HAYWARD, Calif.-- Stan State lost 5-0 to the hosts, Cal State East Bay Pioneers, this afternoon in game one of this weekend's four-game series in Hayward, Calif. The Warriors lost despite a strong performance from senior starting pitcher,
Tony Jacob, who pitched six innings, giving up five hits and three runs (two earned), struck out three and walked two.
Stan State (24-22, 17-19 CCAA) had a chance for the early lead in the top of the first inning. With two outs,
Alex Solis drew a six-pitch walk. He went to third on a double by
Flavio Perez, but the Pioneers' starting pitcher Gabe Tanner struck out the next Warrior batter to keep the visitors off the scoreboard.
The Pioneers took the 1-0 lead in their half of the first inning. Luke Brown and Luke Novitske had back-to-back one-out singles. Mathew O'Mahony walked to load the bases. With one and the bases loaded, Brown scored on a ground out by Manny Garcia to give the hosts the 1-0 lead.
Cal State East Bay (26-21, 20-17 CCAA) doubled its lead in the third inning. Brown had a one-out single went to third on a double by Novitske and scored on a fielding error by the Warriors as the hosts took a 2-0 lead.
Stan State had a double chance to cut into the Pioneer lead in the fifth. With one out,
Robert Valdivia singled and went to second when Solis was hit by a pitch. Tanner induced the next Stan State batter to pop out to second to end the Warrior scoring threat.
The Warriors had another chance to cut into the Pioneer 2-0 lead or to take the lead was their half of the seventh.
Kyle Rachels had a lead-off single, went to third when Valdivia reached on an error by CSUEB on a sacrifice bunt. Each runner advanced on a ground out by Solis. With one out, Perez reached on a fielder's choice which Rachels was thrown out at home on. Tanner induced the next last Warrior batter of the inning to fly out to right to preserve the CSUEB 2-0 lead.
The hosts added an insurance run in their half of the seventh to take a 3-0 lead. They increased their lead to 5-0 on a two-out home run by O'Mahony in the Pioneer eighth inning.
It looked like the Warriors were going to break into the run column in their last at bat. Rachels drew a one-out walk. He went to second when Solis walked with two outs. Still with two outs, Perez drew a bases loaded walk. Pioneer reliever, James Colyer, struck out the last Stan State batter to preserve the 5-0 Pioneer victory.
WARRIOR HITTERS: Stan State had six hits on the day.
Kyle Rachels,
Robert Valdivia,
Flavio Perez,
Mac Cabero,
Jacob Baker, and
Alexander Cummings each had a hit with Perez's hit being a double. Valdivia, Perez, and Baker each stole a base for the Warriors.
STAN STATE PITCHERS: Tony Jacob (3-4) suffered the loss in the start for the Warriors. Jacob gave up five hits and three runs (two earned) while striking out three and walking two in six innings of work.
Caleb Bertoncini pitched the seventh for Stan State.
Patrick Sweeney pitched a scoreless eighth.
STILL ALIVE FOR POST-SEASON: Even though, Stan State lost this afternoon the Warriors are still alive for the 2023 CCAA Baseball Championships Tournament. They sit in the sixth and final spot for the six-team CCAA Baseball Championship, May 10-13, in Seaside, Calif. Stan State is .042 percentage points out of fourth place (San Francisco State) and out of fifth place (Cal Poly Pomona). The Warriors are just .028 percentage points ahead of Cal State Dominguez Hills (seventh place) and .048 points ahead of Sonoma State (eighth place).
UP NEXT: Stan State will continue its four-game series with the Pioneers tomorrow at noon for a doubleheader in Hayward. The two teams will close out their regular seasons on Saturday, May 6 with a nine-inning game beginning at noon.
UPDATED CCAA STANDINGS: as of May 4
| PLACE |
TEAM |
CCAA RECORD |
CCAA PERCENTAGE POINTS |
OPPONENT 5/4 to 5/6 |
| 1. |
&, ^ Cal State Monterey Bay |
28-9 |
.778 |
Hosting Cal State San Marcos |
| 2. |
&, ^ Cal State San Bernardino |
24-12 |
.667 |
Hosting Cal State Dominguez Hills |
| 3. |
Cal State East Bay |
20-17 |
.541 |
Hosting Stan State |
| 4. |
San Francisco State |
19-18 |
.514 |
At Sonoma State |
| 5. |
& Cal Poly Pomona |
18-17 |
.514 |
Off |
| 6. |
Stan State |
17-19 |
.472 |
At Cal State East Bay |
| 7. |
Cal State Dominguez Hills |
16-20 |
.444 |
At Cal State San Bernardino |
| 8. |
Sonoma State |
14-19 |
.424 |
Hosting San Francisco State |
| 9. |
Cal State San Marcos |
13-19 |
.406 |
At Cal State Monterey Bay |
| 10. |
Chico State |
12-20 |
.375 |
Hosting Cal State Los Angeles |
| 11. |
Cal State Los Angeles |
13-24 |
.351 |
At Chico State |
&= Clinched a spot in the CCAA Tournament; ^= Clinched a first-round bye
THURSDAY'S SCORES
At Cal State East Bay 5, Stan State 0
At Sonoma State 7, San Francisco State 1
Cal State San Marcos 6, at Cal State Monterey Bay 4
Cal State Los Angeles 6, at Chico State 3
FRIDAY'S GAMES
Stan State at Cal State East Bay (DH-12/3pm)
San Francisco State at Sonoma State (DH-11am/2pm)
Cal State Los Angeles at Chico State (DH-12/3pm)
Cal State San Marcos at Cal State Monterey Bay (DH-12/3pm)
Cal State Dominguez Hills at Cal State San Bernardino (DH-12/3pm)
SATURDAY'S GAMES
Stan State at Cal State East Bay (12pm)
San Francisco State at Sonoma State (11am)
Cal State Los Angeles at Chico State (11am)
Cal State San Marcos at Cal State Monterey Bay (11am)
Cal State Dominguez Hills at Cal State San Bernardino (DH-12/3pm)
