HAYWARD, Calif. -- After a wet month of January in the Bay Area, the 2016 softball season is finally here. Cal State Easy Bay begins the season on the road with a doubleheader this Saturday afternoon at Dominican. 

The Pioneers have posted winning records in two of the last three seasons and carry high expectations into the spring, having returned several key contributors from 2015. 

East Bay will look to crack of the top echelon of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), one of the top conference in the nation. With the addition of Cal State San Marcos this year, the CCAA has expanded its postseason tournament to six teams. The Pioneers will aim to secure their first playoff bid since joining in the league in 2010. 

2016 will be CSUEB's first season under head coach Claire Sua-Amundson, a two-time national champion as a student-athlete at UCLA who brings a decade of Division I coaching experience, including stints at Stanford, Cal Poly, and Cal State Fullerton.

Despite losing 23 home runs and 66 RBI from graduated seniors Kelsey LaVaute and Jaynie MacDonald, the Pioneers return their two best hitters in Capital One Academic All-American catcher Ali Cerminara (.390 avg, 11 HR, 14 2B, 38 RBI) and CCAA Newcomer of the Year Gabby Gonzalez (.360 avg, 6 HR, 28 RBI). Two more regulars from 2015 are also back in senior Rose Marston (.237 avg. 5 HR) and sophomore Marisa Lerma (.267 avg), who was outstanding at third base defensively, making just six errors in 46 games as a freshman. 

Last season, the Pioneers led the nation with double plays turned per game, and they set and NCAA Division II record with five twin killings in a single game. This year's middle infield figures to be anchored by sophomore shortstop Ashley Allen. She joins a group of nine freshman position players who will hope to make an immediate impact in the Hayward hills.  

In the pitching circle, East Bay welcomes back a trio of seniors led by team MVP Sierra Clark. Clark went 14-11 as a junior, ranking among the league leaders with 168.0 innings, 17 complete games, and a 2.54 ERA. Tatiana Beilstein also returns after a solid junior campaign in which she posted six wins, four complete games, and a 3.72 ERA in 12 starts. Fourth-year senior Kelsey Cairns adds depth and experience to a pitching staff that welcomes in freshman hurler Bailee Glover, who is expected to play a prominent role in 2016. 

East Bay was picked to finish eighth in the CCAA by the league's head coaches in the annual preseason poll. If the teams wants to out-perform expectations, they will have to take care of business away from Pioneer Field. The 2016 schedule features 32 road games, including 10 straight to open the season. Coach Sua-Amundson's crew now has just one doubleheader to shake off the cobwebs before launching into the CCAA schedule with four games at Cal State San Bernardino next weekend.