The CSU East Bay baseball team is making a final surge late in the season coming off a series victory over the weekend.

The Pioneers traveled to CSU Dominguez Hills for a four-game series that began on April 5 and continued through April 7 with the Pioneers dropping the first game by a final score of 6-11.

The next day had a better outcome for the Pioneers however as they swept the day’s doubleheader taking the first game by a score of 8-3, and holding on by a narrow margin in the second game, 8-7.

The final game of the series saw the Pioneers overcome a 4-0 deficit to come back to win by a score 12-7 led by junior Jordan Wilder, who went 4-for-6 on the day with three runs scored and two RBIs to lead CSUEB past Dominguez Hills, claiming the series win.

Wilder, along with junior David Castillo, had a big offensive series with Wilder going 6-for-12 in the series with four runs scored and six runs driven in and Castillo also hitting .500 in the series, driving in five runs and scoring three runs of his own.

“Two of the three wins were come back victories,” said Head Coach Bob Ralston, who is in the midst of his first season at the helm for the Pioneers. “The kids played hard and never gave up and they found a way to win and that’s a good sign moving forward. We had good offensive contributions by [Castillo and Wilder] and they really came through for us.”

The series win over CSU Dominguez Hills marks the first California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) conference win for the Pioneers this season, improving their record to 8-16 in the conference and 14-20 overall.

“I feel the kids have competed well all season long,” said Ralston. “We have had numerous close games; for a good 90 percent of the games we’ve been in the game. We couldn’t ask for a better effort from our players.

“Our starting pitching has been outstanding all season long keeping us close in games and offensively I think we’re getting better. It’s been a very encouraging season I feel and overall I am happy with the way the team has played up to this point,” continued Ralston.

Ralston believes the strength of the team this season has come from the starting pitching rotation consisting of A.J. Gallardo, who is 5-0 on the season with a team leading 1.65 Earned Run Average (ERA); Ben O’Bryan, who is 2-2 on the season with a 1.95 ERA good for second on the team; Bryce Miller and Brandyn Bell.

“All four starting pitchers have really set the tempo for our club,” said Ralston. “We’ve been in every baseball game because of their persistency. I feel that those four guys have been our leaders. With their efforts and our offensive production improving, we’re looking forward to finishing on a good note.”

The Pioneers have a few big conference series yet to play in the season as they prepare to travel back to Southern California this weekend to face CSU San Bernardino in a four-game set to begin on April 13 and continuing through April 15.

On April 16 the Pioneers will make a visit to CSU Los Angeles for a doubleheader, to makeup games that were cancelled due to rain earlier in the season.