HAYWARD, Calif. – The Cal State East Bay baseball team will embark on their final road trip of the 2017 regular season with a trip to Chico, Calif, for a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) North Division showdown against the Chico State Wildcats.
 
The Pioneers (24-17, 15-14 CCAA) and Wildcats (34-7, 27-3 CCAA) will play four games through three days beginning April 28 through April 30 at Nettleton Stadium. This weekend series will hold huge playoff implications as Chico sits in the driver seat of the North Division and East Bay is currently in the fourth slop just behind Monterey Bay and Stanislaus State and a spot ahead of Sonoma State.
 
WEEK IN REVIEW
The Cal State East Bay baseball team dropped their four game series 1-3 to the visiting San Francisco State Gators.
 
The Gators played stout defensively, not allowing a base runner nor surrendering a hit until the bottom of the fifth frame. Starting pitcher Matthew Hernandez (W, 3-2) went 7.1 innings with two strikeouts and giving up only three hits.
 
The Gators got off to a strong start offensively scoring four runs in the opening inning a and opening up a 5-0 lead after the second.
 
Derek Oetken led East Bay with three strikeouts through four innings tossed and only one walked batter.
 
Marcus Wise, Troy Resch, Joey Dice and Daniel Goodrich all chipped in one hit apiece for CSUEB.
 
Nick Risucci pitched 3.2 innings recording a strikeout while Alex Leach saw an inning of action giving up only one hit. Joey Portugal (L, 1-1) picked up his first loss of the season after allowing four runs in the opening inning of play.
 
Home runs from SF State's Jacob Lopez and Jack Harris helped secure the 7-0 shutout victory.
 
The Pioneers captured an opening game 7-4 victory and fell in the doubleheader finale 5-1. With Saturday's split the Gators hold a 2-1 series lead.
 
East Bay was much more effective offensively than on Friday afternoon out-hitting SF State 11-8. The Gators got out to a 1-0 lead after two innings of action but the Pioneers quickly took charge of the game. Michael Thomas put CSUEB on the scoreboard first with a double to left field scoring Marcus Wise, who go on with a single to left field to tie the game at 1-1.
 
Michael Thomas finished the game with a double, a run scored and a RBI. Marcus Wise compiled two hits, a run, a RBI and his league leading 24th stolen base.
 
After a Troy Resch walk loaded the bases, Dallas Dey was hit by a pitch to bring home Kris Bartlett who also reached on a hit by pitch. In the next at bat Zack Perugi reached on a fielder's choice RBI scoring Thomas. Joey Dice doubled up the middle to bring home Resch and give the Pioneers a 4-1 lead after three frames of action.
 
Troy Resch tallied a hit and two runs scored, Dallas Dey added a double, a run and a RBI while Zack Perugi had a hit and a RBI in the outing.
 
But it was Joey Dice who turned in the best performance of the day. Dice went a perfect 3-for-3 from the plate with two doubles and two RBIs.
 
East Bay would add to their lead in the bottom of the fourth frame with a Marcus Wise RBI single up the middle. Scoring Colt Parshall who singled up the middle to lead off the inning.
 
The Gators would add three runs in the top of the fifth inning to close the Pioneer lead to 5-4.
 
But a Dice ground-rule double that brought home Resch pushed the East Bay advantage to 6-4. Dey scored on a wild pitch to secure the Pioneers 7-4 victory and first win of the series.
 
 Nick Sergi got the start on the mound for CSUEB going 4.0 innings and retiring two Gator batters. Alex Vesia (W, 4-4) picked up the win tossing 5.0 innings with a game high three strikeouts, no walks and only two hits given up.
 
In the doubleheader finale the Pioneers were faced tough pitching and stout defense. Dillon Houser (W, 2-6) was working on a no-hitter midway through the fifth inning. During which the Gators built a 5-0 lead.
 
But the Pioneers got their offense going in the fifth frame as Joey Dice singled through the left side followed by a Wyatt Foreman double to left center. The Pioneers lone run came off a Matt Cantelme RBI groundout that scored Dice.
 
Michael Thomas, Wyatt Foreman, and Dallas Dey all tallied a double and Matt Cantelme chipped in a RBI.
 
Joel Lamont (L, 4-4) picked up the start and racked up two strikeouts through 1.2 innings pitched. But Brandon Acosta entered the game and turned in a stellar outing. He tossed 5.1 innings allowing no runs with three strikeouts and one walked batter.
 
The Cal State East Bay baseball baseball team came up short in a tight game on Sunday, falling to visiting San Francisco State by a final score of 4-3 in the finale of their four-game California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) series. 
 
