TURLOCK — One night after a great offensive performance, the Cal State Stanislaus bats went quiet on Saturday as Cal State East Bay took a pair of two-run games to win the season opening CCAA series.
Twice the Pioneers scored three runs in the fourth inning in the doubleheader to win both ends of the twinbill to take the four-game set with three wins after Saturday's 5-3 and 3-1 scores. Cal State East Bay moved its record to 8-2 overall and 3-1 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association while Stanislaus dropped to 3-5, 1-3 CCAA.
Friday night, Stanislaus smacked the Pioneers around with 25 hits and batted .424 in two games, but Saturday the Warriors managed just 11 total hits.
Nicolette Vizcaino and
Cassidy Duke each had a pair of hits in game one and
Holly Mooring drove in two runs with a single in the third but that was all of the offense they would muster.
Kailene Begonia singled in the only Warrior run in game two.
Aside from the top three batters in the order, which went 5-for-9 in game one, the rest of the lineup went 0-for-13. Duke and Mooring also accounted for two of the six hits in the second game as Duke continued to swing the hot bat. The sophomore outfielder went 8-for-11 with three doubles and drove in four runs in the series. She's now batting .533 for the season with a .733 slugging percentage.
The Warriors took a 3-1 lead in the home half of the third, but gave up three runs in the fourth as CSUEB won game one. The Pioneers again scored three runs in the fourth inning of the second half — on a three-run shot by Rose Marston — to go-up 3-1, which ended up to be the final score.
Cal State East Bay belted three more home runs on the day with Ali Cerminara and Janie MacDonald going yard in game one. The Pioneers hit two homers on Friday.
On the base paths, the Warriors were 2-for-4 in stolen base attempts after going 17-for-17 in the four previous games.
Natalie Rendon, who gave up a run on a hit in the seventh inning of game one, pitched 3 1/3 innings of shutout ball with just two hits in the series finale. Last night, she threw 5 2/3 shutout innings.
Game one starter
Jessica Varady recorded five strikeouts in her outing but was tagged with the loss.
Karina Callazo suffered the loss in the second game.
Cal State Stanislaus returns to the field in just a couple of days with a pair of non-conference games Tuesday night against Hawaii Hilo. First pitch is at 4 p.m.
