sarah Fukushima briefly gave East Bay the lead again when she crushed a two-run homer to left field in the top of the third, brining home Haley Keahi to make the score 5-3. But the Gators got a run back in the bottom of the inning, putting their first two runners on base and taking advantage of yet another defensive miscue. 

The Pioneers still led 5-4, but the home team staged a two-out rally in the fourth. They managed to get two base runners, then Sara Higa hit a single and two runs came in to score as the Pioneers committed another error.

East Bay couldn't score in its final three at bats, and the 6-5 score held for a Gator win. The Pioneers simply weren't able to overcome their seven errors, and both teams finished with seven hits. Annissa Gonzalez was the only CSUEB player with multiple hits, finishing 2-for-4 with a run. 

Greer took a tough loss, as just two of the six runs charged to her were earned. She allowed seven hits and walked three in 3.2 innings. Sophomore Bailey Glover closed out the game and tossed 2.1 scoreless innings with two punch-outs.

Defensive was a concern again in the second game of the doubleheader, with the Pioneers tallying four more errors in another close, frustrating loss. 

The Gators struck first to begin the back end of the doubleheader. After a leadoff single, SFSU sacrifice bunted and got its runner all the way to third when the Pioneers threw the ball away. A sacrifice fly then made it 1-0. The home team loaded the bases with two outs the following inning, and leadoff hitter Alexis Mattos came through with a hit to double the Gator lead.

SF State made it 3-0 thanks to another two-out hit in the fifth inning, as the Pioneers couldn't get anything going offensively against Gator pitcher Lindsey Cassidy. 

That all changed in the top of the sixth, however. Marisa Lerma led off with a double, and Keahi drew a walk with one out. That brought up Fukushima, who belted a three-run home run to left-center to tie the game 3-3. It was the Fukushima's team-leading fourth homer of the season.

Unfortunately, SF State grabbed the lead right back. With one out, Aryn Guzman reached on an error, and then pinch-hitter Celeste Adriano belted a two-run shot over the left field fence. The Pioneers put two runners on base in the seventh, but couldn't manage to bring them home as SFSU closed out the game. 

The Pioneers finished with just four hits in the game, although they did draw seven walks. Olivia McWhorter (1-1) suffered the loss after allowing three earned runs on five hits with four strikeouts in a complete game effort.

East Bay and SF State will conclude their series with another doubleheader on Sunday, scheduled for a 12 p.m. first pitch.