SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - The California State University San Bernardino baseball team split a CCAA doubleheader against Cal State East Bay Saturday afternoon at Fiscalini Field.
Cal State San Bernardino fell 9-7 in game one, before prevailing 14-9 in game two.
With the split, the Coyotes move to 18-21 overall on the season, and 11-18 in the CCAA.
Game 1 - Cal State East Bay 9, Cal State San Bernardino 7
East Bay scored in each of the first three innings to take a 6-0 lead, but CSUSB cut the lead in half with a three-run bottom of the third. Senior Jake Borst (Imperial Beach, Calif.) began the rally with a two-run double to right center to make it 6-2. Junior Jacob Mejia (Palm Desert, Calif.) followed it up with a RBI sacrifice fly to left to pull the Yotes to within three at 6-3.
The Pioneers posted three more in the top of the sixth to retake a six-run lead at 9-3.
CSUSB made a furious comeback bid in the bottom of the ninth, but fell just two runs short. Junior Wyatt Hall (Port Angeles, Wash.) and senior Giovanni Del Negro (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) each crossed home plate on balks in the inning, with sophomore Jeremy Giesegh (Upland, Calif.) scoring on an East Bay throwing error.
Junior Adrian Hinojosa (Chula Vista, Calif.) had the only RBI of the inning when he notched an infield single to draw the Yotes to within two with two outs, but the hosts would leave the bases loaded.
Junior Chris Shaffer (Reno, Nev.) took the loss on the bump for CSUSB. In two innings pitched, he allowed five earned on five hits with one strikeout.
Offensively, eight different players recorded hits for the Coyotes, led by Mejia, who finished the contest going 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk.
Game 2 - Cal State San Bernardino 14, Cal State East Bay 9
The Coyotes took early control of the contest with a five-run bottom of the first inning.Senior Daniel Garcia Jr. (San Bernardino, Calif.) opened the scoring with a RBI single, followed by RBI doubles by Mejia and Vanneste (Warman, Saskatchewan), and a Hinojosa RBI single.
The Pioneers got one run back in the top of the second on a solo homer, but the Yotes answered with a Mejia grand slam in the bottom of the second, breaking the game open to the tune of 9-1 after two innings.
A Riley Parker (Snohomish, Wash.) RBI groundout stretched CSUSB's lead to 10-1 in the bottom of the third. In the fourth, Vanneste recorded an RBI on a single to second base, followed by a three-run homer from Parker that pushed the score to 14-1.
Cal State East Bay scored four times in both the fifth and sixth innings, but could not erase the deficit any further, falling 14-9.
Vanneste led CSUSB with three hits in the win to go along with three RBIs and two runs scored. Mejia went 2-for-4 with five RBIs and two runs scored in the win.
On the hill, the win went to freshman Ivan Rodriguez (San Bernardino, Calif.), who allowed five earned on seven hits with five strikeouts over five innings pitched.
The Coyotes and Pioneers will play the final game of their four-game set tomorrow at Fiscalini Field. First pitch is slated for 11 a.m.
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