HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay baseball team is riding its hottest streak of the season as they welcome in Cal State L.A. for a four-game series, starting Friday, Apr. 25 at 3 p.m. The Pioneers have won eight of their last 10 games and are still clinging to a glimmer of hope for a postseason berth. The Golden Eagles, meanwhile, have lost 11 straight games entering the weekend. 

WEEKLY RECAP
East Bay had an impressive performance on the road last weekend, winning three out of four games against Cal State Dominguez Hills. They rallied for a 7-6 comeback win in the opener thanks to the clutch bat of junior Jason Fletcher, who tied the game with a three-run homer in the seventh, gave the Pioneers the lead in the ninth, and finished with a career-high five RBI.

The following day, East Bay swept the doubleheader behind a pair of strong pitching performances. In the first game, Sean Becker allowed two earned runs in a complete game, while the offense racked up 15 hits in an 11-4 victory. Ben O'Bryan went the distance in the nightcap, and Brandon Alexander broke a 2-2 tie in the sixth with an RBI double that proved to be the difference in a 4-2 win. Toro left-hander Brennan Bernardino shut down the Pioneers over eight innings in Sunday's finale as CSUDH blanked East Bay, 7-0, to salvage one game in the series.

PIONEER POINTS
Kelly Starnes was 7-for-18 (.389) against the Toros. In CCAA play this season, he ranks sixth in batting average (.353), fourth in on-base percentage (.433), fifth in slugging (.517), third in home runs (4), fourth in runs (25), and third in total bases (60).

Fletcher batted .400 (6-for-15) with 8 RBI over the weekend. Brandon Alexander (.328 avg, .411 obp) ranks fourth in the league in doubles (12) and eighth in RBI (30).  Daniel Carney, the team's leading hitter, is batting .345 in league play.

Sophomore catcher Chris Porter was 5-for-8 with three RBI in two starts against Dominguez Hills. He's now batting .349 in conference games this season. Marcus Wise is second in the CCAA in stolen bases (15).

Senior Nick Hudson is tied for second in the conference in wins (7) and has thrown the most innings in league play (60.2). He and fellow senior Ben O'Bryan are tied for the CCAA lead with four complete games each.

Senior Sean Becker enters the weekend ranked fourth in Pioneer history with a 2.58 career ERA. He's also just outside the top-10 all-time in career wins (13) and complete games (9). 

Senor shortstop Zac Chuvala is having a standout season defensively. He ranks second among CCAA shortstops with a .956 fielding percentage (nine errors in 205 chances). Chuvala is also second among all players in assists (131) and sixth in double plays (24).

WHERE DO WE STAND
This is the time of year when things start to get interesting. CSUEB is currently in fifth place in the CCAA at 17-15. They are five games behind 11th-ranked Cal Poly Pomona, which occupies the fourth and final spot in the CCAA tournament. The Broncos' magic number to clinch that playoff berth in one, meaning the Pioneers need to finish 8-0 and Chico State needs to sweep Cal Poly Pomona for the Pioneers to take over fourth place.

On Wednesday, the first official NCAA West Region rankings were released, and the Pioneers occupy the No. 7 position (which is the same as their ranking in this week's NCBWA West Region poll). East Bay currently trails Cal Baptist, Chico State, Cal Poly Pomona, UC San Diego, Dixie State, and Western Oregon. At the end of the season, the top six teams in the region earn berths in the NCAA Division II Regionals. 

SCOUTING CAL STATE L.A.
Last season, the Pioneers were swept in four games on the road by the Golden Eagles, who were the eventual CCAA tournament champions. This season, Cal State L.A. is hitting .270 with a .340 team on-base percentage, led by Cody Doyle (.322 avg, .413 obp, 31 RBI), Manny Acosta (.320 avg, 10 2B), Casey Ryan (.327 avg), and Kyle Peralta (.275 avg, 3 HR, 24 RBI). 

CSULA's pitching staff ranks last in the CCAA with a 5.81 team ERA. Their top starter is Brandon Quintero (4-5, 4.45 ERA), who leads the conference in strikeouts, but hasn't pitched the past two weeeknds. Other expected starting pitchers include Ryan Santhon (2-4, 5.11 ERA), Ryan Keller (1-5, 6.34 ERA), and Greg Humbert (1-2, 4.61 ERA).