ROHNERT PARK, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay baseball team pulled off a five-run sixth-inning rally to steal a win on the back end of Saturday's doubleheader, 6-5, over Sonoma State. The Pioneers earned a split of the twinbill after the Seawolves won the first game, 7-1.
East Bay (23-13, 14-10 CCAA) has now guaranteed at least a split of the road series against its North Division rival and leads the series 2-1 heading into Saturday's finale at Seawolf Diamond.
The first game of the day started well for CSUEB, though the home team eventually got its bats going. The Pioneers actually held a 1-0 lead after scoring four batters into the game.
Michael Thomas reached on an infield single with two outs, stole second, and scored on
Troy Resch's double into the right-field corner.
Pioneer starter
Nick Sergi allowed an unearned run in the second to tie the game, but overall he was outstanding through the first five innings.
The Seawolves finally took control in the sixth, however. A home run by Grant St. Martin sparked a three-run inning, and the Pioneers weren't able to answer back. SSU tacked on three more insurance runs in the eighth to seal it.
East Bay was out-hit 14-7 in game one, as
Kris Bartlett, Thomas, and Resch all notched two-hit games in the middle of the order, but the Pioneers weren't able to piece together a sustained rally.
The Pioneers turned the page quickly onto game two, however, and this time they were able put up the crooked number necessary to erase a late deficit.
The Seawolves struck first, grabbing the lead on a two-run double by Nathan Mann. But
Colt Parshall knocked in a run for the Pioneers in the second, and CSUEB right-hander
Joel Lamont put up three straight zeroes on the board to keep the score tight early in the scheduled seven-inning game.
Southpaw
Alex Vesia came in to escape a jam in the fourth, but the following inning, he allowed a three-run homer to Joshua Montelongo. That put to the Seawolves up 5-1 and seemed to give them the momentum in not only the game, but the entire series.
But Cal State East Bay refused to allow that to happen, displaying the resiliency that has defined the team over the last two years. After being held to just two runs over the first 14 innings of the doubleheader and down to their last six outs, the Pioneers immediately rallied back in the sixth.
Marcus Wise reached on an error to lead off the frame, then Resch shot a single through the hole.
Dallas Dey knocked in a run with a ground out, then the Pioneers scored again when the SSU third baseman made his second error of the inning on Thomas's grounder. After two straight walks to load the bases, Parshall got the biggest hit of the day for East Bay, lacing a two-run single to left to tie the game. Then after Bartlett walked to re-load the bases, Wise drew the fourth free pass of the inning to bring home the go-ahead run.
Vesia shut the Seawolves down after that, giving up just one hit over the final two scoreless innings to preserve the one-run victory. The junior picked up the win to improve to 3-4 this season.
Once again the Pioneers were out-hit, tallying just five base hits in the comeback win. Parshall finished 2-for-3 with three RBI, and Resch notched his second multi-hit game of the day.
CSUEB and Sonoma State will conclude their four-game series on Saturday, with first pitch of the finale set for 12 p.m. at Seawolf Diamond.
