HAYWARD, Calif. — No. 2 Cal State East Bay opened CCAA play with a pair of tightly contested victories Friday at Pioneer Field, outlasting CSU Dominguez Hills 4-3 before rallying late for a 5-4 win to secure the conference sweep.
With the two wins, the Pioneers improve to 20-2 overall and 2-0 in league action.
Cal State East Bay 4, CSU Dominguez Hills 3
East Bay struck first in the opener, capitalizing in the bottom of the first inning. After a leadoff strikeout, Rylee Gomez worked a walk, and Jasmyn Morales followed with a double to right, putting two in scoring position. Isabel Mercado delivered the breakthrough, lining a two-run single to give the Pioneers a 2-0 edge.
CSU Dominguez Hills answered in the third, trimming the deficit to one behind a triple from Makayla Bishop and an RBI single from Ashley Goodale.
The Pioneers created separation in the fifth. Jeslyn Cuellar singled to ignite the inning, and Gomez drew another walk. With two outs, Cynthia Carrillo shot a single up the middle, bringing home two runs and pushing East Bay's advantage to 4-1.
The Toros mounted one final push in the seventh, taking advantage of a miscue and a two-run double to close within 4-3. But Marissa Quintero regrouped in the circle, recording the final three outs to seal her 14th victory of the season. The right-hander scattered five hits across seven innings and struck out seven.
Carrillo drove in two runs, while Morales and Gomez each scored once, as East Bay totaled seven hits in the contest.
Cal State East Bay 5, CSU Dominguez Hills 4
The nightcap featured another momentum swing.
East Bay broke through in the second inning, sending 10 hitters to the plate and scoring four runs. Reagan Hallett reached on an error to start the rally before Cynthia Carrillo and Sarissa Block delivered RBI hits. Gomez later added a two-run single to cap the surge, giving the Pioneers a 4-0 cushion.
CSU Dominguez Hills responded in the fourth, stringing together six hits to produce four runs and even the score at 4-4.
From there, Jaidyn Gamble settled into a groove. The right-hander worked through the final three innings and finished the complete game with three strikeouts to earn her fifth win of the year.
The decisive moment came in the bottom of the seventh. Carrillo opened the frame with a double to right-center, and after a flyout, Marissa Farias singled to put runners at the corners. Jennavee Campos then delivered a line drive into left-center, bringing Carrillo home for the walk-off run and a 5-4 victory.
Carrillo paced the offense in game two with three hits and two runs scored. Campos drove in the winning run, and Gomez added two RBIs in the four-run second inning.
Cal State East Bay returns to Pioneer Field on Saturday to continue its CCAA series against the Toros.
