HAYWARD, Calif. -- After going 3-1 in non-conference play this past week, the Cal State East Bay baseball team returns to CCAA action with four games against Cal State Stanislaus this weekend. The Pioneers will visit Turlock for the opener at 2 p.m. on Friday and again for the series finale at 11 a.m. on Sunday. East Bay will host a doubleheader at Pioneer Field, starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday, as the team looks to improve on its 7-3 home record.

Saturday's home games will have a live audio broadcast at pioneerwebtv.com.

WEEKLY RECAP
The Pioneers hosted Hawaii Pacific for what was scheduled to be a four-game series, but Friday's contest was rained out. The home team notched a 6-4 win in Thursday's opener behind eight strong innings from senior pitcher Nick Hudson and three RBI by Brandon Alexander. 

After somewhat miraculously getting the field into playing shape, East Bay and HPU closed out their series with a doubleheader on Saturday. The Sea Warriors won the first game 6-1 in extra innings despite an impressive outing by Sean Becker. The Pioneer bats only managed one run in the seond game, as well, but it was enough to win the series rubber match. Ben O'Bryan tossed a three-hit shutout, striking out nine, and Eren Miravalles drove in the only run of a 1-0 Pioneer victory.

On Tuesday, East Bay played a makeup game against Menlo College, and their bats finally broke out, setting season highs with nine runs and 15 hits. 10 pitchers combined to allowed one earned run on four hits with 10 strikeouts in a solid staff performance. Daniel Carney and Ryan Kochan each posted three hits in the 9-4 win.

PIONEER POINTS
East Bay is batting .268 as a team with a .341 on-base percentage this season. The pitching staff ranks fourth in the CCAA with a 3.11 ERA and second with a .237 opponents batting average. The Pioneers are second in the conference in stolen bases (24) and have been caught just four times.

Kochan has been red-hot for the Pioneers since playing his way into the starting lineup. The junior ranks third in the CCAA in batting average (.438) and second in on-base percentage (.500). The San Ramon native has notched multiple hits in four of the past six games. 

Freshman Marcus Wise leads the conference with 10 stolen bags. Senior Brandon Alexander is currently second in walks (12), third in doubles (6), and sixth in RBI (12), while leading the team in all four categories.

O'Bryan ranks third in the CCAA with 25 strikeouts in 22.1 innings. The right-hander has an ERA of 1.61 and has allowed just nine hits this season, good for a miniscule .125 opponents average.

The Pioneers also have two of the most accurate hurlers in the league. Becker (2-1, 2.67 ERA) has issued just two walks in 30.1 innings, while Hudson has given up just three free passes in 26.0 innings.

WHERE DO WE STAND
East Bay is still in eighth place in the CCAA after the team's 3-5 conference record remained unchanged this week. They were ranked No. 6 in the West Region in the lastest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll, which is up two spots from last week's ranking. 

SCOUTING STANISLAUS
The Warriors have lost six in a row after starting the season 5-3. They're hitting .291 as a team with a .351 on-base percentage, and they're averaging 4.1 runs per game. Catcher Marcus Mastrobuoni (.439 avg, .500 obp, 10 RBI) and infielders Colton Beatty (.418 avg, .459 obp, 9 R) and Skippy Ferreria (.315 avg, 8 R, 7 BB) are the top hitters for Stanislaus. Their pitching staff has a 4.57 ERA and a 75-to-52 strikeout-walk ratio, led by Jeremy McDonald (2-1, 3.00 ERA, 24.0 IP, 26 K), Nick Ippolito (0-2, 5.37 ERA, 22.0 IP) and Ryan McDaniel (1-0, 1 SV, 3.86 ERA, 16.1 IP).