HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay baseball team closed out the first California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) series of the year with a 5-4 loss at the hands of visiting Cal State LA on Sunday afternoon at Pioneer Field.

The Golden Eagles and Pioneers are both 2-2 to start their conference schedules after splitting the four-game set.

The Pioneers never led in this game, falling behind 5-1 before rallying back for three runs in the bottom of the eighth. The comeback attempt fell just short, however, as they stranded the tying and go-ahead runs. The Golden Eagles scored just two earned runs in the finale as the Pioneers committed five defensive errors. 

The game moved quickly through the first three frames as CSUEB senior Jacob Call and CSULA starter Saxon Andross traded zeroes on the scoreboard. The visitors finally got to Call for a run in the fourth, but East Bay answered back as Kyosuke Ushimaru beat out a two-out infield single on a chopper down the third base line, allowing the tying run to score.

Call got into trouble again in the fifth, as the Golden Eagles put their first two runners on with a double and a single. LA re-took the lead with a sacrifice fly, and then an error by the Pioneers allowed the bases to re-load, and a second sacrifice fly made it 3-1.

The Golden Eagles added an unearned run off Nick Risucci in the sixth and another off Andrew Fernandez in the seventh to stretch their lead out to four. 

In the bottom of the eighth, CSUEB nearly erased that deficit. A single by Joey Dice and a walk to Paul Bryniarski started the rally, and then Dakota Conners followed a wild pitch with an infield hit to plate a run. A balk made it 5-3, and then a dropped pop-up by Cal State LA allowed Conners to get to third. With two outs, Ushimaru knocked in another run with a single to right-center. But the rally came up just short as Colt Parshall struck out with two on. 

The Pioneers were unable to bring home the tying run in the ninth as the Golden Eagles escaped with the victory. Call took the loss, allowing two earned runs on seven hits while striking out five in 4.2 innings. Ransome Alexander and Mark Woinarowwicz each tossed a scoreless inning in relief for the Pioneers. 

The teams finished with eight hits apiece in their series finale. Ushimaru was the only Pioneer with multiple knocks, going 2-for-4 with two RBI. Robinson reached base twice, finishing 1-for-2 with a walk and a run. 

After playing nine of their first 10 games at home, the Pioneers hit the road next weekend to continue their CCAA schedule with four games at Cal State San Bernardino.