LA QUINTA, Calif. - The first tournament of the 2023 spring season for the Cal State East Bay men's golf team came to a close on Wednesday. The Pioneers finished as the team champion in the Battle in the Desert, winning by one stroke at PGA west. 

Leading the Pioneers with the team's lowest score of 5-under-par 211 (71-71-69) was Easton Hether. With all rounds under par, Hether finished the tournament with nine birdies and three eagles. Two of his eagles were in Wednesday's final round. 

Also finishing in the top-10 on the leaderboard, tied for seventh, was Fraser Owenson at 1-over-par 217 (73-72-72). Owenson had 11 birdies. 

Xavier Coreno had a team-high 13 birdies of the 54 holes played for CSUEB. 

"What a comeback today!" expressed CSUEB assistant coach Chris Oetinger following the team tournament championship. "The guys were quite steady this week. Other than our opening nine holes, they played confidently and consistently. It was fun to watch them clutch up down the stretchled by Easton. Easton was a stud this week - two very important hole outs coming home were huge for both him and the team. His poise as a freshman is very impressive. We have room to grow but this was a great way to start our spring season."

The Pioneers placed first with a team score of 868, just one stroke ahead of the host team, Cal State San Bernardino. 

The individual medalist was John Kim of CSUSB, who finished atop the leaderboard at 6-under-par 210. 

Cal State East Bay returns to action on March 6-7 in the NNU Poppy Ridge Invitational, which takes place at Poppy Ridge Golf Course in Livermore, California.