HAYWARD, Calif., -- The Cal State East Bay baseball team will travel to north to Chico for a four game California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) road series against Chico State at Nettleton Stadium. Because of inclement weather the games will be played on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
 
The Pioneer have a 7-11 overall mark on the season with a 4-8 record in conference action.
 
WEEK IN REVIEW
The Cal State East Bay baseball team was unable to hang onto a late lead on Friday, falling to Stanislaus State by a final score of 4-3 at Pioneer Field in the opener of the four-game California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) series between the two teams.
 
The Pioneers broke a 2-2 tie with a run in the bottom of the eighth, but Stanislaus answered with a two-run ninth-inning rally to steal the victory. The Warriors improve to 10-7 overall and 6-5 in CCAA games, while East Bay falls to 6-9 with a 3-6 conference record.
 
The Friday matchup of staff aces lived up to its billing, as senior Alex Vesia and Stanislaus right-hander Joe Ryan were both excellent. The momentum was in the home dugout early, as Vesia breezed through the first few innings, and the Pioneers were able to grab an early lead off Ryan.
 
After back-to-back singles by Kyosuke Ushimaru and Dallas Dey to open the bottom of the second, Colt Parshall picked up an RBI with a ground out. Evan Steele then made it 2-0 by beating out a well-executed bunt single.
 
Vesia went unscathed into the sixth, when the Warriors finally took advantage of some good fortune. Three ground balls resulted in singles, and a misplay in left field allowed an extra run two come home as Stanislaus scored twice to even the score.
 
It stayed that way until the eighth, when Dakota Conners came up with what seemed at the time like the big hit of the day. After a leadoff single by Steele and a sacrifice bunt by Paul Bryniarski, Conners shot a single up the middle to put the Pioneers on top 3-2. That chased Ryan from the game, but the Pioneers were unable to add to their lead and stranded two runners.
 
Vesia came back out to start the ninth inning, and retired the leadoff hitter on a long fly ball to the left-center warming track. After a walk and a chopper single that found its way through the right side, head coach Mike Cummins turned to the bullpen for closer Andrew Fernandez. Pinch-hitter Jarrett Veiga then ripped an opposite field double into the gap, plating both runners. Those proved to be the game-winning runs as the Pioneers were unable to score in the ninth.
 
Vesia took the hard-luck loss after allowing three earned runs on seven hits and striking out seven in 8.1 innings, dropping his record 1-2 this season.
 
The Pioneers tallied nine hits in the game. Dey led the way going 3-for-4 with a double, while Steele and Ushimaru both finished 2-for-4.
 
The Cal State East Bay baseball team split its doubleheader with Stanislaus State on a cloudy Saturday at Pioneer Field, prevailing in the second game by a score of 7-5 after the Warriors pulled off a ninth-inning rally to win game one, 4-3.
 
It was an up-and-down day for the Pioneers, who had two pitchers turn in outstanding performances, but no doubt left the field frustrated they didn't take both ends of the twinbill.
 
The morning stared well, as the Pioneers grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning thanks to an error by starting pitcher Tyler Murphy. In the second, singles by Matt Cantelme and Aaron Albaum and a sacrifice bunt by Colt Parshall set the table for CSUEB, then RBI hits by Evan Steele and Paul Bryniarski made it 3-0.
 
Staked with an early lead, senior right-hander RJ Hanson took over and carved up the Warrior lineup for seven innings. He struck out five and allowed just one run before exiting with one out, two runners on, and a 3-1 lead in the eighth. Southpaw Joey Portugal came in and struck out Jarrett Veiga with the tying runs in scoring position to preserve the advantage.
 
The Pioneers were unable to add any insurance runs after the third inning, so their lead remained narrow into the ninth. Then just as they did Friday afternoon, the Warriors staged a game-winning rally in their final at-bat. Stanislaus tallied four hits off closer Andrew Fernandez and executed a successful squeeze bunt to plate the game-tying run, ultimately scoring three times to steal a 4-3 win.
 
Albaum led East Bay offensively with a 3-for-3 performance, while Bryniarski and Cantelme notched two hits each.
 
It appeared as though Saturday would be a disaster for CSUEB as the Warriors apparently carried their momentum into game two. Stanislaus got two hits off Pioneer starter Nick Risucci and took advantage of two walks and an error to snatch a 4-0 lead before East Bay came to bat.
 
But credit to the Pioneers, who refused to pack it in after suffering two straight heartbreaking losses and falling into an early hole in this contest. They showed impressive mental toughness, immediately rallying back with their biggest offensive inning of the series yet.
 
Adam Hollar reached on an error with one out to start things off, then Raymond Jones, Dey, and Nolan Jekich ripped three straight singles to cut CSUEB's deficit in half. That brought up Jacob Eder, who belted a two-run triple into the right-center gap to tie the game. Parshall followed with a sacrifice fly to put the Pioneers ahead 5-4.
 
