HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay baseball team continues its California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) schedule this weekend with a four-game series against Cal State Monterey Bay. The Pioneers will host the opener on Friday, Apr. 11 at 3 p.m. and the finale on Sunday, Apr. 13 at noon. The Otters will play host to Saturday's doubleheader, which also begins at noon.
East Bay will be looking for some payback against CSUMB, which won three out of four games in last year's series en route to a first-place finish in the CCAA.
WEEKLY RECAPThe Pioneers snapped a five-game losing streak by winning back-to-back games against No. 5 Chico State last weekend. The East Bay bats were quiet as Chico won the series opener, 8-1, and the first game of last Saturday's doubleheader, 5-1. The Pioneers bounced back, however, winning the nightcap 3-1 behind a complete game from
Ben O'Bryan.
On Sunday, they earned a series split with the Wildcats thanks to a nail-biting 8-7 win, which was one of East Bay's best all-around games of the season.
Michael Pope held Chico scoreless on two hits through the first six innings while the offense jumped out to a 7-0 lead. The Pioneers' eight runs and 15 hits were the most Chico had allowed at home all year, and
Taylor Kruger escaped a furious ninth-inning rally to get the save.
PIONEER POINTSThe Pioneers are battng .263 with a .333 on-base percentage, and they're second in the league with 36 stolen bases. The pitching staff is fifth in the CCAA with a 3.70 ERA and fourth with a .257 opponents batting average.
Kelly Starnes has been red-hot for the Pioneers over the last month. The junior blasted solo home runs to lead off the first and third games of the Chico series, and he now leads the team in runs, hits, walks, and total bases. Starnes is tied for second in the CCAA with four homers, and he's hitting .325 with a .437 on-base percentage in conference play.
Marcus Wise still leads the conference with 15 stolen bases this season despite missing the last eight games with an injury.
Junior first baseman Daniel Carney now leads the Pioneers with a .318 batting average and has recorded at least one hit in 11 of the past 12 games. Carney is the third-toughest hitter in league to strike out (once every 21.3 plate appearances).
Starting pitchers
Sean Becker (58.0 IP) and
Nick Hudson (55.2 IP) rank fourth and sixth in the conference in innings pitched, respectively, and the pair is among the league's best in strikeout-to-walk ratio. Hudson is also tied for second in the CCAA in complete games (3) and sixth in victories (5).
O'Bryan has three CGs under his belt after Saturday's outing as well, and he leads the Pioneers with a 2.12 ERA. The senior ranks third in the conference in strikeouts per game (with 43 in 46.2 innings). He's also tied for eighth in the nation in fewest hits allowed per game and is holding opponents to a .166 average.
Currently, the Pioneers have three pitchers whose career ERAs rank among the 10 best in school history (minimum 100 innings). Entering the weekend, Becker ranks fourth all-time at 2.53, O'Bryan ranks ninth at 3.28, and Hudson ranks 10th at 3.30.
WHERE DO WE STANDWith 24 of their 40 CCAA games in the books, CSUEB is in sixth place with a record of 11-13. They're currently one game behind Cal State Dominguez Hills (12-12) and six games behind No. 7 Cal Poly Pomona and No. 24 UC San Diego (17-7). The Pioneers were ranked No. 7 in the West Region in the latest NCBWA poll, up one spot from last week.
OTTER OUTLOOKCSUMB has lost four straight after getting swept at home by Cal State Dominguez Hills two weeks ago. The Otters are batting .262 with a .350 on-base percentage, and they're ninth in the league with a 4.66 team ERA. Offensively, they are led by Mark Hurley (.366 avg, .413 obp, 11 2B, 24 RBI) and Brian Hamm (.282 avg, .399 obp, 14 SB). The expected starting pitchers for Monterey Bay are Jeff Owen (5-1, 2.32 ERA, 46 K), A.J. Quintero (2-3, 4.54 ERA, 23 K), Chris Daniels (1-2, 4.82 ERA, 24 K), and Josh Eagle (2-3, 5.53 ERA, 22 K).
