CHICO, Calif. - It took 11 innings, but the Cal State East Bay baseball team won Sunday's CCAA series finale against No. 11 Chico State, 5-4 winning three of four games in the series.
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GAME SUMMARY |
Dominick Najar's baserunning helped put the Pioneers on the board first. After an infield single, Najar stole second and reached third base on an error. Jacob Klinovsky hit an infield single that allowed Najar to score the first run of the game.
The game was tied 1-1 in the bottom of the first on a sacrifice fly RBI from Troy Kent.
Chico State took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second on an RBI single from Ernie Arumbula. The lead grew to 3-1 in the bottom of the fifth on a sacrifice fly RBI by Thade Miller.
East Bay got one run back in the top of the sixth when Jaylen Hodges hit an RBI single.
In the top of the seventh, Nick Thomson scored the tying run for the Pioneers on a bases loaded RBI fielder's choice hit by Luke Brown. Najar scored the go-ahead run on an error later in the inning for a 4-3 lead.
The Wildcats tied the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the seventh as an error allowed Lorenzo Mariani to score the tying run.
Neither team scored in the next two innings, so extra innings were needed.
After a scoreless 10th inning, the Pioneers broke through in the top of the 11th. Quinn Ayres led off the inning with a single. Then, William James entered as a pinch runner, as he advanced to third base after a single from Najar. With James at third base, Danelle Daniels hit a sacrifice fly RBI to allow James to score the go-ahead run.
Although Chico State threatened to tie the game with the tying run in scoring position and the winning run on first in the bottom of the 11th, a flyout ended the game as the Pioneers won 5-4 to take the series three games to one.
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NOTABLE STATS |
- Pitching three innings as a reliever, Caleb Schaeffer earned the win allowing no runs.
- Picking up his third save of the season was Hunter Timothy.
- Najar and Quinn Ayres each had three hits on Sunday, while Klinovsky and Daniels had two each.
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RECORDS |
Cal State East Bay: 11-11, 7-5 CCAA
No. 11 Chico State: 16-9, 9-7 CCAA
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UP NEXT FOR CAL STATE EAST BAY |
The Pioneers host a four-game CCAA series that starts on Friday March 21 at Pioneer Baseball Field against Cal State San Bernardino. First pitch of game for the series opener is set for 3 p.m.
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