HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay baseball team begins spring quarter with perhaps its toughest opponent of the season, as the squad hits the road this weekend for the first time since Mar. 9. The Pioneers visit No. 5 Chico State, winners of 10 straight, for a four-game CCAA series starting on Friday, Apr. 4 with a 6 p.m. game under the lights at Nettleton Stadium.
WEEKLY RECAPEast Bay is coming off a tough home series against No. 29 UC San Diego this past weekend. With rain on Saturday, the team played a pair of doubleheaders. The Pioneers won the series opener, 5-4, in walk-off fashion thanks to a three-run ninth-inning rally. Daniel Carney tied the game with a two-run single, and
Tyler Buchanan won it with a base hit over the third baseman's head. However, the Pioneers suffered injuries to a few keys players during the game that would prove costly for the remainder of the series.
The Triton bats woke up in the second game, as they pulled away for a 10-3 victory. UCSD then came back and swept the Pioneers in the doubleheader on Sunday to take the series, three games to one. East Bay scored just two total runs in the two losses, while committing eight defensive errors.
PIONEER POINTSCSUEB is hitting .266 with a .342 on-base percentage and averaging 4.2 runs per game. The pitching staff ranks fifth in the CCAA with a 3.59 ERA and third with a .252 opponents batting average.
East Bay is second in the conference with 33 stolen bases as a team. Despite missing the last series due to an injury, freshman Marcus Wise still leads the CCAA with 15 swipes.
The Pioneers have five regulars batting over .300, led by junior Ryan Kochan (.329 avg, .404 obp) and Jason Fletcher (.326 avg). Senior
Brandon Alexander leads the squad with 21 RBI, nine extra base hits, and a .413 obp.
Nick Hudson (5-1, 3.21 ERA),
Sean Becker (3-3, 3.40 ERA),
Ben O'Bryan (2-3, 2.27 ERA) and
Michael Pope (1-3, 5.19 ERA) are the expected starting pitchers for East Bay. O'Bryan is holding opponents to a .158 average and ranks fourth in the league in strikeouts per game. Becker is fourth in the CCAA in innings (50.2), and Hudson is tied for third in victories.
WHERE DO WE STANDThe Pioneers are currently tied for sixth place in the
CCAA standings with Cal State Dominguez Hills at 9-11, midway through the conference schedule. They were ranked No. 8 in the West Region according to the most recent NCBWA poll, down two spots from last week's ranking.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATSChico State has won 10 straight games to take command of first place in the CCAA and move up to No. 5 in the nation. Their offense is batting .287 with a .372 obp, led by Ryne Clark (.343 avg, .397 obp, 8 SB), Ruben Padilla (.360 avg, .449 obp), Ryan McClennan (.324 avg, .402 obp), and Dylan Garcia (.405 avg, .444 obp).
The Wildcat pitching staff is among the best in the country. They lead the CCAA and rank third in the nation with a 1.99 ERA, and they lead all of Division II with nine shutouts. Chico has three of the league's top starters in Brad Lohse (6-0, 0.42 ERA), Nick Baker (5-1, 1.75 ERA), and Marcos Lara (6-1, 1.90 ERA), in addition to the conference's top closer in Luke Barker (0.84 ERA, 10 SV).
