HAYWARD, Calif. - Cal State East Bay opened its final series of the 2025 season with a thrilling 6-5 victory over Cal Poly Pomona on Thursday afternoon at Pioneer Baseball Field. The Pioneers rallied twice in the late innings, capped by a two-run eighth that proved to be the difference in the CCAA matchup.

The game was a back-and-forth battle throughout. Cal Poly Pomona opened the scoring in the first with a solo homer from Julian Angulo. The Pioneers responded with two runs in the second, capitalizing on a pair of hits, a wild pitch, and a sacrifice groundout to take a 2-1 lead.

The Broncos struck for three in the fifth on a two-run homer by Tyler Chaffee and an RBI single from Angulo, but East Bay chipped away. Daniels singled home a run in the sixth, and the Pioneers tied it in the seventh when Dominick Najar singled, stole second, and scored on Camron Grant's fielder's choice.

Cal Poly Pomona briefly regained the lead in the eighth on a sacrifice fly by Brent Cota before East Bay's decisive rally in the bottom half.

Trailing 5-4 entering the bottom of the eighth, the Pioneers took advantage of two Bronco errors to seize the lead. Danelle Daniels reached on a throwing error and moved to third after a failed pickoff attempt. With one out, Jaylen Hodges singled to right to move Daniels to third, and Carson Cripe followed with a game-tying RBI single up the middle, while Hodges reached third. Nick Thomson then lifted a sacrifice fly to left field to plate Hodges with the eventual winning run.

Caleb Schaeffer shut the door in the ninth to earn his fourth save of the season. The right-hander worked around a walk and a single by striking out the final two batters to seal the win.

• Dominick Najar went 2-for-5 with two stolen bases, raising his season total to 22 — second-most in the CCAA.
• Jaylen Hodges continued his hot streak with two more hits, extending his multi-hit game streak to five and overall hitting streak to six.
• Danelle Daniels was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI, also adding a stolen base.
• Carson Cripe reached base twice and drove in a key run in the eighth.
• Dwyer Lewis earned the win in relief, allowing one run over three innings of work.
• Schaeffer notched his fourth save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning.

Cal State East Bay: 18-29, 14-23 CCAA
Cal Poly Pomona: 14-32, 11-26 CCAA

The Pioneers and Broncos continue their four-game series on Friday with a CCAA doubleheader at Pioneer Baseball Field. First pitch for Game 1 is scheduled for noon, with Game 2 to follow at approximately 3 p.m.