LINCOLN, Calif. — Cal State East Bay split Saturday's doubleheader with Jessup at McBean Stadium, falling 11-8 in the opener before rallying for a 9-7 victory in game two to conclude the non-conference series.
Jessup struck first in the opening game when Quinton Hall launched a solo home run in the bottom of the first to give the Warriors an early 1-0 lead.
The Pioneers responded in the second inning. Alijah Ramos reached base before Carson Cripe lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to bring home the tying run.
East Bay grabbed momentum in the third. Dominick Najar singled and later came around to score before Gio Martini delivered a two-run home run to right field, pushing the Pioneers in front 4-1.
Jessup answered quickly as Hall connected for his second home run of the game in the bottom half of the inning, a three-run shot that tied the contest at 4-4.
The Pioneers regained the lead in the fourth when Caleb Chance singled and later scored on a sacrifice fly from Micah Cervantes to make it 5-4.
The Warriors responded again in the fourth. Jayden Montero delivered a two-run home run before Landyn Plaut added a three-run homer in the fifth to stretch the Jessup lead to 11-5.
East Bay mounted a late push in the ninth inning when Martini launched his second home run of the game, a three-run blast that trimmed the deficit to three runs, but the comeback attempt fell short.
Martini led the Pioneer offense in the opener with three hits and five RBIs, including two home runs. Cristian Angulo added three hits as East Bay totaled 11 hits in the contest.
In the second game of the doubleheader, the Pioneers responded with a comeback victory.
East Bay opened the scoring in the second inning when Vincent Lencioni singled and later scored on a sacrifice fly from Caleb Chance.
Jessup tied the game in the bottom of the inning on a solo home run by Cole Hazel before taking the lead in the third on an RBI single from Quinton Hall.
The Warriors extended their advantage in the fourth inning when Jayden Montero connected for a grand slam to give Jessup a 7-1 lead.
The Pioneers began to chip away in the sixth. Gio Martini and Alijah Ramos each singled before a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly from Alex Merchant helped cut the deficit to 7-3.
East Bay completed the comeback in the seventh inning with a six-run surge. William James sparked the rally with a single before Cristian Angulo drove in a run with a base hit. Marc DiCarlo Jr. followed with a single, and Ramos delivered an RBI hit to bring the Pioneers within one.
A Jessup error allowed the tying run to score before Caleb Chance and James each drove in runs to give East Bay a 9-7 lead.
Lincoln Juarez closed the door in the final inning to secure the win.
Ramos finished with two hits and two runs scored, while James collected three hits and an RBI in the victory. The Pioneers totaled nine hits in the second game as the teams wrapped up the weekend series at McBean Stadium.
