SAN MARCOS, Calif. — Cal State East Bay split a Saturday CCAA doubleheader at Dennis A. Pugh Field against Cal State San Marcos, dropping the opener 8-5 before erupting for a dominant 17-1 victory in game two.
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GAME SUMMARIES |
Game One: Cal State San Marcos 8 , Cal State East Bay 5
The Cougars capitalized on early scoring opportunities and defensive miscues by Cal State East Bay to secure the opener.
The Cougars jumped ahead in the bottom of the first when Victor Castaneda launched a solo home run to right field fpr a 1-0 lead.
Cal State East Bay got on the board in the second as Luke Brown singled, advanced on a wild pitch, and scored after a Jaylen Hodges single and error by the right fielder.
San Marcos tacked on three more in the second, aided by a Pioneer error and a failed pickoff attempt that allowed Marco Pirruccello to move into scoring position. Jake Adams delivered an RBI single. Then a groundout and another error extended the Cougar lead to 4-1.
A three-run fourth for San Marcos, fueled by yet more defensive trouble—including two wild pitches and an error—gave CSUSM an 8-1 advantage.
Hodges sparked a sixth-inning rally for the Pioneers with a three-run triple, closing the gap to 8-4. East Bay threatened again in the ninth, loading the bases and adding one more via a bases-loaded walk to Danelle Daniels, but their comeback fell short after the Cougars retired the final two batters.
Game one was the first game on the field following its renaming to Dennis A. Pugh Field.
Game Two: Cal State East Bay 17, Cal State San Marcos 1 (7 innings)The Pioneers flipped the script in the second game, pounding out a season-best 20 hits in a run-rule shortened seven-inning rout.
Luke Brown set the tone in the first with a three-run homer to right field, giving East Bay an early 3-0 lead. The onslaught continued in the second when RBI hits by Camron Grant and Jaylen Hodges, plus a sacrifice fly by Brown, made it 6-1.
East Bay blew it wide open in the third, scoring five runs. Gio Martini's two-RBI single, followed by a series of walks and an error, allowed the Pioneers to stretch the lead to 11-1.
The offense wasn't done. In the fifth, East Bay drew four walks and got RBIs from Cervantes, Brown, and William James, pushing the score to 15-1. Two more came across in the sixth on James' RBI single and a bases-loaded walk to Martini.
Meanwhile, Max Gonzales was dominant on the mound, striking out eight over five innings and allowing just one run on four hits to improve to 6-2.
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NOTABLE STATS |
- The 17 runs and 20 hits in game two were season highs for Cal State East Bay.
- Luke Brown finished the day 5-for-7 with five RBIs and four runs scored, including his sixth home run of the season.
- Camron Grant extended his hitting streak to 11 games.
- Max Gonzales now holds a 1.99 ERA, the lowest among qualifying pitchers in the CCAA.
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RECORDS |
Cal State East Bay: 16-21, 12-15 CCAA
Cal State San Marcos: 18-16, 13-12 CCAA
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UP NEXT FOR CAL STATE EAST BAY |
Cal State East Bay concludes the CCAA series against Cal State San Marcos on Sunday, April 13. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m. at Dennis A. Pugh Field in San Marcos.
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