HAYWARD, Calif. -- After heavy Bay Area rain washed out last weekend's series against Northwest Nazarene, the Cal State East Bay baseball team finally opens the 2015 season this week with four games at home against Academy of Art. The teams begin their series on Friday at 2 p.m. following the completion of the annual Homecoming Parade in Lot N.
Saturday's doubleheader will feature "Dollar Hot Dog Day" sponsored by the Pioneer Athlete Advisory Committee, and the series will conclude with a Sunday matinee at 11 a.m.
SEASON PREVIEWThe Pioneers are coming off back-to-back 30-win seasons for the first time in school history under fourth-year head coach
Bob Ralston. The 2014 squad posted a 24-16 league record, the program's best-ever as members of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), arguably the best Division II conference in the nation.
Despite placing fifth in the conference each of the last two years and just missing an NCAA postseason berth both times, Cal State East Bay has the second-best overall winning percentage in the CCAA at .633 during that time, trailing only Chico State.
The Pioneers finished the 2014 season by winning 15 of their final 18 games. They were ranked No. 7 in the West Region by the NCAA and No. 6 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. This year, the NCBWA picked East Bay No. 10 in its preseason West Region rankings.
TOP RETURNERSCSUEB returns three of its six All-CCAA honorees from last season. Leading the way is senior centerfielder
Kelly Starnes, who's coming off one of the most impressive seasons in school history. As a junior, he led the team with a .352 batting average, 36 runs scored, 12 doubles, four home runs, and a .416 on-base percentage. He also drove in 25 runs, stole 11 bases, and turned in outstanding defense to anchor East Bay's outfield. Starnes was a First Team All-CCAA selection, a Second Team All-West Region pick, and Cal State East Bay's Male Athlete of the Year.
First baseman
Daniel Carney was a Second Team All-CCAA honoree after batting .350 for the Pioneers as a junior. Another exceptional defender, Carney was one of the toughest batters in the league to strike out last year with just eight punchouts in 152 plate appearances.
Third baseman
Ryan Kochan also enjoyed a breakout junior season, earning All-CCAA honorable mention honors. Kochan played his way into the starting lineup last season with outstanding defense, and he ended up batting .295 with a .363 obp and 11 steals for the season.
Utility player
Jason Fletcher spent most of 2014 as East Bay's No. 3 batter and earned honorable mention All-West Region utility honors after batting .288 with 28 RBI playing both right field and designated hitter. The right-hander also picked up two saves as a relief pitcher.
Outfielder
Marcus Wise was one of the top freshmen in the CCAA last season despite missing several games with nagging injuries. He finished third in the league with 17 stolen bases and showed promising plate discipline for a first-year player, batting .255 with a .358 obp.
Junior infielder
Marcus Williams hit .273 in 27 games last year as a sophomore and seems the most likely candidate to take over as the team's starting second baseman this season. A tremendous athlete, he is also expected to see time on the pitcher's mound.
On the pitching side, senior right-hander
Michael Pope is by far the most experienced hurler on the staff. After tossing 16 innings in relief as a freshman, Pope has made 23 starts over the past two years and has helped anchor two of the best pitching staffs in Pioneer history. For his career, the Walnut Creek native is 12-8 with a 4.05 ERA and 95 strikeouts in 163 innings. He posted the best walk rate of his career last season as a junior, issuing just 16 free passes in 69.1 innings.
NOTABLE NEWCOMERSJunior
Rudy Navarro is expected to be a regular in East Bay's lineup in his first season, playing both catcher and outfield. He batted .301 with a .378 obp, 11 doubles, and 25 RBI last season for College of the Sequoias after hitting .324 as a freshman in 2013. Navarro was a First Team All-Central Valley Conference pick both seasons.
The Pioneers appear well-equipped to replace slick-fielding shortstop
Zac Chuvala, who is now an assistant coach. Junior
Michael Frantz was an All-Conference utility player at Yuba College, and freshman
Dakota Conners was awarded a 2014 Rawlings Gold Glove by the American Baseball Coaches Association following his senior year at Sierra High School in Manteca, Calif.
Senior pitcher
Justin Harr returns to the CCAA after serving as the No. 3 starter for Cal State L.A. in 2012. That season, he went 4-1 with a 4.46 ERA in 66.2 innings for the Golden Eagles, and he figures to be one of East Bay's top starters in 2015.
Junior left-hander
Angel Lara will likely have a major role on Coach Ralston's staff after two impressive seasons at Solano Community College. The 6'2" southpaw posted a 2.73 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 26.1 innings as a reliever in 2014.
The Pioneers have also added a pair of talented freshmen hurlers whom they hope will provide quality innings. Left-hander
Alex Vesia was an All-League pitcher for Steele Canyon High School in Alpine, Calif. He went 8-5 with a 1.79 ERA in 12 starts as a senior, striking out 67 batters in 70.1 innings. Right-hander
Jacob Call is a local product, having recently finished a standout career at Washington High School in Fremont, Calif. Also an All-League selection, Call had a 6-4 record in 2014 along with a minuscule 0.51 ERA, racking up 74 strikeouts while allowing just 41 hits in 68 innings.
PROJECTED ROTATIONStarting pitching is perhaps the biggest question mark facing the Pioneers heading into 2015. The four-man rotation was the biggest strength of the 2014 team, combining to throw nearly 80 percent of the team's innings. But the top three hurlers from that squad --
Sean Becker,
Nick Hudson, and
Ben O'Bryan -- have all graduated, leaving this year's team with the task of replacing the 22 wins, 256.2 innings, 16 complete games, and 2.81 ERA produced by that trio. Below are the pitchers projected to start this weekend's games against the Urban Knights:
Michael Pope (Sr. - RHP - Castro Valley, Calif.)
Justin Harr (Sr. - RHP - Pleasant Hill, Calif.)
Alex Vesia (Fr. - LHP - Alpine, Calif.)
Angel Lara (Jr. - LHP - Dixon, Calif.)
SCOUTING ACADEMY OF ARTThe Urban Knights opened the season by dropping both ends of a doubleheader against Cal State Stanislaus, 12-1 and 5-1. Their series against Sonoma State was rained out last weekend. Academy of Art is coming off a 2014 season in which they finished 12-36 with a .242 team batting average and 5.01 ERA. This is the team's first year under head coach Dan McDermott, who is the husband of Joan McDermott, recently appointed Director of Athletics for Cal Sate East Bay.
First baseman Daniel Skipper led the Urban Knights offensively against Stanislaus, going 2-for-4 with two doubles and two walks in the doubleheader. Nate Gercken was the squad's best pitcher a year ago, making 13 starts and going 2-9 with a 2.95 ERA in 82 innings. He got the start in their opener last week and allowed three earned runs on four hits and four walks in five innings. Utility player Maclane Brady started the other game against CSUS on the hill, allowing one earned run on four hits and striking out five in four innings. A two-way player, Brady was also one of ART-U's best hitters in 2014 serving as the DH, batting .282 with a .387 obp. Catcher Chucky Cavestany, who hit .308 last season as a junior, is their top returning hitter.
