HAYWARD, Calif. -- For the second straight week, Cal State East Bay was forced to move its softball series away from Pioneer Field due to unplayable conditions. This week's California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) showdown between the Pioneers and Stanislaus State will instead take place in Turlock, starting a day early.

The series will open with a doubleheader Thursday at 2 p.m. and conclude Friday at noon with a second twinbill.

WEEK IN REVIEW
The Pioneers took on Cal State San Marcos last week at San Francisco State's field in their first CCAA series of the season. Despite coming up short in all four games, the series was very tightly-contested. The Cougars won the opener and finale by one-run margins, and the Pioneers held a three-run lead in the third game before CSUSM took over in the final three innings. 

The Pioneers hit a total of four home runs against San Marcos, two of which came off the bat of Emilie Portesi. The junior had an impressive series, batting .308 with four runs scored and four RBI. Senior Meghan Araneta blasted a homer as well and finished 4-for-9 in the four games against the Cougars.

CSUEB SLUGGERS
Through nine games this season, the Pioneers are batting .307 as a team and have displayed remarkable power thus far. They enter the weekend tied for the conference lead with 11 home runs, and they ranks second among CCAA teams with a .504 slugging percentage. Individually, six members of their regular starting lineup are batting over .300 for the season.

FUK ON FIRE
Three of those 11 home runs have been swatted by Sarah Fukushima, who currently leads the CCAA in batting average (.615), on-base percentage (.686), and slugging (1.115). After a monster opening weekend that earned her CCAA Player of the Week honors, she went 4-for-10 with three walks and a home run last week against San Marcos. 

SCOUTING STANISLAUS
The Warriors have gotten off to a tough start in conference play, dropping 11 of their first 12 CCAA games in a schedule that has been un-affected by rain. Offensively, they rank last in the league with a .248 team batting average. Deja Guzman (.382 avg, .417 obp), Aliyah Garvin (.321 avg, 2 HR, 10 R), and Maya Yoshiura (.278 avg, 2 HR, 11 RBI) have been the team's top hitters so far. Stanislaus has a team ERA of 3.73, led by Kyndra Marzorini (3-5, 3.34 ERA, 56.2 IP, 56 K). 

The Pioneers and Warriors split a four-game series when the team met last season in Turlock, and two of those contests went to extra innings.