HAYWARD– Cal State East Bay Pioneers rallied from a 4-2 deficit to defeat the visiting SF State Gators 7-5 this afternoon in a CCAA game at Pioneer Field in Hayward. Dakota Conners' two-run double keyed a four-run seventh inning for the hosts as they improved to 14-7 overall and 5-5 in the CCAA.
"We made too many mistakes early in the game to give ourselves a chance to win," said SF State head coach
Tony Schifano. "We stress defense on a daily basis and have yet to play well defensively all season."
In the start for the Gators,
Dillon Houser recorded the no-decision going 6 innings, giving up five hits and three runs (one earned), striking out one and walking two. "I thought (Dillon) Houser pitched well enough to win only giving up one earned run in 6 innings,' added the first-year skipper.
Bryce Brooks' solo home run to left field gave SF State an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. This was Brooks' first home run in a Gator uniform. The Pioneers tied the game at 1-1 when the Pioneers took advantage off three Gator errors. Marcus Wise had a lead-off single and alter scored on an error by the Gators' infield after advancing to second base on a failed pick-off attempt.
The Pioneers took a 2-1 lead in their half of the fourth inning when Dakota Conners scored after reaching base on a lead-off single. The Pioneer second baseman had an infield single to lead off the game. He went to second on a single by Joey Dice. Conners went to third on a bunt single by Chris Porter and scored on a ground out by Marcus Williams.
Houser retired the next two Pioneers on ground outs back to him as the Gators were just down 2-1 heading into the fifth inning.
SF State (9-12, 3-8 CCAA) retook the lead with a three-run fifth inning.
Chad Thurston had a lead-off double down the right field line, went to third as
Dalton Pizzuti reached on a dropped fly ball by the right fielder.
Andrew Breen walked to load the bases with no outs.
Nick Jackson drove in Thurston with the tying run on a ground out. Pizzuti scored on a ground out by Brooks and then Breen scored on a two-out single by
Myles Franklin to give the Gators a 4-2 lead.
The Pioneers closed in on the Gators' lead on Conners' sacrifice fly in the fifth inning which brought in Rudy Navarro who reached on an error by SF State.
The score remained 4-3 until the bottom of the seventh inning. Michael Thomas reached base on a hit batsmen with one-out. He went to second with his eighth stolen base of the season. Thomas scored on a single by Navarro to tie the score at 4-4. Troy Resch walked to put runners on first and second with one out. They each advanced a base on a stolen base and then Conners gave the Pioneers a 6-4 lead with a two-run double. Conners scored on a single by Dice as the hosts took a 7-4 lead.
Joe Chedid's second home run of the season cut the Gator deficit to 7-5 in the top of the eighth inning.
Brett Elgin held the Pioneers scoreless in the bottom of the eighth.
Derek Oetken came on in relief in the top of the ninth for the Pioneers. He retired the first two batters and then Jackson reached on an error by the Pioneers. Jackson was left stranded there and Oetken struck out the next Gator to preserve his fifth save of the season and the Pioneers' 7-5 victory.
The two teams will face each other again next Wednesday, March 30, this time at SF State's Maloney Field for a single nine-inning game.
Angela Lara (1-0) recorded the win in relief for Cal State East Bay, pitching one scoreless inning of relief, giving up one hit and walking one. Conners finished the day going 2-for-2, driving in three runs and scoring twice for the Pioneers' offensive attack.
Dylan Bell (0-1) picked up the loss in relief for the Gators, pitching 0.1 innings, giving up one hit and two runs.
Nathan Pisciotta pitched 0.2 innings of relief also for SF State, giving up two hits, two runs and walking two. The Gators managed 6 hits on the day coming off the bat of six different players. Brooks drove in two runs including one on his home run.
Before the Gators face Cal State East Bay again next Wednesday, they will host Cal State L.A. in a three-game series this weekend beginning with an 11am starting doubleheader (two nine-inning games) this Friday at Maloney Field. The series will conclude this Saturday, March 26 at noon with a single nine-inning game.
Box ScoreBox Score in PDF-----
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