The Cal State East Bay baseball team won in walk-off fashion, 9-8, Sunday against Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros, to take the series to three games out of four, continuing their hunt for the playoffs.

Junior pitcher Nick Hudson started the game off for the Pioneers but was run out of the game after only lasting four innings. Hudson surrendered nine hits, walked four and gave up five runs, three of which were earned.

It was a back and forth battle, which saw the Pioneers pass up several leads, each team answered when the other seemed to pull ahead.

After a tumultuous game, where a total of eight errors were committed between the two teams, the Pioneers found they tied 8-8 with a chance to win in the bottom of the ninth.

Junior infielder Eren Miravalles found himself in a prime situation to be the hero for his team when he came up to bat with the bases loaded and one out. Miravalles quickly fell behind 0-2 but seemed to keep his composure as pressure was building.

The bench, silent throughout the game, noticed the situation and livened up and cheered on Miravalles.

“I got two strikes and just tried to battle and put something in play,” said Miravalles. “I just hit something hard and just got a ball I could handle.”

The entire team exploded out of the dugout, running to celebrate with their teammate, a moment the team seemed to relish.

Miravalles claims bench support  played a factor in the win.

“The bench, their energy gives us a lot more energy on the field and at bat and they really helped out,” said Miravalles.

Junior infielder Zac Chuvala has a unique description as to what the walk-off looked and felt like.

“Just big energy swing whenever you can walk-off,” said Chuvala. “You saw the burst of everyone just coming out like their hair is on fire.”

While pitching from both teams was not particularly great, giving up 15 runs between the two teams, Pioneer pitcher Matt Fontaine earned his second win of the season.  On the previous Friday, Fontaine pitched a complete game, a feat not often seen.

The Pioneers are now two games behind Sonoma State for the fourth and final spot for playoffs. With only two series remaining in the season, the Pioneers need to continue winning to keep their playoff hopes alive.

“Our goal this last three series was to win three out of four,” said Head Coach Ralston. “We’ve won our first one 3-4. We have two to go, we are in it to win it with two series to go.”

A trip to the playoffs would be a huge victory for the Pioneers, a team that at the beginning of the season was voted to finish last in the CCAA by the CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll, a vote of conference coaches conducted before every season.

With Sonoma State having to face the No. 3 team in the nation,  Chico State, for four games, the Pioneers have a chance to make up the two games and steal the playoff spot from Sonoma.

Yet, the Pioneers are just continuing to focus on their own goals for the next and final two series of the season.

“We just have to win every series,” said Chuvala. “We can’t really split any of these series or else it’s going to be really hard for us to get in. So win every series, take at least three and hopefully four.”

The Pioneers’ next opponent is San Francisco State. They will play the first game Friday, April 26, before heading to San Francisco for a doubleheader, Saturday, before finishing up the series Sunday back at home.

They will head down south the following weekend to face Cal Poly Pomona for a four game series to finish up the regular season.

While there are a lot of things that have to go the Pioneers’ way before they can make the playoffs, Miravalles and the Pioneers are remaining focused on the only thing they can control.

“Just win,” said Miravalles. “Just got to ride the momentum and just keep it rolling.”