TURLOCK, Calif. — No. 5 Cal State East Bay strengthened its impressive early-season run Friday on the second day of the Stan State Invitational, defeating Central Washington 6-5 in eight innings before closing with a 2-1 win over Dominican (Calif.) at Warrior Softball Field. The Pioneers (12-1) excelled in pressure moments, using timely hitting from Jeslyn Cuellar and strong pitching performances from juniors and seniors alike to complete another successful day in Turlock.
No. 5 Cal State East Bay 6, Central Washington 5
In the opener, East Bay struck early. Cuellar drew a leadoff walk in the top of the first and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Jenna Porto. Two batters later, Rylee Gomez lined a double into left center to drive her in for a 1-0 lead. The Wildcats answered immediately in the bottom of the first with an RBI single from Hallie Sehlin.
Patient at-bats put the Pioneers back in front in the top of the third. Sarissa Block walked to start the inning, and singles from Cuellar and Porto loaded the bases. After a fielder's choice, Jasmyn Morales drew a bases-loaded walk, and Cynthia Carrillo and Isabel Mercado followed with RBI walks of their own to extend the lead to 4-1.
Central Washington surged ahead in the fourth. With the bases full, Joelie Eder singled in a run before Melise Brown cleared the bases with a three‑run double, giving the Wildcats a 5-4 advantage. From there, East Bay worked to find the tying run, which arrived in the top of the seventh. Morales singled to begin the inning, and pinch runner Mia Garcia moved into scoring position on Carrillo's sacrifice bunt. Pinch hitter Reagan Hallett delivered in the moment, sending a run‑scoring single into the outfield to even the score at 5-5.
Quintero and the Pioneers kept CWU off the board in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings. Under tournament rules, each extra inning begins with a runner placed on second base. Campos started the top of the eighth on second and moved to third on a groundout. Cuellar then stepped in and drilled a triple to right center to give East Bay a 6-5 lead. The Pioneers would load the bases later in the inning but were unable to add insurance.
In the bottom half, Eder was placed on second and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt. Quintero stayed composed and induced back‑to‑back outs to end the game. The junior right‑hander improved to 8-0 after 5.1 scoreless innings of relief, allowing only two hits.
No. 5 Cal State East Bay 2, Dominican (Calif.) 1
East Bay carried its momentum into the second game against Dominican. After two scoreless frames, Cuellar singled in the top of the third and stole second. Two batters later, Gomez delivered her second RBI double of the day, putting the Pioneers ahead 1-0. Dominican tied the game in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI double by Taylor Rodriguez.
With two outs in the top of the fifth, Cuellar delivered once again—this time with her first home run of the season and the ninth of her Pioneer career. The solo shot made it 2-1, and senior pitcher Jaidyn Gamble made the lead stand. Gamble fired a complete‑game four‑hitter, allowing just two baserunners over the final three innings while improving to 3-1 on the season.
Cuellar headlined East Bay's offense throughout the day, finishing 5-for-6 with a double, triple and home run. She reached base seven times, scored four runs and raised her season batting average to .468. Gomez added four hits between the two games and now leads the Pioneers with 13 RBIs.
Cal State East Bay concludes the Stan State Invitational on Saturday, February 14, with two more games at Warrior Softball Field. The Pioneers face Menlo at 9 a.m. before meeting Saint Martin's at 11:30 a.m.
