ARCATA, Calif. – Cal State East Bay returns to league play this weekend when it takes on nationally ranked No. 6 Humboldt State for a four-game series starting on Friday, March 14. The Pioneers will have faced the top three teams in the current CCAA standings all on the road following their series with the Jacks.

Standings: CCAA Softball

Cal State East Bay (8-14, 5-11 CCAA) enters the weekend coming off a pair of home wins over Holy Names on Tuesday. The Pioneers are 7-3 at home but have struggled on the road this season with only one win in 12 contests.

Pitchers Emily Perlich (2-8, 3.73 ERA) and Jordan Abel (4-0, 3.41 ERA) held the Hawks to only two earned runs (four total). Perlich has a 0.77 ERA with 11 strikeouts over her last three outings which includes a pair of starts against No. 16 ranked Cal State Monterey Bay.

Humboldt State (21-6, 11-5 CCAA) won the final three games of its four game set with San Francisco State this past weekend. The Jacks are in the midst of a 14-game homestand that wraps up on Monday, March 17, against No. 3 Cal Baptist.

The regular Jacks starters have combined to hit .333 at the plate including 40 homers and 149 RBI this season. Humboldt State ranks second in all of NCAA Division II in team home runs and fifth in home runs per game (1.48).

The last two season series' have been sweeps with the road team winning all four games. In 2012 the Pioneers scored 45 runs for their sweep in McKinleyville, but managed to plate just 10 last season at Pioneer Field as the Jacks won all four contests.

Humboldt State is looking forward to hosting its first games of the season at HSU Softball Field. The Jacks have played their previous two weekend series' at McKinleyville High School.

Saturday's contests will also be part of the StrikeOut Cancer initiative. Since it started over a decade ago, NFCA membership teams have raised tens of thousands of dollars to support the fight against cancer. In addition to fundraised dollars, this initiative has provided a platform to raise awareness for breast cancer as well as support for women's cancer research.

For more information on upcoming contests, visit the Cal State East Bay softball schedule page.

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