The Gators took three out of four games on a beautiful weekend in the East Bay, as the Pioneers drop to 24-17 overall with a 15-14 record in the CCAA. 

Junior Andrew Fernandez turned in an outstanding effort on the mound, allowing just two hits in 8.1 innings for the longest outing of is career. But CSUEB's offense continued its struggles and was unable to put together a multi-run rally.

SF State kept its momentum from a victory Saturday afternoon and grabbed the lead in the top of the first before the Pioneers even recorded an out. The Gators tallied three hits and a walk in the opening frame against East Bay starter Jacob Call to take a 2-0 lead.

Head coach Mike Cummins went to his bullpen early, summoning Fernandez to escape the first inning. it proved to be an effective strategy, as the right-hander halted SFSU's hot bat with four straight zeroes on the scoreboard.

Marcus Wise singled, stole second, took third on an error, and scored on Daniel Goodrich's ground out to get the Pioneers quickly on the board in the bottom of the first. It stayed 2-1 until the fifth inning, when Michael Thomas's two-out single plated Colt Parshall with the tying run. 

Unfortunately the Gators answered right back, scoring twice without a hit in the sixth. Fernandez hit the leadoff batter, and then a triple into the right center gap followed by a sacrifice fly gave the visitors a 4-2 lead.

In the bottom of the eighth, Thomas walked with one out, and then made it all the way to third when the pitcher threw the ball away on a pick-off attempt. Troy Resch brought him home with an RBI ground out to cut the deficit to one, but that was all they would get.

The Pioneers had a chance to force extra innings in the ninth after Wyatt Foreman led off with an opposite field single. He moved up on a wild pitch, then Evan Steele sacrificed him to third. The tying run was just 90 feet away, but pinch hitter Zack Perugi popped up and Wise struck out to end the rally.

Fernandez gave up two runs, struck out four, and walked just one batter, but he suffered his first loss of the season to drop to 3-1. Offensively, six players had one hit each as they out-hit the Gators 6-5, but the Pioneers didn't manage any extra base knocks. 

The road ahead gets even tougher for CSUEB with just two series remaining. Next weekend, they travel north for a four-game set against the top team in the conference, No. 4 Chico State.