HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay softball team's bats exploded for 21 runs on Wednesday afternoon in sweeping Holy Names in a Valentine's Day non-conference doubleheader at Pioneer Field.

The Pioneers tallied six extra base hits in the twinbill and took advantage of 15 free passes issued by HNU pitching to improve their overall record to 6-4 heading back into conference play this weekend.

The day went well for East Bay from the outset. After a pair of scoreless innings by starting pitcher Taylor Lara, the Pioneers struck first with three runs in the second on an RBI single by Desiree Jimmy and a two-run homer by Courtney Leyba. The long blast to right-center was Leyba's first of the season and just the second round-tripper for the Pioneers as a team in 2018.

After the Hawks grabbed a run in the third, the Pioneers loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the inning. Junior Meghan Araneta provided the big hit of the day, lifting a towering drive just inside the left field foul pole for a grand slam. Her first career home run gave the Pioneers an 8-1 lead after three frames. 

But the Hawks answered back, scoring twice in the fourth and four more times in the fifth to get within one run at 8-7. In the fourth, a Pioneer error extended the inning, and Olivia Honeycutt made them pay with a three-run double, which chased Lara from the game.

Lara nonetheless recorded her first career victory with the Pioneers after allowing three earned runs in 4.2 innings of work. CSUEB's bats gave the team some breathing room with three runs in the fifth and another in the sixth, and sophomore Olivia McWhorter was dominant out of the bullpen in closing out the victory. She gave up just one hit in 2.1 innings to pick up the save.

The Pioneers didn't start quite so quickly in game two. They were held off the scoreboard in the first two frames, while the Hawks tagged Bailee Glover for a pair of runs in the top of the second. East Bay's sophomore right-hander was outstanding after that, however, tossing up three straight zeroes to allow the Pioneer bats to go to work.

East Bay got a run back in the third, taking advantage of a Holy Names error and scoring on a Maddie Ramirez ground out. The following inning, Glover helped her own cause, coming to bat with the bases loaded and plating two runs with an opposite field single.

The Pioneers broke the game open in the fifth with singles by Ramirez, Sarah Fukushima, and Bailee Aguigui, followed by a two-run triple into the right-center gap by Leyba. 

CSUEB scored twice on double steals in the game. They added two runs in the sixth, highlighted by back-to-back triples by Rachel Tadlock and Ramirez. That pair each finished with two hits, as did Fukushima, as the Pioneers totaled 11 in the victory.

Glover finished off her first complete game of the young season with six strikeouts and just two walks to earn her second win.

The Pioneers now travel to Turlock to resume their CCAA schedule with a four-game series on Thursday and Friday at Stanislaus State.