HAYWARD, Calif. – The Cal State East Bay softball team will return to Pioneer Softball Field for a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) four game home series against the Sonoma State Seawolves.
 
The Pioneers (24-18, 16-14 CCAA) and Seawolves (30-12, 20-8 CCAA) will play doubleheaders on Friday, April 14 beginning at 1:00 p.m. and Saturday, April 15 with a 12:00 noon start.
 
WEEK IN REVIEW
The Cal State East Bay softball team split its four-game series on the road against the No. 8 ranked squad in the nation Cal State Monterey Bay 2-2.
 
The Otters won the first game by a final of 2-0, but the Pioneer bats finally broke out in game two as East Bay won 11-7 to improve its record to 23-17 overall and 15-13 in CCAA play.

Freshman Abby Greer gave the Pioneers an excellent effort in game one, allowing just two runs in a six-inning complete game. Unfortunately, the CSUEB offense could muster any scoring against CSUMB's Hayley Fein, who tossed a three-hit shutout in just an hour and forty minutes to earn her CCAA-leading 18th victory.

The second game was an entirely different story, as the teams combined for 18 runs on 16 hits in a three-hour marathon. After falling behind 2-0 in the second, the Pioneers finally exploded with a six-run inning in the top of the third.

East Bay sent 11 batters to the plate in the third. Courtney Leyba, Marisa Lerma and Tanya Galvan all got hits in the inning, and they took advantage of four walks, a hit-by-pitch, and an Otter defensive error.

The resilient Monterey Bay lineup answered back with three runs in the third to pull within one. Then in the top of the fourth, Jennifer Palmares ripped a two-out opposite field single to plate Lerma and made it 7-5.

But the Otters once again responded, staging a two-out rally in the bottom of the fifth to bring two runs home and tie the game 7-7.

The Pioneers returned the favor in the very next inning. With two outs and Sarah Fukushima on second base, Ali Cerminara,  Galvan, and Palmares notched three straight singles, and Belle Palcencia capped off the rally with a double to left to give CSUEB an 11-7 lead.

All three East Bay pitchers contributed to the game two victory. Olivia McWhorter pitched the first 2.1 frames, then Bailee Golver worked the next 2.2 innings and earned her fifth win as the pitcher of record in the sixth. Greer closed it out with two scoreless innings, quelling any Monterey Bay hopes of a comeback. 

Four Pioneers had multiple hits in the win, led by Lerma who went 3-for-4 with two runs. Palmares finished 2-for-2 with a team-high three RBI.
 
The Pioneers (24-18, 16-14 CCAA) exploded offensively for a 12-4 victory in the first game of the game, the team's second straight win over CSUMB after taking the back end of Saturday's twinbill. The first-place Otters (32-7, 20-6 CCAA) rallied back to win the finale by the eight-run rule, 11-3. 

East Bay is just the second CCAA team this season to win multiple games against Monterey Bay, joining Cal State San Bernardino, which also split a four-game set with the Otters the first weekend in March.

The Pioneers had the bats going early in the first game, scoring early and often to the tune of 13 total hits. They immediately got on the scoreboard in the top of the first against Hayley Fein, who had tossed a three-hit shutout against them the day before.
 
Ashley Allen led off the game with a double to the left-center gap. After the Pioneers took advantage of an error and two walks, Jennifer Palmares capped off a three-run inning with a two-run single up the middle. 

East Bay doubled its lead into the third despite recording just one hit. Ali Cerminara ripped a double to lead off the frame, then a hit-by-pitch, three walks, and two wild pitches resulted in three more Pioneer runs.

A two-run home run by Madison Casto highlighted a three-run rally by the Otters in the bottom of the third, and it looked like they were primed for a comeback. But Abby Greer was able to halt the damage, holding the home team scoreless in the fourth and fifth. 

The Pioneers scored twice more in the sixth on singles by Sarah Fukushima, Marisa Lerma and Tanya Galvan and an RBI ground out by Cerminara. 

Then in the seventh, they hung four more runs on the scoreboard to put the game away. Freshman Emilie Portesi led off the inning with a solo homer, her first round-tripper since setting a program record with three long balls in her very first collegiate game. After a walk and an RBI single by Fukushima, Cerminara blasted a two-run shot over the center field fence to punctuate the 12-run scoring output. 

Greer scattered 11 hits in the complete game victory. She struck out three and issued just one walk to improve to 11-10 on the season.

The Pioneers had visions of winning the series heading into the finale in the afternoon, and their offense continued its hot streak in the first inning. Allen once again doubled to lead off the game, then Fukushima yanked a two-bagger of her own down the third base line. A wild pitch followed by a passed ball brought the freshman around to score. 

East Bay led 2-0 after one inning, but the Otter bats finally broke out after that. The home team scored five in the second and six in the third, taking advantage of two home runs and two Pioneer errors. 

CSUEB pushed one more run across in the third on an RBI infield single by Palmares, but that was all they could muster against Fein.
 
