HAYWARD, Calif. — Cal State East Bay opened its CCAA series with a 10-3 victory over No. 9 Cal State Monterey Bay on Friday afternoon at Pioneer Stadium.

The Pioneers set the tone early, taking advantage of a defensive miscue in the first inning. Dominick Najar reached and moved into scoring position before coming home on a sacrifice fly from Gio Martini to give East Bay a 1-0 lead.

East Bay added to the advantage in the second. Logan Stelling launched a solo home run to left field, and Micah Cervantes followed with an RBI single to extend the lead to 3-0.

Monterey Bay got on the board in the fourth, capitalizing on an error to plate a run, but East Bay answered in the fifth. Najar doubled to start the inning, and a sacrifice fly from Cristian Angulo brought him home. Alijah Ramos later reached on an error, allowing another run to score and pushing the lead to 5-1.

The Pioneers created further separation in the seventh when Stelling delivered his second home run of the game, a two-run shot to left, making it 7-1.

East Bay added three more runs in the eighth. Angulo drove in a run with a double, Martini followed with a sacrifice fly, and Ramos added another RBI on a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 10-1.

Monterey Bay scored twice in the ninth, but the Pioneers closed out the win to secure the series opener.

Stelling paced the offense with two home runs and three RBIs, while Najar collected two hits and scored three runs. Cervantes added two hits and an RBI as East Bay finished with 10 hits.

On the mound, Ryan Juric earned the win with five strong innings, allowing one run on just one hit. Noah Zirkle and William Gnibus combined for three scoreless innings in relief before Alexander Hocking worked the ninth.

Cal State East Bay continues the series Saturday with a doubleheader against the Otters.