Head coach Mike Cummins went to his bullpen quickly after getting a lead, turning again to Portugal. For the second straight game, the left-hander answered the call, and this time it was for more than one batter.
 
After getting through the second inning, Portugal proceeded to hang four straight zeroes on the scoreboard. He had the Warriors off-balance all game, giving up just one hit and striking out three.
 
In the bottom of the fifth, the Pioneers got a couple much-needed insurance runs. With two outs and Dakota Conners at second, Dey blasted one into the trees beyond left field for his team-leading third homer of the season.
 
The senior finished 2-for-2 with a walk, three RBI, and a pair of runs scored. Jekich also had a multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 with a run.
 
Cummins gave freshman Mark Woinarowicz a shot at the save in the seventh inning. The right-hander allowed a run on three singles, but prevented the Warriors from yet another late comeback as he closed out the victory.
 
Stanislaus captures the series victory, three games to one, as the Pioneers fall to 7-11 for the season with a 4-8 record in conference play. They have now dropped two straight series.
 
Things looked promising early on a gorgeous day at Pioneer Field, as Dakota Conners singled, stole second, and scored on Raymond Jones's opposite field hit to put East Bay ahead in the first inning. However, they got runners to second and third with one out, and stranded both of them. This would become an unfortunate theme for the afternoon, as the Pioneers out-hit Stanislaus 13-10 but left 10 runners on base. Some of it could be attributed to bad luck, as several hard-hit CSUEB balls seemed to find their way straight into Warrior gloves.
 
Stanislaus tied the game with a run in the third, but senior Jacob Call was otherwise outstanding in the early part of the game. He allowed just that one run through the first six innings and carried a lead into the seventh after a Kyosuke Ushimaru triple and a Matt Cantelme single put the Pioneers ahead in the sixth. But it was just a one-run advantage for the home team, as they once again stranded a pair.
 
The lead didn't last long because Warrior first baseman Jack Large muscled up and sent a two-run homer to right-center in the top of the seventh. Call escaped that inning without further damage and exited after allowing just five hits in seven complete frames, but with a 3-2 deficit.
 
The Pioneers trailed 4-2 after a two-out Stanislaus single brought home a run in the top of the eighth. But East Bay still had a little fight left in them. They got runners on second and third with one out in the bottom of the inning after a pair of infield hits. Then pinch-hitter Steve Robinson came up big with two outs, pulling a two-run single into right field to tie the game.
 
But once again, their momentum was short-lived. After pitching the eighth, Ransome Alexander came back out for the ninth, then was lifting after the first two batters hit singles. Nick Risucci came into a tough situation, which got tougher after a sacrifice bunt and an intentional walk loaded the bases. Andrew Wheat gave Stanislaus the lead back with a sacrifice fly, and then doubles by Michael Wyatt and Anthony Enwiya broke the game open.
 
Dallas Dey finished off an impressive weekend at the dish by reaching base four times, going 2-for-3 with two walks, a stolen base, and a run. Cantelme, Conners, and Paul Bryniarski also notched multi-hit performances.
 
PIONEER POINTS
Junior Kyosuke Ushimaru (Tokyo, Japan) is ninth in the CCAA with a .375 batting average with 15 hits, eight RBI, 21 total bases, six runs scored. He also has a homerun with a .525 slugging percentage and .447 on-base percentage.
 
Junior Paul Bryniarski (Fountain Hills, Ariz.) has started 16 games and leads the Pioneers with 24 hits. Bryniarski is batting .348 with 14 runs scored, 13 RBI and 32 total bases. He also has a .464 slugging percentage with three doubles, a triple and one homerun.
 
Senior Dallas Dey (.351 avg, .422 obp, .561 slg), current CSUEB Male Athlete of the Week, leads the Pioneers with three home runs and is second on the team with 20 hits.
 
Returners Adam Hollar (.351 avg, .519 obp) and Joey Dice (.292 avg, .471 obp, 9 BB) have been excellent, while newcomers Jacob Eder (.241 avg, .414 obp, 14 R, 13 RBI) and Jordan Estes (.333 avg, .476 slg) have provided some pop in the Pioneer lineup.
 
The pitching staff has a collective ERA of 5.93 through 18 games, despite solid strikeout numbers (136 punchouts and 70 walks in 150.1 innings). Senior southpaw Alex Vesia is 1-2 with 26 strikeouts and a 4.21 ERA. RJ Hanson has a team leading 3.46 ERA and is second on the team with 25 strikeouts with two wins. Jacob Call is third on the Pioneers on the squad with 23 strikeouts and has only given up one homer this season.
 
SCOUTING CHICO STATE
The Chico State Wildcats enter the weekend with a 13-7 record on the season and a 9-5 mark in conference play after going 1-2 in their series against Monterey Bay. Alex DeVito leads the Wildcats with a .400 batting average, 24 hits, two homers