HAYWARD, Calif. — Under partly cloudy skies at Pioneer Baseball Field on Saturday, Cal State East Bay delivered a commanding sweep of Central Washington, taking the opener 9-2 and the seven‑inning nightcap 12-5. Behind explosive run production, precision pitching, and surging individual performances, the Pioneers (5-4) secured their first home win of the season and followed it with a resilient comeback that electrified the home crowd.
Game 1 — Cal State East Bay 9, Central Washington 2
Central Washington opened the scoring in the top of the first with an RBI double down the left‑field line, but the Pioneers wasted no time responding. Marc DiCarlo Jr. scored on a sharp RBI single to right field from Dylan Unangst to tie the game at 1‑1. [wildcatsports.com]
East Bay broke the game open in the bottom of the second, plating four runs on four consecutive RBI hits from Caleb Chance, Dominick Najar, DiCarlo and Logan Stelling. That burst vaulted the Pioneers ahead 5‑1. An inning later, Chance delivered again with an RBI single to push the lead to 6‑1. [wildcatsports.com]
Unangst added a sacrifice fly in the sixth, and East Bay tacked on two more in the eighth—another RBI single from Chance and a timing run by Alijah Ramos—to close out a complete offensive showing. Although the Wildcats scored once in the ninth, the Pioneers comfortably secured a 9‑2 victory, their first home win of the year. [wildcatsports.com]
DiCarlo and Chance each tallied three hits, with Chance driving in a run on all three. Micah Cervantes swiped two bases. AJ Gamboa earned his first win of the season with six steady innings, allowing one run and striking out two. [wildcatsports.com]
Game 2 — Cal State East Bay 12, Central Washington 5 (7 innings)
The nightcap began with turbulence as Central Washington sent its first five batters aboard in the top of the first, scoring three times before successfully executing a double steal for a 4‑0 lead. A wild pitch in the second allowed another run to cross, stretching the deficit to 5‑0 before East Bay found its rhythm.
The momentum swung dramatically in the bottom of the fourth. DiCarlo ignited the rally with a leadoff triple, and Stelling followed with an RBI single. Unangst doubled, Gio Martini was hit by a pitch, and Ramos delivered a clutch two‑run double into the gap. Dyer then pushed Martini across with an RBI groundout before Chance ripped a run‑scoring triple to pull the Pioneers even at 5‑5.
With two quick outs in the fifth, East Bay refused to let the inning die. Stelling and Unangst singled, Martini walked, and Ramos struck again—this time lacing a bases‑clearing triple to thrust the Pioneers ahead 8‑5. The offensive surge continued into the sixth as Chance and Cervantes reached, Najar drove in a run with a single, and DiCarlo split the gap with a two‑run double. Three consecutive hit‑by‑pitches forced in another run, bringing DiCarlo home to complete a four‑run frame. The Pioneers shut things down in the seventh to finish a 12‑5 triumph and sweep the doubleheader.
Stelling collected three hits in the game, and Ramos capped his day with five RBIs. David Howard earned the win with 3.2 scoreless innings of relief, striking out three. Lincoln Juarez closed the door with two scoreless frames for his first save as a Pioneer.
Stelling extended his hitting streak to six games and is now batting .455 after going 5-for‑9 with two RBIs on Saturday. Unangst pushed his hitting streak to eight games and enters Sunday hitting .433.
Cal State East Bay and Central Washington return to Pioneer Baseball Field on Sunday for another doubleheader, with first pitch scheduled for 10 a.m. followed by game two at 1 p.m.
