SEASIDE, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay softball team split its four-game series on the road against the No. 8 ranked squad in the nation this weekend after earning a split of Sunday's doubleheader against Cal State Monterey Bay.
The Pioneers (24-18, 16-14 CCAA) exploded offensively for a 12-4 victory in the first game of the game, the team's second straight win over CSUMB after taking the back end of Saturday's twinbill. The first-place Otters (32-7, 20-6 CCAA) rallied back to win the finale by the eight-run rule, 11-3.
East Bay is just the second CCAA team this season to win multiple games against Monterey Bay, joining Cal State San Bernardino, which also split a four-game set with the Otters the first weekend in March.
The Pioneers had the bats going early in the first game, scoring early and often to the tune of 13 total hits. They immediately got on the scoreboard in the top of the first against Hayley Fein, who had tossed a three-hit shutout against them the day before.
Ashley Allen led off the game with a double to the left-center gap. After the Pioneers took advantage of an error and two walks,
Jennifer Palmares capped off a three-run inning with a two-run single up the middle.
East Bay doubled its lead into the third despite recording just one hit.
Ali Cerminara ripped a double to lead off the frame, then a hit-by-pitch, three walks, and two wild pitches resulted in three more Pioneer runs.
A two-run home run by Madison Casto highlighted a three-run rally by the Otters in the bottom of the third, and it looked like they were primed for a comeback. But
Abby Greer was able to halt the damage, holding the home team scoreless in the fourth and fifth.
The Pioneers scored twice more in the sixth on singles by
Sarah Fukushima,
Marisa Lerma, and Tanya Galvin and an RBI ground out by Cerminara.
Then in the seventh, they hung four more runs on the scoreboard to put the game away. Freshman
Emilie Portesi led off the inning with a solo homer, her first round-tripper since setting a program record with three long balls in her very first collegiate game. After a walk and an RBI single by Fukushima, Cerminara blasted a two-run shot over the center field fence to punctuate the 12-run scoring output.
Greer scattered 11 hits in the complete game victory. She struck out three and issued just one walk to improve to 11-10 on the season.
The Pioneers had visions of winning the series heading into the finale in the afternoon, and their offense continued its hot streak in the first inning. Allen once again doubled to lead off the game, then Fukushima yanked a two-bagger of her own down the third base line. A wild pitch followed by a passed ball brought the freshman around to score.
East Bay led 2-0 after one inning, but the Otter bats finally broke out after that. The home team scored five in the second and six in the third, taking advantage of two home runs and two Pioneer errors.
CSUEB pushed one more run across in the third on an RBI infield single by Palmares, but that was all they could muster against Fein.
Olivia McWhorter was charged with four earned runs on six hits in 3.1 innings, dropping her record to 8-7. Lerma was on base three times in game two, finishing 1-for-1 with a pair of walks.
The Pioneers will now play their final 10 games of the regular season at home, starting next weekend with a tough four-game set against Sonoma State on Friday and Saturday afternoons.
