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HAYWARD, Calif. (Feb. 5) -- Senior Tyler Roberts (Kennewick/Southridge HS) struck out 10 and allowed just two earned runs in his Central Washington University debut, but the Wildcat baseball team was unable to overcome an early 3-0 deficit in falling to California State University East Bay, 6-0, on Tuesday afternoon at Pioneer Field.

The Wildcats fell to 0-3 on the season, while CSUEB improved to 3-0. The two teams will complete their four-game series on Wednesday.

Roberts, a transfer from Campbellsville University, did his part keeping CWU in the contest. He allowed three runs in the first inning -- only one of which was earned -- after a pair of Wildcat errors. The right-hander struck out at least one batter in all six innings that he started, including a pair of strikeouts in the first, third, fourth, and fifth frames. He also picked off a pair of would-be base stealers.

Offensively, CWU had early struggles against the Pioneers' Matt Fontaine. The Wildcats did not get their first hit until a third-inning single by freshman Kramer Ferrell (Ellensburg), but he was subsequently retired on a double play. Similarly in the fifth, sophomore Kasey Bielec (Port Orchard/North Mason HS) singled but was also put out on an inning-ending double play. The Wildcats did collect back-to-back hits to start the top of the seventh but were unable to score, and they failed to score despite three hits in the eighth.

Cal State East Bay added some insurance runs in the sixth and eighth innings, scoring once against Roberts in the sixth and twice against junior reliever Stinson Ott (Richland) in the eighth. Sophomore Max Dickinson (Hoquiam), junior Jeff Gonzales (Bellevue/Newport HS), and junior Willie Davies (Shoreline/Shorecrest HS) all pitched scoreless relief, with Gonzales striking out three of the four hitters he replaced in his CWU debut.

Junior Ethan Sterkel (Ellensburg) had a pair of infield singles to give CWU its first multi-hit game of the series, while five others had one hit each.

Cal State East Bay finished with nine hits, led by a 2 for 3 outing from Eren Miravalles. Seven of the Pioneers' starters had at least one hit.

Wednesday's series finale is slated to start at 2 p.m. CWU will then travel further south to California State University Monterey Bay for a four-game series starting on Thursday (Feb. 7).