SAN FRANCISCO – Jared Berrier's grand slam highlighted an eight-run seventh inning as visiting Cal State East Bay held on for a 9-7 victory over San Francisco State in the second game of a California Collegiate Athletic Association doubleheader Tuesday at Maloney Field. The win enabled the Pioneers (7-18, 5-13 CCAA) to complete the sweep after claiming a 4-3 decision earlier in game one.

 

In the nightcap, the Gators (8-12, 3-11 CCAA) struck first in the bottom of the third inning when Thomas Wood led off with a single to right field and promptly scored on Will Klein's first double of the season. Klein eventually touched home after a Ben Mielke single and an Ivan Otsuka RBI ground out, while Kevin Dultz soon followed with a roller that lost steam in the wet infield grass between third and short, which brought in Mielke from second.

 

Trailing 3-0, East Bay answered with a run in the top of the fourth when Berrier plated Andrew Woolfe on a ground out to first base. Previously, Woolfe drew a one-out walk and advanced on a wild pitch and a Charlie Sharrer single.

 

SF State appeared to be in control entering the top of the seventh as Matthew Cummins relieved Nic Banaugh, who pitched six strong innings, giving up one run on two hits and four walks to go along with six strikeouts.   However, the Gator closer was unable to nail down his fifth save of the year as the Pioneers sent 11 men to the plate to fuel their big inning. In addition to Berrier's blast, East Bay scored two runs on an errant SF State throw home sandwiched around RBI singles by Aaron Brown and Woolfe.

 

The Gators made things interesting in the bottom of the seventh, scoring four runs to pull within 9-7. With the bases loaded, Klein crossed the plate on Dultz's single, while Dustin Wold drew a base on balls to bring in Mielke. Michael Sanchez quickly laced a 1-2 pitch through the middle to bring in Tyler Overstreet and Dultz. However, the Purple and Gold could draw no closer as Pioneer reliever Zachary Wong induced a groundout to end the game.

 

Despite giving up all seven runs on eight hits and one walk, A.J. Gallardo picked up the victory to raise his record to 4-3 on the season, while Cummins (1-1) was tagged with the loss.

East Bay also rallied in the opener, erasing a 2-1 deficit with three runs on five hits in the top of the fourth to take the lead for good.

 

After the Pioneers grabbed a 1-0 advantage in their first at-bat, the Gators countered with two runs in the bottom of the frame as Ian Fregosi plated Drew Andersen and Dultz with a single to center. Andersen previously roped a one-out base hit of his own and moved over to third when Dultz reached on an infield error and took second on the throw.

 

With the bases loaded in the fourth, Christopher Houston scored on Sharrer's RBI single; Nick McManus touched home on Josh Rush's double play grounder, while Dylan Johnson singled in Woolfe to put the visitors up 4-2.

 

SF State pushed across a run in the eighth when Mielke scored on Dultz's fifth double of the season, but could not get the equalizer as Wong recorded a huge strikeout to avoid further damage. The Gators also threatened in the ninth, putting a runner at third with two outs before Wong closed the door once again with a pop out to secure his third save of the season.

 

Bryce Miller (4-3) earned the victory after yielding two runs on five hits and one walk in seven innings, while Steven Dea (2-5) absorbed the loss after giving up all ofur runs on seven hits in four innings o f work before giving way to Branden Petrangelo.

 

Dultz finished with a combined three hits, three RBI and two runs on the day to lead the Gator offense, while Mielke added three runs of his own.

SF State steps out of conference on Wednesday when it tackles Hillsdale College (Mich.) in single game beginning at 10 a.m. The two teams will square off at the College of San Mateo.

Game One Box Score

Game Two Box Score