The Pioneer baseball team opened the season with a split of a doubleheader at Pomona, falling 7-6 in game one (box score) and then earning a 7-5 victory in game two (box score) to the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens. Ryan Kostecka had five hits, including a home run. Jordan Shibata hit two HR's for the Pioneers.

The Pioneers dropped their season-opener 7-6. The Pioneers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third inning on back-to-back solo home runs by short stop Jordan Shibata (senior, Pearl City, Hawaii) and designated hitter Ryan Kostecka (freshman, Napa, Calif.).

The Pioneers put up another four runs in the fifth inning. With a runner on and two out, third baseman Sami Morgan (sophomore, San Mateo, Calif.), Kostecka, and center fielder Tucker Laurence (freshman, San Martin, Calif.) each singled to help score the four runs. The Sagehens scored four runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth. The seventh inning was the deciding factor in the game with Pomona sending nine men to the plate and scoring three runs to take a 7-6 lead, the eventual final score.

Daivd LaDoucer (freshman, The Dalles, Ore.) took the loss, working 2.0 innings, allowing two runs on three hits, walking four batters. Jordan Smiley (senior, Las Vegas, Nevada), the starting pitcher for the Pioneers, earned a no-decision, working 4.2 innings, allowing four hits, on five runs, walking three and striking out two.

Ryan Kostecka was  2-for-5 with a run driven in. Jordan Shibata was 2-4 with an RBI.

In the nightcap, the Pioneers earned their first victory of the season in a 7-5 win against Pomona. After trailing 4-2  after six innings, the Pioneers scored three runs in the seventh inning on RBI singles from catcher AJ Brown (junior, Vancouver, Wash.) and a two-RBI single from left fielder Sam Holman (freshman, Eugene, Ore.), to put the Pioneers up 6-4. A solo homerun by Jordan Shibata in the eighth gave the Pioneers an insurance run. The Sage Hens scored an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth, but the Pioneers Tucker Laurence held on for the victory.

Laurence, who pitched the final four innings of the game, earned his first collegiate victory, allowing one run (unearned) on no hits. He walked three and struck out two.

Ryan Kostecka went 3-for-5 with 2 RBI. Sam Holman was 2-for-4 with a pair driven in.

The Pioneers finish off their Southern California trip with a doubleheader of seven inning games Sunday afternoon against Occidental.