HAYWARD, Calif. – The Cal State East Bay baseball team will travel to southern California for a three game California Collegiate Athletic Association road series against Cal State L.A. The Pioneers will face the Golden Eagles in a doubleheader on Saturday, March, 25 beginning at 12: 00 noon and a series finale single match on Sunday, March 26 with an 11:00 a.m. start time. All games will be held at Reeder Field on the campus if Cal State L.A.
 
CSUEB will enter the game with a 16-8 record overall with a 7-5 mark in CCAA play.
 
WEEK IN REVIEW
The Pioneers claimed 2-1 home series win over Cal San Bernardino with victories in the final two games of the double header.
 
East Bay split the doubleheader with the Coyotes with a 10-1 loss and 6-4 win. CSUEB won the series finale 10-5.
 
The visitors jumped out to a 9-0 advantage in the first game and cruised to a 10-1 victory. Tory Resch went 2-for-3 in the loss, but the Pioneers couldn't put much offense together otherwise. Junior Alex Vesia took the loss to drop his record to 1-4.
 
Sophomore Joel Lamont gave CSUEB an outstanding effort in game two, holding the Coyotes scoreless through the first five frames. In the bottom of the fifth, Michael Thomas got things started with a double, then Wyatt Foreman, Zack Perugi and Joey Dice all followed with run-scoring hits to give East Bay a 3-0 advantage. 
 
CSUSB clawed back and tied in the game in the top of the seventh, but the Pioneers were determined to get the victory. With two out and runners and the corners, head coach Mike Cummins sent Kris Bartlett up to pinch hit. Bartlett proceeded to crush a triple into the right-center gap to plate two runs and give the Pioneers the lead back.
 
Junior Andrew Fernandez pitched the last two innings, allowing one run and escaping a bases-loaded jam in the ninth for his fourth save.

The Pioneers (15-8, 6-5 CCAA) tallied 12 hits in the game two victory. Thomas led the way going 3-for-4, and Daniel Goodrich also posted a multi-hit game. Resch reached base seven times in the doubleheader after a hit and three walks in the nightcap. 
 
In the series finale, Jacob Call pitched six innings for the Pioneers to earn his team-leading fourth victory, and the CSUEB offense racked up 13 hits.
 
After falling behind 1-0 in the second inning, the East Bay bats going things going by hanging five runs on the scoreboard in the bottom of the frame. With two outs with a man on first, Joey Dice and Dallas Dey both singled to load the bases. Pablo Artero followed with a huge two-out hit, muscling a ball into shallow center to plate two runs. Marcus Wise then ripped a double into the left-center gap and Kris Bartlett traded places with him after belting one into the right field corner. When Michael Thomas finally flied out to end the inning, the Pioneers led 5-1.
 
Their advantage wasn't comfortable for long, however. In the top of the third, a walk and a hit batter put two runners on base. Cleanup hitter Austin Lundeen then crushed a home run halfway up the trees in right to make the score 5-4.

But East Bay answered back in the bottom of the third, and they tacked on two more runs in the fifth when Artero followed Dey's double with another two-run single to center field. 

The Pioneers picked up more insurance runs two innings later, when Wise shot an opposite field single with two outs to bring home two more runs. 

Dey had a flawless day at the dish, finishing 4-for-4 with three runs scores. Artero and Wise both notched two hits and both drove in four runs in the victory.
 
Senior Nick Sergi was excellent out of the bullpen to preserve the win for Call. The right-hander pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, allowing three hits. Southpaw Joey Portugal then came in to record the final out in the ninth.
 
TOPS IN THE NATION  
East Bay has done several things well to jump out to a 16-8 start to the season, but when it comes to swiping bases, they have been one of the best teams in the country. Heading into this weekend, the Pioneers are second in Division II with 53 stolen bases. Even more impressively, they've only been caught 11 times in 69 attempts. 
 
Marcus Wise leads the CCAA and is second in the nation with 20 stolen bases so far on the season, while only being caught thrice in 23 attempts.
 
KEEPING THE K'S DOWN
The Pioneers have been solid offensively, batting .304 with a .394 on-base percentage as a team, both tops in the conference. East Bay has three players in the top-10 of the CCAA in batting average.
 
Wyatt Foreman (.411 avg, .463 obp, 30 Hits), who leads the CCAA in batting average, Michael Thomas (.384 avg, 8 2B, 24 RBI), who is 7th in batting average, 9th in doubles and 5th in RBIs and Troy Resch (.370 avg, .521 slg 1 HR, 16 RBI), who is 10th in the CCAA in batting average, have all gotten off the hot starts. But as was the case in 2015, one of their biggest strengths is drawing walks and putting pressure on defenses. They rank third in the league in walks (113), and they are the only team in the CCAA with more walks than strikeouts. Individually, Bartlett is second in the conference and ranks 22nd in the nation with 20 free passes.
 
STIFFLING STAFF
The Pioneers have a 4.21 team ERA with 89 walks and 141 strikeouts in 203 innings. Their top three starters – Alex Vesia, Joel Lamont and Jacob Call – have combined for a 3.81 ERA. Meanwhile relivers, Andrew Fernandez, Nick Sergi, Brandon Acosta and joey Portugal have combined to allow 14 earned runs through 50.1 innings tossed.
 
SCOUTING CAL STATE L.A.
The Golden Eagles are of to a 15-10 start to the season with a 6-6 mark in CCAA action after going 0-4 in their weekend road series against Cal State Monterey Bay. The are currently batting .283 on the year with a .391 on-base percentage highlighted by five players batting over .300. The Cal State L.A. pitching staff has a .4.42 team ERA, led by Christian Broussard, Jr (4-1, 3.48 ERA) who leads the team with 42 strikeouts.
 
When the teams met in 2016 the Pioneers swept the series 2-0 in Hayward at Pioneer Field.