HAYWARD, Calif., -- The Cal State East Bay baseball team will return to Hayward for a home California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) weekend series against Stanislaus State at Pioneer Field.
 
The Pioneers are currently sitting 6-8 overall on the season with a 3-5 mark in conference action.
 
WEEK IN REVIEW
The Cal State East Bay baseball team erased a 6-1 deficit to pull off a comeback win over Cal State San Bernardino on Friday.
 
It's the first road win of the season for the Pioneers (6-5, 3-2 CCAA), who are making their first Southern California trip this year. The game was moved up to an 11:00 a.m. start today at Fiscalini Field as the teams attempted to get the game in before it started raining.
 
San Bernardino tallied eight hits off East Bay starter Alex Vesia, and they took advantage of three Pioneer defensive errors to plate three unearned runs. Andrew Fernandez relieved Vesia with one out in the fourth, and by the time he escaped the inning, the Pioneers trailed by five.
 
However the momentum flipped after that, and inning by inning, East Bay chipped away. In the fifth, Paul Bryniarski led off with a single, moved around to third, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Kyosuke Ushimaru. The next inning, Conners laced a one-out double down the line and Adam Hollar followed with a single. With runners on first and third, Dice blasted a three-run homer to center field, and suddenly the Pioneers had life.
 
In the eighth, CSUEB tied the game without the benefit of a hit. Dice and Steve Robinson both walked, and then Ushimaru was hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs. Dey then drew a free pass to bring home the tying run.
 
In the ninth, singles by Conners and Hollar set the table with nobody out. Then a CSUSB error on a pick-off attempt allowed Conners to score the go-ahead run. Dice reached on another error to put runners at the corners, and then Robinson added to East Bay's lead with an RBI ground out.
 
Risucci turned in the best outing of his career, dominating the final three frames. He struck out the side in order after the Pioneers got within one in the seventh, then pitched around an infield hit for another scoreless inning after East Bay tied it in the eighth. When the Pioneers scored in the ninth to take the lead, the senior right-hander calmly retired San Bernardino 1-2-3 in bottom of the inning pick up his first victory of the season. Risucci ended up striking out five Coyotes in three scoreless innings.
 
Offensively, the Pioneers totaled 11 hits. Hollar and Dice both went 2-for-4, with the latter knocking in four runs to lead the team. Conners finished 3-for-5 with three runs scored, and Dey reached base three times as well, going 1-for-3 with two walks.
The opening game of the doubleheader saw a solid pitching duel between East Bay starter Jacob Call and CSUSB starter Matthew Moriarty. Both hurlers had only given up one run apiece through the first three innings.
 
Then the Coyotes erupted with five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Pioneers followed with two runs in the fifth and sixth innings as San Bernardino kept the lead with one run in the bottom of the sixth. Both squads would score six runs in the final three innings as the Coyotes came away with a, 13-11 victory.
 
Call finished with five strikeouts while only allowing two earned runs.
 
Adam Hollar paced the Pioneers with four hits and a run scored in the opening game. Paul Bryniarski and Dakota Conners also turned in multi-hit performances for East Bay. Bryniarski compiled three hits, including a double, three RBIs, two scores and a CSUEB's only stolen base. Conners tallied three hits, with two doubles, two runs scored and a RBI.
 
Evan Steele had a solid day offensively for CSUEB registering two hits, two RBI and two runs. Raymond Jones chipped in a double and two RBI while Jacob Eder added two runs with a hit and a RBI. Brennan Carey also had a hit on the afternoon.
 
Kyosuke Ushimaru and Steve Robinson both scored a run for the Pioneers.
 
Mark Woinarowicz (L, 0-1) tossed 2.1 innings and picked up one strikeout.
 
In the series finale, San Bernardino raced out to an early 6-0 lead after the first two innings of action. East Bay would battle back with the three runs in the top of third inning.
 
After three scoreless innings for the Pioneers in which the Coyotes added three more runs, East Bay would explode with five runs in the final inning. But the Pioneers comeback attempt fell short as the final score read, 8-9 in favor of the Coyotes.
 
East Bay had a host of players post multi-hit games to wrap-up the doubleheader. Raymond Jones led the Pioneers with three hits, including a double, a RBI and a run scored.
 
Dallas Dey cracked his team-leading second home run of the season as he racked up four RBI and two total hits. Paul Bryniarski added two hits, including a double and a run scored.
 
Jacob Eder finished with two hits, a run and a RBI while Adam Hollar chipped in two hits, with a double and a run.
 
Dakota Conners notched a double, two runs and a RBI. Evan Steele recorded a run, a hit and a RBI and Kyosuke Ushimaru had a hit.
 
The Pioneer pitching rotation featured a platoon of hurlers in the series finale. Donovan Ramirez (L, 0-1) tossed 0.2 innings and allowed a run while walking three batters. Joey Portugal picked up a strikeout in 0.1 innings of work on the mound.
 
Nick Risucci led the Pioneer staff with three strikeouts through 1.2 innings. Jordan Milligan completed in time on the mound after retiring one Coyote in 1.1 innings of work. Jacob Nelson also struck out one batter through 2.0 innings of action.
 
PIONEER POINTS
Junior Kyosuke Ushimaru (Tokyo, Japan) is fourth in the CCAA with a .429 batting average with 12 hits, eight RBI, 16 total bases, four runs scored. He also has a homerun with a .571 slugging percentage and .500 on-base percentage.
 
Junior Paul Bryniarski (Fountain Hills, Ariz.) has started 13 games and leads the Pioneers with 20 hits. Bryniarski is batting .351 with 14 runs scored, 12 RBI and 28 total bases. He also has a .491 slugging percentage with three doubles, a triple and one homerun.
 
Returners Dallas Dey (.273 avg, .333 obp, .455 slg), Raymond Jones (.355 avg, .486 obp) and Joey Dice (.333 avg, .516 obp, 9 BB) have been excellent, while newcomers Jacob Eder (.255 avg, .444 obp, 13 R, 11 RBI) and Jordan Estes (.333 avg, .476 slg) have provided some pop in the Pioneer lineup.
 
The pitching staff has a collective ERA of 6.34 through 14 games, despite solid strikeout numbers (115 punchouts and 56 walks in 116.1 innings). Senior southpaw Alex Vesia is 1-1 with 19 strikeouts through 17.1 innings tossed. RJ Hanson has a 4.34 ERA and is tied for the team lead with 20 strikeouts with two wins. Jacob Call is also tied for the Pioneer lead on the squad with 20 strikeouts and has yet to give up a homer this season.
 
SCOUTING STANISLAUS STATE
The Stanislaus State Warriors come into the game with a record of 9-7 and are currently sitting 5-5 in CCAA play. Braeden Oki leads the Warriors with a .355 batting average with 22 hits, 15 runs scored and an RBI. Joe Ryan is tops in the San Bernardino rotation with a 1.91 ERA with 43 strikeouts through 33 innings pitched and is two-time CCAA Pitcher of the week.