HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay softball time returns to action with six games this week as they look to navigate the rainy weather that continues to plague the Bay Area. 

The Pioneers will host the No. 5 team in the nation, Concordia-Irvine, Wednesday afternoon. That non-conference doubleheader was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but was postponed to Wednesday and moved to the artificial turf field at Ohlone College in Fremont. 

CSUEB then returns to its California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) schedule this weekend with a trip to Seaside for four games Friday and Saturday against Cal State Monterey Bay.

The Pioneers are coming off a frustrating weekend in which they went winless in a four-game series against Stanislaus. The doubleheaders were scheduled to be home games for CSUEB, but had to be moved to Warrior Field in Turlock due to poor field conditions. 

East Bay got strong performances in the circle against Stanislaus, led by Abby Greer who was on the losing end of a 1-0 pitcher's dual in game two. Freshman Abby Burkholder allowed just two earned runs in a complete game Friday afternoon, but suffered a 3-0 defeat. Senior Taylor Lara was also solid, giving up just two earned runs in 5.2 innings over a pair of relief appearances. 

However, the Pioneer bats struggled to put together scoring rallies against the Warriors. They totaled just two runs in the series to remain winless in CCAA play, and they'e batting .180 in eight conference games so far this season.

One bright spot offensively for the Pioneers against Stanislaus was freshman Madi Greco. She had a hit in all four games of the series, posting a team-best .364 batting average with a .417 on-base percentage for the weekend. Greco is hitting .367 this season, which is second-best on the team.

The only player Greco trails in that regard is junior Sarah Fukushima, who still ranks among the top sluggers in the conference despite a quiet series in Turlock. Fukushima is eighth in the CCAA with a .447 average, and she leads the Pioneers in RBI, extra base hits, and walks. 

The Pioneers have a tough test ahead of them in Concordia, which boasts an 11-1 record on the season. The Eagles are batting .312 as a team, and they have one of the best pitchers in all of Division II in sophomore Callie Nunes (8-1, 0.86 ERA, 49.0 IP, 64 K).

CSUEB wraps up a busy week by hitting the road to take on Cal State Monterey Bay, and there will be four points on the line in the yearlong "Battle of the Bays" competition between the two schools. CSUMB swept Stanislaus in their first CCAA series, but have stumbled more recently, losing seven out of eight against UC San Diego and Cal State Dominguez Hills. The Pioneers will have their hands full against the Otter duo of Celeste Villagrana (4-3, 1.93 ERA, 50.2 IP) and Hayley Fein (4-5, 2.25 ERA, 59.0 IP).