Olivia McWhorter was charged with four earned runs on six hits in 3.1 innings, dropping her record to 8-7. Lerma was on base three times in game two, finishing 1-for-1 with a pair of walks. 
 
FABULOUS FRESHMAN
Pioneer freshman Abby Greer, Sarah Fukushima, Emilie Portesi, Olivia McWhorter and Jennifer Palmares have been key players for the East Bay softball team this season.
 
Abby Greer is 12th in the CCAA with 2.50 ERA with a 11-10 record. She has tossed 131.2 innings, 5th in the CCAA, with 14 complete games, which is good for 6th in the in the conference. Greer's 62 strikeouts lead the Pioneers and are 8th in the CCAA. She has struck out 34 batters looking which is tops in the conference. Her four shutouts victories are currently 3rd in the CCAA.
 
Sarah Fukushima leads the CCAA with 12 home runs so far on the season, which is tied for 9th in the nation. Fukushima is 5th in the CCAA with a team-leading .620 slugging percentage and currently has a .302 batting average. Fukushima has 39 hits, 37 runs scored and a team leading 80 total bases, which are both 4th in the conference. Her 23 RBIs are also 4th in the CCAA.
 
Emilie Portesi has a .287 batting average with a .385 on-base percentage with a .443 slugging percentage. Portesi has compiled 33 hits, 23 runs scored with 20 RBIs and 51 total bases. She is also tied for 3rd on the team with four home runs.
 
Olivia McWhorter has appeared in 19 games and is 2nd on East Bay with 13 starts and 2nd with 33 strikeouts. She has a 4.18 ERA with a 8-7 record. McWhorter has tossed 80.1 innings with six complete games.
 
Jennifer Palmares currently 2nd on team a .355 batting average and a .518 slugging percentage. Palmares has tallied 39 hits, scored 26 runs, 57 total bases and 27 RBIs. She has six doubles and has hit four homers on the season.
 
VITAL VETERENS
While several freshmen have displayed fantastic play in their first season at East Bay the upperclassmen have also provided the leadership threw action for the young Pioneers.
 
Junior Ashley Allen is 12th in the conference batting .364 which leads CSUEB. She has 44 hits and 39 runs scored which is tops in the CCAA. Allen has compiled 68 total bases, 22 RBIs and a .652 slugging percentage with six home run.
 
Senior Marisa Lerma leads the CCAA with a .510 on-base percentage and 18 hit by pitches. Lerma is batting .327 through 42 games. She has 36 hits, 15 runs, 28 RBIs, 48 total bases and two home run blasts. She is slugging .436 so far on the season. Lerma is also 4th in the CCAA with 23 walks.
 
Sophomore Tanya Galvan has added 38 hits, 26 runs scored, 18 RBIs and 44 total bases. She has a .342 batting average and a .396 slugging percentage. Galvan leads the Pioneers with one triple through 39 games played on the year.
 
Senior Ali Cerminara, the all-time leader in home runs, added to her career mark with six homers on the season (30). She is now the all-time leader in school history with 119 RBIs and 6th all-time with 33 doubles. She is batting .331 with 41 hits, 22 runs scored, 29 RBIs, 64 total bases and a .516 slugging percentage.
 
Sophomore Courtney Leyba is 4th on the Pioneers with a .341 batting average. She is 7th on the team with a .434 slugging percentage. Leyba has compiled 44 hits, 27 runs scored, 21 RBIs and 56 total bases through 38 games played. She leads the Pioneers with nine doubles which is tied for 7th in the conference.
 
Sophomore Bailee Glover has a record of 5-1 on the season as she has appeared in 22 games making eight starts. She is 28th the CCAA with a 5.16 ERA through 57.0 innings pitched. Glover is third on the Pioneers with 26 strikeouts and has one save and three complete games so far on the season.
 
PIONEER POINTS
East Bay is currently second in the conference with 35 home runs The Pioneers are also 2nd with 256 runs scored, 2nd with 518 total bases and a .450 slugging percentage, which ranks 3rd in the conference.
 
CSUEB is 2nd in the CCAA with a .311 batting average, 2nd with 358 hits and 2nd with 222 RBIs.
 
East Bay is 10th in the CCAA with a 3.57 team ERA and 6th with a 269.0 innings tossed. The Pioneers are 10th in the conference with 121 strikeouts, but are tops in the CCAA with 55 batter struck out swinging and are tied for 5th with 24 wins.
 
SCOUTING SONOMA STATE
The Seawolves are currently 30-12 on the season with a 20-8 record in CCAA action after splitting their home series 2-2 against San Francisco State. Sonoma State is batting .303 with a .387 on-base percentage and seven player batting over .300. The Seawolves pitching staff has a combined 2.38 ERA with 170 strikeouts through 291.0 innings tossed. Lindsey Calcany Blair leads the team with a .344 batting average with 33 hits, 20 RBIs and 18 runs scored. Brielle Vidmar is third on Sonoma State with a 2.42 ERA but leads the team with 12 wins and 60 strikeouts through 104.0 innings tossed.
 
The Seawolves took a 3-1 series win at Seawolf Softball Field when the sqauds met last season.