Junior Andrew Fernandez turned in an outstanding effort on the mound, allowing just two hits in 8.1 innings for the longest outing of is career. But CSUEB's offense continued its struggles and was unable to put together a multi-run rally.
 
SF State kept its momentum from a victory Saturday afternoon and grabbed the lead in the top of the first before the Pioneers even recorded an out. The Gators tallied three hits and a walk in the opening frame against East Bay starter Jacob Call to take a 2-0 lead.
 
Head coach Mike Cummins went to his bullpen early, summoning Fernandez to escape the first inning. it proved to be an effective strategy, as the right-hander halted SFSU's hot bat with four straight zeroes on the scoreboard.
 
Marcus Wise singled, stole second, took third on an error, and scored on Daniel Goodrich's ground out to get the Pioneers quickly on the board in the bottom of the first. It stayed 2-1 until the fifth inning, when Michael Thomas two-out single plated Colt Parshall with the tying run. 
 
Unfortunately, the Gators answered right back, scoring twice without a hit in the sixth. Fernandez hit the leadoff batter, and then a triple into the right center gap followed by a sacrifice fly gave the visitors a 4-2 lead.
 
In the bottom of the eighth, Thomas walked with one out, and then made it all the way to third when the pitcher threw the ball away on a pick-off attempt. Troy Resch brought him home with an RBI ground out to cut the deficit to one, but that was all they would get.
 
The Pioneers had a chance to force extra innings in the ninth after Wyatt Foreman led off with an opposite field single. He moved up on a wild pitch, then Evan Steele sacrificed him to third. The tying run was just 90 feet away, but pinch hitter Zack Perugi popped up and Wise struck out to end the rally.
 
Fernandez gave up two runs, struck out four, and walked just one batter, but he suffered his first loss of the season to drop to 3-1. Offensively, six players had one hit each as they out-hit the Gators 6-5, but the Pioneers didn't manage any extra base knocks. 
 
TOPS IN THE NATION
East Bay has done several things well to jump out to a 24-17 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 24th in Division II with 77 stolen bases. Even more impressively, they've only been caught 24 times in 99 attempts. 
 
Marcus Wise leads the CCAA and is tied for 16th in the nation with 25 stolen bases so far on the season, while only being caught five times in 30 attempts.
 
 
 
KEEPING THE K'S DOWN
The Pioneers have been solid offensively, batting .282 with a .366 on-base percentage as a team, both are in the top half of the conference. East Bay has four players in the top-30 of the CCAA in batting average.
 
Michael Thomas (.352 avg, 14 2B, 32 RBI), who is 13th in the CCAA in batting average, is 10th with a .535 slugging percentage, 3rd in doubles and 4th in RBIs. Wyatt Foreman (.34w avg, .409 obp, 40 Hits) is currently 17th in the conference in batting average and is second on the team in batting average and on-base percentage. Troy Resch (.328 avg, .431 slg, 11 2B, 45 Hits) is 24th in the conference in batting average, and second on CSUEB in slugging percentage. Resch also leads the Pioneers in RBIs and total bases. Dallas Dey (.397 obp, .313 avg, 40 Hits), is 29th in the CCAA in batting average, and fourth on the Pioneers in batting average and on-base percentage.
 
But as was the case in 2015, one of their biggest strengths is drawing walks and putting pressure on defenses. They rank fifth in the league in walks (162), and they only have 12 more strikeouts (174) than walks. Individually, Kris Bartlett is fifth in the conference with 24 free bases.
 
STIFFLING STAFF
The Pioneers have a 4.56 team ERA with 124 walks and 213 strikeouts in 347 innings. Their top three starters – Alex Vesia, Joel Lamont and Jacob Call -- have a combined for a 4.23 ERA. Meanwhile relievers, Andrew Fernandez, Nick Sergi, Brandon Acosta and Joey Portugal have combined to allow 45 earned runs through 116.3 innings tossed for a 3.48 combined ERA.
 
SCOUTING CHICO STATE
The Chico State Wildcats are ranked first in the West Region and CCAA and are currently sitting 34-7 with a 27-3 mark in conference play after sweeping back-to-back weekends over Cal State L.A. and Cal State San Bernardino. The Wildcats are batting .308 with a .404 on-base percentage highlighted by 10 players batting over .250. Cameron Santos leads Chico State and is second in the CCAA with a .413 average, 59 hits and 32 runs scored.
 
The Chico State pitching staff has combined 2.68 ERA. Casey Costello leads the Wildcats with a 1.99 ERA, 41 strikeouts and a 10-0 record.
 
The Pioneers and Wildcats split their season series 2-2 in 2016 with Chico State going 2-0 in the CCAA Tournament Championship game.