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SAN MARCOS, Calif. - For the second straight game, Marissa Quintero delivered a gem in the circle, and the Pioneers put together a couple of timely hits to advance to the next round of the 2024 CCAA Softball Tournament with a 2-0 win over Sonoma State. (May 2)
 
This was a good, old-fashioned softball game. Two quality pitchers pitched great games, and just one mistake could have been the difference between victory and defeat.
 
The game was tied at 0-0 into the fifth inning as Quintero was throwing a no-hitter, and Sonoma State's Bailee Reed had surrendered only one hit. Reed gave up a double to the second batter of the game and then set down 13 straight Pioneers before Kyana Elder came to the plate with two out in the fifth. Elder worked the count full before getting a pitch she liked and driving it the opposite way over the right-center field wall to put the Pioneers in front 1-0.
 
Sonoma State would break up Quintero's no-hitter with one out in the fifth, but she was unfazed and got through the fifth and sixth innings without any damage. Jeslyn Cuellar gave CSUEB some breathing room with a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth, extending the lead to 2-0.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, Sonoma brought the tying run to the plate with one out, but Quintero induced a popout before finishing the game with a strikeout.
 
The CCAA Freshman of the Year Quintero (17-9) finished with a complete game, allowing two hits and no runs. She walked three and struck out four.
 
Her counterpart, Reed, also pitched a complete game. She gave up four hits and two runs over seven innings of work, did not walk a batter, and struck out four.
 
Sonoma State will now face the loser of Cal State San Marcos and Cal State Dominguez Hills later tonight (approx. 3:30 p.m.) in an elimination game. Cal State East Bay will advance in the winner's bracket and will face the winner of CSUSM/CSUDH on Friday, at Noon.