HAYWARD, Calif. - After the Cal State East Bay baseball team dropped game one of Saturday's CCAA doubleheader against San Francisco State, 14-4, the Pioneers bounced back in game two and won 5-2. The win broke the Pioneers' eight game losing streak.
Game One – San Francisco State 14, CSU East Bay 4
The Gators struck first in the top of the third inning on a Sammy Gonzales grounder to second base that drove in Gavin Mancha for a 1-0 lead. The Pioneers would score three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. CSUEB's first run was a result of a throwing error that allowed Luke Novitske to score. The next two runs for the Pioneers came on a Manny Garcia single to left field that scored Samuel Esparza and Jacob Froess. Throughout the next three innings, the Gators would add 13 runs. The Pioneers managed to score one more run bottom of the sixth inning on a Matthew O'Mahony solo home run to left center, which was his third of the season.
The win went to Gary Grosjean for the Gators and the loss went to Ryan Gibson for the Pioneers. Both Novitske and Essex Brown Jr. went 1-for-2 in game one.
Game Two – CSU East Bay 5, San Francisco State 2
The Pioneers got all of the offensive production they would need in the first two innings. O'Mahony would get the scoring started in the bottom of the first with a single to left field that drove in Francisco Pedraza and Brown Jr. for a 2-0 lead. In the second inning, the Pioneers added three – one on an Esparza bunt single to the pitcher that scored Connor McWard, another on a Brown Jr. single to right field that drove in Matthew Mandeville, and a third run in the inning on a Garcia ground ball to first base that scored Esparza. Through two innings, Cal State East Bay led 5-0.
The Gators scored a run in the top of the fourth inning and another the top of the seventh inning, but CSUEB prevailed 5-2 to snap an eight-game skid.
Pitching a complete seven-inning game, the win went to Garrison Fink, who allowed two runs and had three strikeouts.Tyler Franks got the loss for the Gators.
Both Brown Jr. and O'Mahony went 2-for-3 in game two. O'Mahony had two RBIs, and leads the Pioneers with 19 on the season, and Brown Jr. had one RBI.
Following the doubleheader, Cal State East Bay head coach Mike Cummins spoke about the team's performances: "Obviously, the second game, Garrison Fink really stepped up, you know, a complete game. Only walked one batter, threw strikes."
Cummins also added about the offense in game two: "Did a great job offensively early, executed some hit-and-runs and put some pressure on them and you know, got a lead and it's a lot easier to pitch and play defense when you are ahead, so I think that was good."
The Pioneers (11-14, 4-11 CCAA) and Gators (12-15, 7-12 CCAA) will play the final game of their series on Sunday at noon at Pioneer Baseball Field.