The Cal State East Bay softball team started their season strong as they beat Dominican University in a two-game series over the weekend.

Last year, the team had a decent record with a 27-25 overall record and 19-19 in California Collegiate Athletic Association Conference (CCAA) play, which put them in seventh place of 11 teams; but they didn’t advance into the CCAA tournament.

They are off to a good start to say the least, as they swept Dominican on Feb. 3 at Pioneer Softball Field on the Hayward campus.

The first game was slow, more of a defensive battle from both squads.

Because of the strong effort defensively, the game went scoreless through six innings. Sophomore pitcher Abby Greer did an excellent job as she only allowed 6 hits on 98 pitches.

East Bay was able to get the lone run of the game during the bottom of the seventh inning when freshman outfielder Bailee Aguigui filed out to center field and junior infielder Kassie Kochan was able to score from second base.

Aguigui went 1-for-3 at the plate and so did junior infielder Rachel Tadlock and Bailee Glover. Freshman infielder Jocelyn Baldon went 2-for-2 in the 1-0 victory.

The next game was different. To open the first inning, Dominican got on the board first but East Bay managed to answer right back, they scored 6 runs in the inning, starting with a triple to the left side by junior outfielder Courtney Leyba, which plated Aguigui and sophomore infielder Jennifer Palmares.

Sophomore infielder Sarah Fukushima was also a big factor for the Pioneers as she singled through the right side, which gave East Bay another run. Shortly after scoring a run, she came up again in the second inning and doubled to left field, sending Leyba home and giving the Pioneers a 7-1 lead.

Dominican responded with the same energy the Pioneers had and they managed to retake the lead in the third inning after they scored 8 runs, which gave them the 9-7 lead. Both teams were on a roll although after the third inning, Dominican would not score again and the Pioneers took advantage of that.

In the bottom of the third, Aguigui showed tremendous effort as she reached on an error at first base, giving freshman utility Maddie Ramirez the opportunity to score. Palmares then doubled to left field and Aguigui was able to score.

East Bay won the game 10-9 and a sweep.

The team will play their first conference series against Cal State Monterey Bay, beginning Friday at Pioneer Field. The series will consist of four games, two on Friday and two on Saturday.