Wednesday, Feb. 1 
vs. Academy of Art (0-0)
Mission Blue Field - San Francisco
3 p.m. & 5 p.m.
Live stats

GCU KICKOFF CLASSIC
Saturday, Feb. 4	Sunday, Feb. 5
vs. Grand Canyon (0-0) Stapleton Pierson Field - Phoenix 9 a.m. (PT) Live stats	vs. Western New Mexico Stapleton Pierson Field - Phoenix 11:30 a.m. (PT) Live stats
vs. Western New Mexico (0-0) Stapleton Pierson Field - Phoenix 2 p.m. (PT) Live stats	vs. Grand Canyon Stapleton Pierson Field - Phoenix 2 p.m. (PT) Live stats

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HAYWARD, Calif. – The Cal State East Bay softball team will open the 2012 campaign this week, as it takes on Academy of Art before traveling to Arizona for the Grand Canyon Kickoff Classic this weekend. The Pioneers and Urban Knights will open the regular season with a doubleheader on Wednesday at 3 p.m. in San Francisco. East Bay will then head to Phoenix to take on the host Antelopes and Western New Mexico on Saturday and Sunday.

Cal State East Bay is coming off a season that saw it go 24-27 overall and 14-22 in the CCAA to finish tied for eighth in the league. During the 2011 campaign, East Bay posted its first conference sweep, toppling defending regular season champion Cal State Monterey Bay in the second league series of the season. The Pioneers also picked up a win over No. 10 UC San Diego, which went on to capture the 2011 NCAA Division II national title. East Bay also led the conference in fielding percentage, cleanly fielding the ball 97.1 percent of the time in 2011, and finished second in the Consolation Bracket in its second appearance at the Mizuno Tournament of Champions in Turlock.

The 2012 squad features 14 returners, including eight regular starters from last year's team. Among the returners is senior catcher Taylor Neumann, who started every game in 2011 and is the Pioneers' top offensive returner after batting .311 with 26 runs and 28 runs batted last season. Joining Neumann is fellow senior Jamie Yaller, who also started every game for East Bay, batting .284 and tying with Neumann with a team-leading seven homeruns. Junior Emily Montanez ranked third among starters last year with a .307 batting average and was second on the squad with 28 RBI and ranked among the top 10 in the CCAA with 13 doubles on the year.

In the circle, the Pioneers return a pair of 10-game winners in sophomore Kelly Lowe and senior Talia Ferrari. Both Lowe and Ferrari went 10-9 last year, with Lowe posting a team-leading 2.95 ERA and 92 strikeouts, and holding opponents to a .206 batting average, which ranked third in the league. Ferrari tossed eight complete games and posted a 3.37 earned run average, while striking out 64 to help the Pioneers set a new team record for strikeouts in a season with 208.

East Bay will also welcome seven new faces to the roster this season, including a pair of junior transfers and five freshmen. Among the newcomers is Taryn Thomas, a junior middle infielder transferring from Holy Names, who collected all-league honors in both her freshman and sophomore seasons with the Hawks. The Pioneers also add Nicole Adair, an all-conference performer at Santa Barbara City College and freshman Andi Andersen, who will join the East Bay pitching staff out of West High School in Tracy.

Cal State East Bay Head Coach Barbara Pierce is entering her sixth season at the helm for the Pioneers and brings a coaching record of 80-129 into the 2012 campaign. Second year assistant coach Kate Gentile will again join Pierce in the dugout, along with new additions to the coaching staff, former Pioneer baseball player James McShane and softball alumnus Catherine Schorn.

McShane's four-year CSUEB playing career was capped by the team's first CCAA series sweep that included a game-winning grandslam during his final weekend as a Pioneer. McShane finished his career with 47 starts and 78 appearances, batting .272 with 33 runs and 32 RBI. A two-year player for Cal State East Bay, Schorn joins the coaching staff after posting nine wins in 49 appearances with the Pioneers, tossing 173.1 innings and striking out 78. Schorn also saw time in the outfield for East Bay as a senior in 2011, batting .400 and scoring four runs in 30 at-bats.

After finishing near .500 last year, the Pioneers will be looking to make an impact in the CCAA this season, relying on their mix of veterans and fresh faces, both on the field and on the coaching staff, to set the tone in the first season the team will be eligible to compete in both conference and NCAA postseason play since the return to Division II. The top four teams in the CCAA will move on to compete at the CCAA Tournament, while at least three conference teams have advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament in each of the last three seasons.

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Scouting Academy of Art
The Urban Knights are coming off a season that saw them go 29-20 overall and 17-11 in the PacWest Conference, finishing fifth in the league. Academy of Art returns outfielder Ashley Lokey, who redshirted during the 2011 campaign after leading the team and the conference with a .466 batting average, scoring 48 runs and stealing 19 bases in 2010. ART U also returns a pair of All-PacWest honorees from last season in Elyse Cordova and Jayme Stewart. Cordova led the Urban Knights with a .393 average and 18 stolen bases en route to an All-West Region Second Team selection, while Stewart hit .345 and knocked out eight homeruns in 2011. Last season, the Pioneers and Urban Knights split an early doubleheader in Hayward.

Looking at the 'Lopes
Tournament hosts Grand Canyon finished last season second in the PacWest in team batting average and slugging percentage, tying with Notre Dame de Namur for fifth in the league after going 22-25 overall and 14-14 in conference play in 2011. The 'Lopes are rebuilding after losing their two regular starting pitchers and two of their top hitters and RBI scorers. GCU returns their top hitter in Claire Zampini, who hit .414 and was the leading run scorer with 46. The Antelopes will open their season against the Pioneers on Saturday at 10 a.m. and will meet East Bay again on Sunday at 3 p.m. to close out the Kickoff Classic Tournament.

Watching Western New Mexico
Western New Mexico posted a 29-29 overall record and a 23-15 mark in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference a season ago and is picked to finish seventh in the league this season. The Mustangs return seniors Kaitlynn Barnes and Bri Robles, who both were named to the Preseason All-RMAC Team. Last year, Barnes led the team with a .425 batting average, 16 homeruns and 55 RBI, while her battery-mate Robles went 15-16 in the circle, posted a 3.52 ERA and tossed 21 complete games. The Mustangs are set to open the season on Saturday against Grand Canyon and will face the Pioneers twice this weekend, first on Saturday at 3 p.m., then on Sunday at 12:30 p.m.

What's Next
Following the season-opening six-game road swing, Cal State East Bay will return to Hayward to open the home and CCAA season next weekend. The Pioneers are set to meet San Francisco State in a pair of Battle of the Bay doubleheaders at Pioneer Softball Stadium for Homecoming Week on Feb. 10 and 11. East Bay then hits the road again for four games at Cal State Dominguez Hills on Feb. 17 and 18.