HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay baseball team will compete in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Baseball Tournament for the first time in program history this week. After winning three out of four games against Cal State Monterey Bay in the final series of the regular season to capture a share of the CCAA North division crown, the Pioneers enter the 2016 CCAA Tournament as the top seed from the North.

CSUEB will take on Cal State San Bernardino, the third-place team from the South division, in the opening round on Wednesday at 3 p.m. in Stockton, Calif.

TICKETS
Stockton's Banner Island Ballpark, home of the Class A Stockton Ports, has a capacity of 5,200. General admission tickets for the 2016 CCAA Baseball Championship are $9. Students with identification and seniors (65 and over) are $5, and children (12 and under) for $3. Tickets are good for an all-day pass.

TOURNAMENT FORMAT
The CCAA Tournament runs Wednesday through Saturday with a double-elimination format to mirror the NCAA Regional. If the Pioneers win Wednesday afternoon, they will take on the winner of UC San Diego vs. Cal State Monterey Bay on Thursday, May 12 at 7 p.m. If the Pioneers lose to CSUSB, they will play the loser of Chico State vs. Cal Poly Pomona in an elimination game Thursday morning at 11 a.m.

The winner of the CCAA Tournament earns the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II West Regionals. 

MAKING HISTORY
East Bay has now posted three 30-win seasons in the past four years under head coach Bob Ralston, the first time that's happened in program history. The Pioneers are 113-80 (.585) overall during that stretch with a 75-36 (.676) record at home.

CSUEB has already set a school record with 26 hits in a single game, which they accomplished Feb. 19 in a 19-7 win over Fresno Pacific. The Pioneers have 510 total hits this season, 37 short of the single-season school record with at least two games to go. 

RUDY RAKING
Senior Rudy Navarro went 3-for-3 on Sunday to clinch CCAA regular season batting title, another program first. His season batting average of .419 is the highest by a Pioneer in the CCAA era. Navarro was named CCAA Player of the Week for the second time in 2016 after going 9-for-18 over the final five games and leading the Pioneers to the top of the North standings. He finished the regular season first in the CCAA in hits (78), second in doubles (16) and on-base percentage (.372), fifth in runs (42), and sixth in RBI (38). 

EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS
Cal State East Bay defied preseason expectations in capturing a share of the CCAA North division title. Coming off a 21-26 record in 2015 with just two returning All-CCAA players, the Pioneers were picked to finish in fifth place in the North and ninth overall in this year's preseason coaches poll. 

BLAZING HOT BATS
The Pioneers completed their best offensive regular season during Ralston's tenure, averaging 6.5 runs and 10.6 hits per contest. They led the CCAA in batting average (.316) and stolen bases (70), ranked second in on-base percentage (.390), and ranked third in runs scored (310). The Pioneers have 11 players with at least a .290 batting average and eight players who batted over .300 for the regular season.

CSUEB also led the conference and ranked eighth in the nation in sacrifice flies (31). Individually, junior Michael Thomas is tied for fifth in the country with seven sac flies.

A huge key to East Bay's offensive success this season has been their ability to put the ball in play. As a team, they have the fewest strikeouts in the CCAA, and they're one of just two squads in the league to total more walks than strikeouts. Individually, the Pioneer boast four of the 10 toughest hitters in the conference to strike out. Leading the way in that category is senior Myles Babitt, the fourth-toughest hitter in the nation to strike out with just four punchouts in 102 at bats. 

SOPHOMORE STUDS
Coach Ralston relied heavily on a pair of sophomore starting pitchers to anchor his rotation this season. Both Alex Vesia and Jacob Call cemented themselves as regular weekend starters during their freshman seasons, and both have been consistently excellent in 2016. Vesia, the 2015 Freshman of the Year, leads the Pioneers with six wins, a 2.70 ERA, and 83.1 innings pitched. Call, a local product, has a 4-1 record in 14 starts with a 3.15 ERA over 74.1 innings. 

DON'T SLEEP ON THE SIDEWINDER
The transformation of Andrew Fernandez into an elite reliever this season has been another key to the team's success. The 6'5" right-hander slings a sidearm sinker that buries under the hands of opposing hitters. As a redshirt freshman in 2015, he struggled badly with control, tallying 10 walks and seven hit-batters in 10.2 innings. But Fernandez made the adjustments, found his consistent release point, and this year he has just seven walks in 42.0 innings. 

The Castro Valley native finished off the season with a monster performance, throwing a complete game on Tuesday vs. SF State, then picking up a win and a save against CSUMB over the weekend. He tossed 13.2 innings during the final week, allowing just one earned run on 10 hits. Fernandez finished his season with four victories, two saves, and a 2.79 ERA in a team-high 21 appearances. 

REGIONAL RANKINGS
Cal State East Bay appeared in the second NCAA Division II Regional rankings last week as the No. 8 team in the West. Another set of rankings will be released Wednesday as the CCAA Tournament begins. The final rankings will be announced Sunday evening on NCAA.com with the top six teams qualifying for the NCAA DII West Regionals. 

The Pioneers were ranked No. 4 this week in the final National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) West Region poll, their highest ranking of the season. 

SCOUTING SAN BERNARDINO
The Coyotes captured the third playoff spot in the South Region with a 17-20 record in CCAA play. They rank 10th in the league with a .260 team batting average and 12th with a 6.01 ERA. Offensively, CSUSB is led by Ryan Rich (.308 avg, .403 obp), Grant Buchanan (.298 avg, 13 SB), and William Ouellette (.264 avg, .411 obp, 10 2B). Although their pitching staff does not boast impressive numbers, the Coyotes have perhaps the best pitcher in the CCAA in Tyler Wells. The tall right-hander posted a 2.28 ERA in 86.2 innings, holding opponents to a .207 average and leading the CCAA with 88 strikeouts.

Wells defeated the Pioneers, 2-1, when they faced him back on Apr. 16. East Bay won the other two games of the series at San Bernardino this year by final scores of 21-5 and 8-2.