ST. GEORGE, Utah -- The Cal State East Bay softball team earned its first victory of the 2019 season on Friday, racking up 20 hits in a 13-9 win over Colorado State Pueblo to open the second day of the Dixie State Courtyard Classic. Later in the afternoon, the Pioneers fell to the host Trailblazers by a final score of 17-3 on the back end of their doubleheader.

In their third straight contest against a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) opponent, East Bay fell behind early as CSU Pueblo plated a pair of runs in the top of the first inning off CSUEB starter Abby Burkholder. But the Pioneers quickly answered back, with Jennifer Palmares leading off the bottom of the frame with a double, then coming around to score on Maddie Ramirez's RBI single. 

The Pioneers evened the score the next inning when Palmares drove in Kassie Kochan with a ground out. Then two innings later, they took a 4-2 lead thanks to doubles by Palmares and Kochan, a single by Bailee Aguigui, and a sacrifice fly by Sarah Fukushima.

Burkholder settled down after the first and fired three straight scoreless innings as East Bay snatched the momentum. But that flipped in the fifth when the Thunderbirds belted a pair of home runs to grab a 7-5 lead. Things looked bleak for the Pioneers when Pueblo plated two more runs the following inning], but their offense came alive in the bottom of the sixth. 

Trailing 9-5, East Bay sent 13 batters to the plate and scored eight runs in the sixth. It started with a solo blast by Fukushima, her first of the season, and continued with seven more singles by Pioneers in the inning. When the dust settled, it was 13-9.

Bailee Glover earned the victory in relief after tossing 1.1 innings, and senior Taylor Lara recorded the final three outs to seal the win.

Seven different Pioneers had multiple hits in the first game, with Palmares leading the way. The junior went 4-for-5, scored twice, and knocked in a pair.

Runs were more difficult to come by against No. 17 ranked Dixie State in the second game, however. The Trailblazers grabbed momentum early with four runs in the first against Abby Greer, then they put the game away with 13 runs in the second inning. Dixie batted through the lineup twice in that frame, tallying 12 hits.

Fukushima knocked in a pair of runs for the Pioneers with a single in the third. She also ripped a double to finish 2-for-3, continuing a red-hot tournament for the CSUEB designated player. 

Freshman Madi Greco launched her first career home run in the fourth, a solo blast down the left field line.

Through four games in Utah, the Pioneers are batting .394 as a team. They will look to close the weekend on a high note when they take on Central Washington in their final game of the tournament Saturday morning at 9 a.m. Pacific time.