HAYWARD, Calif. – The San Francisco State softball team swept host Cal State East Bay by scores of 5-4 and 11-4 on Saturday, taking the series 3-1.
 
The wins match the SF State's CCAA win total from last year as the Gators now sit at 18-24/13-14 CCAA on the year.
 
Michelle Castro led off the day with a triple to right-center and Andrea Hildan plated her on a single to right for the first run of the game. Hayley Nunes knocked a full-count pitch down the right field line for a single of her own, moving Hildan to third. Madison Collins walked two batters later to load the bases, and Sara Higa made it 2-0 on a sacrifice fly to left. Mallory Cleveland worked a walk to reload the bases, bringing up Angelica Terrel who was hit by a pitch to plate Nunes, making it a three-run game.
 
Lindsey Cassidy got the start, tossed 4.1 innings and retired the Pioneers (16-29/10-22 CCAA) in order in the first. In the second, Castro walked and stole second for SF State's 98^th steal of the season, which sets a new program record by topping the 1997 Gators who recorded 97 thefts. SF State now sits at 101 steals on the season.
 
East Bay got in the score column in the third on Jennifer Palmares' RBI single to left, and the hosts cut it to 3-2 in the fifth as Courtney Leyba came around to score. In the top of the sixth the Gators got some necessary insurance runs. Hildan led off with a walk and advanced to second on Nunes' sacrifice bunt. This brought up Katie Rohrer, who scored Hildan on a double to right center, and Rohrer scored herself on Higa's sacrifice fly, making it 5-2.
 
East Bay scored two more in the seventh on Fukushima's two-run home run to left, but Karla Soto got Bailee Glover to fly out to end game one.
 
Soto continued the dominance in game two, and the Gator offense gave her an early 5-0 lead after one. Castro led off the contest with a single, stole second, and moved to third the next batter. After Nunes reached on a fielder's choice, Rohrer walked to load the bases. This brought up Collins, who roped a double to right-center that scored two, and Higa followed with a double of her own that also plated a pair. Terrel joined the party with another double that scored Higa and capped off the five-run frame.
 
The Gators extended the lead in the second with three more runs, which started with Castro's double to center. After she stole third, Hildan plated the sophomore on a sacrifice bunt. Nunes and Rohrer knocked back-to-back doubles, and Higa hit a single to left-center to plate Rohrer and make it 8-0.
 
Soto sat the Pioneers down in order in the second and third, and the visitors added another run in the fourth on Rohrer's RBI single up the middle. The Gators made it 11-0 in the fifth as Hildan doubled home Castro, and Nunes plated HIldan on a single.
 
East Bay avoided the run rule loss in the fifth as they scored four runs to make it 11-4. The Gators cruised through the final two innings to seal the twin bill sweep and the series victory.
 
Higa went a combined 3-for-6 with five batted in on the day, and Hildan added five hits with four RBI and four runs scored. Soto threw a total of 9.2 innings with just two earned and three strikeouts on the day.
 
Up Next
The Gators return home next Friday, April 13 to host Humboldt State in a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. Live stats will be provided, and be sure to follow @sfstate_sb on Twitter for in-game updates.