HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay softball team had a forgettable Saturday at Pioneer Field to close out its series against San Francisco State, dropping both ends of the doubleheader to the Gators by final scores of 5-4 and 11-4. 

With the sweep, SF State claims the series that started Thursday, taking three of the four contests. The Pioneers fall to 16-29 overall with a 10-22 record in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) games. 

Saturday's first game was a close one, but as has been an issue for the Pioneers all season, they found themselves in an early hole in the first inning. The Gators opened the game with three straight hits. After a pair of walks and a hit-by-pitch, SFSU led 3-0 and head coach Claire Sua-Amundson removed starter Abby Greer in favor of junior Bailee Glover.

After escaping the inning, Glover was a bright spot for East Bay the rest of the game. She allowed just one earned run over the next six innings, giving the Pioneer bats a chance to come back.

CSUEB stranded two in scoring position in the second, then finally broke through in the third. Bailee Aguigui led off with a triple and Jennifer Palmares knocked her in with a single through the hole. The Pioneers pushed across another run in the sixth when Palmares and Maddie Ramirez notched singles and Sarah Fukushima was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Glover picked up an RBI with a ground out, but the Pioneers left two more runners on.

SF State answered back with two runs in the sixth, taking advantage of a Pioneer defensive error. Those runs proved to be crucial when Fukushima belted a two-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. Her second round-tripper of the year brought East Bay back within one, but the Gators retired the next batter to end the game.

After falling just short in game one, East Bay was never close in game two. The Gators scored five runs in the first inning off Olivia McWhorter and three more in the second off Greer, putting the home team in a big hole early.

It was 11-0 by the time the Pioneers finally got on the scoreboard. Three outs away from losing by the eight-run rule, East Bay took advantage of an error and staged a two-out rally to extend the game. A two-run triple by Courtney Leyba and an RBI single by Ramirez plated three runs. Ramirez came around to score on a wild pitch to make it 11-4, but unfortunately the Pioneers weren't able to score in their final two at bats.

Taylor Lara pitched the final 4.0 innings in relief for CSUEB, allowing three earned runs. 

Ramirez posted a three-hit game in the finale and finished 4-for-8 in the doubleheader. Fukushima reached base five hits, going 2-for-5 on the day with three hit-by-pitches. 

East Bay will look to get back in the win column when the team hits the road next week for six games in Southern California. The Pioneers play a four-game CCAA series at Cal State San Marcos on Friday and Saturday, then visit Concordia-Irvine for a non-conference doubleheader Sunday.