POMONA, Calif. – After topping then No. 23 UC San Diego Tritons in the series finale on Monday, the Cal Pomona baseball team will head north to challenge the Cal State East Bay Pioneers on their home field in Hayward.
 
The first game at Pioneer Field is set to begin at 2 p.m. on Friday. After the series opener, the two squads will play a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 11 a.m.
 
With a 16-9 overall record on the season, complete with an 8-6 mark in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), the Broncos will head north ranked as the second-place team in the conference's South Division.
 
CSUEB will host the Green and Gold with a conference record of 4-5 along with their 13-7 showing on the season. The Pioneers' performance places them at fifth in the North Division. 
 
In last season's matchup, the series was split as CPP won the second and fourth game with the Pioneers locking down the first and third game. The all-time series shows the Green and Gold with a 27-17 record.
 
Leading the way for the Broncos' squad offensively is newcomer Chris Stratton. Since joining the Green and Gold at the beginning of the season, the junior has recorded a .391 average, tallying a team-leading 36 hits and 23 runs scored. The second baseman also has a squad-leading 18 stolen bases.
 
After having a stellar series against the UCSD Tritons, Daniel Pitts has made his way onto the team leaderboards as he is currently batting .364. Just behind him is senior transfer Jared James with a .322 average.
 
On the CPP squad, nine batters have recorded at least a .300 average and the team as a whole has tallied a .292 average. The Broncos' pitchers have limited opposing batters to a .222 average, while recording a conference leading 3.01 earned run average.
 
The pitching staff also leads the CCAA in batting average against, and strikeouts, totaling 223 while the second-place Sonoma State Seawolves have recorded 180. The Broncos have also given up just three homeruns in 25 games played, another conference-leading number.
 
CPP will return home to Scolinos field on April 2 and will host the Cal State Monterey Bay Otters. Currently the Otters are the No. 1 team in the North Division of the conference standings.