HAYWARD, Calif. — After pulling off their first CCAA series sweep in three years, the Pioneer baseball team is off to its best start since East Bay rejoined Division II. Now tied for third place in the conference, they get set for perhaps their most difficult and important test of 2013 in the Chico State Wildcats, currently ranked No. 1 in the West Region and No. 4 in the nation by the NCBWA. The series will begin Friday at 3 p.m., continue Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m., and conclude Sunday with the finale at 11 a.m. at Pioneer Field.

WEEKEND RECAP
The four-game homestand against Cal State San Bernardino was one of those series where nearly everything went right for the Pioneers. Atypical of a Friday, both starting pitchers struggled in the opener. Ben O'Bryan walked five but allowed just one run in the first three innings, allowing East Bay to take a 4-1 lead. They would go on to win 5-3 behind Matt Fontaine (2-1), who came out of the bullpen and shut the door, yielding one earned run in the final six frames to earn the victory. Fellow senior David Castillo drove in a pair of runs with an RBI double in the second and a successful squeeze to tack on an insurance run in the eighth.

The Pioneers came back the next day and swept the doubleheader, winning a blowout and a nail-biter. In the early game, Sean Becker (4-1) stole the show for the third straight week. The junior tossed a complete game three-hitter in the 10-1 victory, throwing 78 percent of his pitches for strikes. East Bay racked up 13 hits, including two each from seniors Castillo, Kyle Zozaya, Bryson Nakamura, and Kenny Uyetake.

Michael Pope (5-0) threw six innings to pick up the win in the second game of the doubleheader, a seven-inning affair that was the tightest game of the weekend. Catcher Chris Porter drilled a two-run double into left-center, and Andrew Rodriguez chopped an RBI single up the middle to give the Pioneers a 3-2 lead in the second. After the Coyotes tied it, Uyetake laced a big two-run single to put East Bay on top for good. Charlie Sharrer pitched the seventh to pick up his team-leading fourth save.

On Sunday, the Pioneers refused to be satisfied with just winning the series. They scored five runs in the first inning and never looked back on their way to an 11-6 win and a four-game sweep. Nick Hudson (1-0) threw seven strong innings and allowed three earned runs to earn his first win of the season, while nine different Pioneer batters got hits.

NCBWA WEST REGION POLL
Cal State East Bay has reached its highest ranking in the West Region poll since joining the CCAA, occupying the No. 6 spot for the week of Mar. 11. The voters were impressed with the 4-0 weekend, as the Pioneers received 25 votes points, more than twice as many as last week, when the team was ranked ninth with 12 points.

Rank	School (1st place votes)	Record	Vote Points	Last Week's Rank
1.	Chico State (3)	13-3	46 pts	1st
2.	Cal State LA (1)	15-8	40 pts	5th
3.	Sonoma State	13-5	38 pts	4th
4.	Dixie State	11-3-1	34 pts	2nd
5.	Cal State Monterey Bay	15-8	31 pts	3rd
6.	Cal State East Bay	17-6	25 pts	9th
7.	Hawaii Pacific	14-4	18 pts	8th
8.	Grand Canyon	12-5	25 pts	10th
9.	Cal Poly Pomona	14-9	11 pts	6th
10	Cal Baptist	11-7	9 pts	NR

Also receiving votes: UC San Diego (12-11), 5 pts; Western Oregon (11-8), 2 pts; Fresno Pacific (11-6), 1 pt.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Bryson Nakamura (OF, Sr.) — Zozaya, Castillo, and Uyetake all had impressive weekends at the plate, but no Pioneer has been as hot as Nakamura the past two weeks. Moving to the leadoff spot, he batted .600 and was on base eight times in 12 plate appearance in the four games, leading the team with six hits and six runs. He's tops on the Pioneers with a .500 batting average for the season (14-for-28).

PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Sean Becker (RHP, Jr.) — Although the entire staff is pitching well, once again there is no other choice but Becker, the right-hander in the midst of a remarkable run of dominance. He allowed no earned runs in nine innings on Saturday, which earned him both CCAA and West Region Pitcher of the Week honors for the second time in three weeks. He rattled off a streak of 20 innings without walking a batter and has a current streak of 26 straight innings without allowing an earned run.

A SUPERB STAFF
Becker ranks third in the CCAA in innings (41.0) and seventh in ERA (1.32), but he's not the only Pioneer hurler having an impressive season. Fontaine is sixth in ERA (1.24). Pope is second in wins (5) and sixth in strikeouts (31). The team is 5-1 when O'Bryan goes up against opposing aces on Fridays. Each of these pitchers, in addition to Hudson, has been effective in virtually every outing, which has been the single biggest factor in the Pioneers' success. Sharrer (2 ER in 12.0 IP), senior Zachary Wong (2 ER in 8.0 IP), junior Chris Schmalz (0 ER in 4.2 IP) and left-hander Bryce Vidmar (0 ER in 3.1 IP) have provided outstanding relief out of the bullpen.

Few would have predicted it before the season, but East Bay has been the best pitching staff in the vaunted CCAA this season. They currently lead the conference in team ERA (2.13) and opponents' batting average (.205).

SENIOR SLUGGERS
Offensively, the veteran seniors have carried much of the load this season, particularly this past weekend. Nakamura posted the shiniest stat line of the series, but Zozaya wasn't far behind. The third baseman hit .429, matching Nakamura for the team lead in runs and total bases. The two of them, plus Castillo (team-high six RBI) and Uyetake (five RBI), combined to reach base 30 times in 54 plate appearances in the four games (.556 obp). Uyetake has also provided huge value on defense, going errorless in 76 chances at first base and digging several balls out of the dirt.

AT HOME IN HAYWARD
The Pioneers had their 2013 schedule front-loaded with home games, and they have taken advantage, thus far compiling a 15-2 record at Pioneer Field. Not even halfway through this year's schedule, the team has already obliterating its home win totals from each of the past two seasons.

SCOUTING CHICO STATE
The Wildcats finished tied for first place in the CCAA last season and won the West Region tournament, advancing all the way to nationals. Chico opened this season on a nine-game winning streak, but they split a four-game series with Cal State Monterey Bay last week. The Wildcats are a solid team all-around, ranking third in the CCAA in team batting average (.298), first in on-base percentage (.413), third in ERA (3.27), third in opponents batting avg (.221), and first in strikeouts per game (9.2). They're also fourth in total runs scored and second in home runs, despite having played the fewest games of any team.

A trio of seniors leads the Wildcats offensively, although they have quality hitters throughout the lineup. Outfielder Austin Prott leads the team with a .386 batting avg, .481 obp, and six doubles. Outfielder Blake Gibbs paces the squad with five home runs and 15 RBI. Catcher Ben Manlove is batting .357 with a team-best seven extra base hits. On the hill, Chico State has arguably the best pitcher in the conference in junior Nick Baker, who's 3-0 in four starts. The right-hander has 29 strikeouts and three walks this year and leads the CCAA with a 0.35 ERA, allowing one earned run in 26 innings. The Pioneers have dropped five in a row to the Wildcats after they were swept in four games on the road in 2012.