HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay baseball team is finally catching up on a schedule that has been significantly impacted by rain through the first two weeks. On Tuesday afternoon, the Pioneers completed their suspended game against Menlo College that had started back on Feb 1. The teams then played another game at Pioneer Field to make up for the contest that had been washed out Feb. 3. Both squads picked up a victory in the midweek matchup.

Menlo had jumped out to a 4-0 lead back in the season opener before the Pioneers rallied back to tie the score 5-5. But the Oaks put together a big offensive performance, hitting three home runs and re-taking the lead 9-6 before the game was called after seven innings. Today, Menlo tacked on another run and kept the Pioneers off the scoreboard in the final two frames to hang on for a 10-6 win.

CSUEB tallied 12 hits in the loss, but stranded 11 runners. Jacob Eder finished 3-for-5 to lead the way, while Dakota Conners, Adam Hollar, Kyosuke Ushimaru, and Joey Dice had two hits apiece.

East Bay bounced back impressively in the second game and was immediately more effective in situations with runners on base. The Oaks notched a run in the first and another in the second to snag an early advantage, but CSUEB starter Ethan Brodsky did well to minimize the damage, giving the Pioneer bats a chance to go to work in the middle innings.

Dice, Ryan McSwain, and Ryan Thomasy led off the third inning with three straight line drive doubles, and in the span of five pitches, the score was tied 2-2. A sacrifice fly for Conners then gave the Pioneers their first lead. Menlo answered back with another run in the fourth, but East Bay quickly snatched the lead again. With one on and one out, head coach Mike Cummins sent up Steve Robinson as a pinch hitter, and the senior hooked the first pitch he saw into the right field corner for a triple. Dice followed with an RBI ground out to make it 5-3.

The Pioneers broke the game open the following inning after two singles and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases. Menlo walked Robert Lujan to force in a run, which brought up Robinson again. Once again he jumped on the first pitch, slicing a three-run double to left. 

Robinson didn't even start the game, but finished 2-for-3 with four RBI, two runs scored, and five total bases. McSwain went 3-for-3 with a walk out of the leadoff spot, and Conners posted yet another two-hit effort. Dice drove in a pair of runs to continue his hot start to the season.

After the Oaks scored their third and final run in the fourth inning, the Pioneer pitchers mowed them down the rest of the way. Michael Espino tossed two scoreless frames to earn his first victory, and then Jordan Milligan, Matt Woinarowicz, and Mark Woinarowicz got three outs each to close the game.

The Pioneers are batting .311 with a .406 on-base percentage through five games, and they'll look to continue their hot hitting when they head to Cal State San Marcos this weekend for a four-game series to open the CCAA schedule.