ROHNERT PARK, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay baseball team opened its four-game California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) road series at Sonoma State with a 7-6 win in Friday's opener at Seawolf Diamond. 

The Pioneers out-hit the Seawolves 12-10 in a tight, back-and-forth contest between the CCAA North Division rivals. With the win, CSUEB improves to 22-12 overall and 13-9 in conference games. Sonoma falls to 17-14 with a mark of 13-12 in CCAA play.

Left-hander Joey Portugal got the start for the Pioneers after a 30-minute delay to work on the soggy field, still wet from rain the last few days. Portugal was effective early, holding SSU off the scoreboard for the first three innings and allowing East Bay to grab a lead in the second. 

The Pioneers had Troy Resch on first base with two outs when back-to-back singles by Colt Parshall and Matt Cantelme plated the game's first run. The visitors then scored twice more without a hit in the second inning, taking advantage of two walks and an error by the SSU pitcher.

The Seawolves tied the game with three runs on four hits in the fourth, but East Bay answered right back the following inning. Kris Bartlett started the frame with an opposite field hit, Dallas Dey followed with a bunt single, then Zack Perugi drove in the run with a base knock to centerfield. 

The first four SSU batters reached base in the fifth, prompting head coach Mike Cummins to turn to his bullpen for senior Brandon Acosta. The right-hander got a double play, then retired the next batter to end the inning, but not before the Seawolves scored a pair of runs to take the lead.

The Pioneer bats went right back to work in the sixth, again answering the Seawolf rally with an impressive one of their own. With two outs and no runners on base, leadoff hitter Marcus Wise came up, hitless in the game at the time. The SSU third baseman crept in several steps, guarding against Wise's ability to bunt for a hit. That worked to his advantage, as Wise shot a ball past the third baseman down the line for a two-out double. Bartlett sliced a single into the gap two pitches later, and the game was tied 5-5. Dey followed with another double to left, and then after a pitching change, Resch gave the Pioneers the lead with a two-run single to right.

Acosta and Joshua Kubiske combined to get through the seventh inning unscathed, and then Cummins turned to closer Andrew Fernandez in the eighth. The junior side-winder allowed a run in the eighth and a pair of base runners in the ninth, but he escaped the jam to clinch the dramatic one-run victory and earn his seventh save. 

Acosta picked up the win to improve to 2-0 after working 2.2 scoreless innings and allowing just one hit. 

Four Pioneers finished the game with multiple hits, and eight of the nine starters had at least one. Bartlett led the way, reaching base three times, scoring twice, and knocking in a pair. 

The series continues with a doubleheader on Friday starting at 12 p.m. as the teams continue to jockey for playoff position in the CCAA North.