Since wrapping up their long 50 game season on May 5, The CSU East Bay baseball team has had a chance to reminisce about their season as well as start to pile up post-season awards.

Looking back on the season, senior catcher David Castillo feels this season has changed a lot when it comes to Pioneer baseball.

“We had a culture changing season here at East Bay,” said Castillo. “It pulled us out of that stereotype of East Bay being the bottom of the CCAA.”

“East Bay has been lower in the standings and hasn’t been able to be as competitive as other schools over the years,” Castillo said. “I was really happy that we were able to change that mindset of what East Bay is and now teams are going to be coming after us.

In 2012, the Pioneers could only muster 12 wins and the team felt they had a disappointing season.

“In 2012 we were able to compete but some pieces weren’t there,” said Castillo. “It definitely was a disappointing year overall. To me, I was not going to have that happen again, not for the school, not for my teammates. I wasn’t going to be satisfied with another season like that and I don’t think anyone was. We were all really hungry to build on it.”

Entering the season, the Pioneers were voted to finish last in the conference by the annual CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll but were not discouraged by the conference’s lack of confidence.

“I think going into the season, the motto with us was ‘shock the world’ because we were picked to go dead last in our conference,” said junior pitcher Sean Becker. “And all of that was motivation for us.”

Castillo felt it helped the team all season and helped focus, motivate and ultimately improve the team.

“It definitely gave us a chip on our shoulder knowing that all these teams think that they can come in here and roll over us and we weren’t going to let that happen,” said Castillo. “We were pissed off and it was that motivation that these guys think they are better than us and we were going to battle them the entire season.”

The Pioneers got off to a hot start, winning their first seven games; a start the players attribute to grueling and long pre-season practices.

“I think we all got stir crazy just scrimmaging ourselves so many times during the fall,” said Castillo. “We were really looking forward to digging in that box and staring down an opponent so I think we took that excitement and put that into good ABs, put that into competing and just had fun with it.”

This hot start put the Pioneers in rarified air here at East Bay as the team became nationally ranked for the first time since 1977 in Division II.

The Pioneers finished with a home record of 23-6 and while they ultimately fell short of being in the top four in the CCAA and moving onto playoffs, the Pioneers have a lot to be proud of.

“I am most proud of the fact that everyone worked hard,” said Becker. “We did not let egos get in the way. There is a certain way we were going to go about our business on the field.”

The Pioneers had eight players named to the All-CCAA team, the most in school history. Castillo became the first CSUEB player to be named to the All-CCAA first team.

“I was excited and I was speechless,” said Castillo. “I was just so excited that I got that. I mean my team got me that, I couldn’t have done it without my team around me battling.”

With all the awards seemingly rolling in throughout the Pioneers’ season, Becker, who was named to multiple awards himself, seemed to notice one particular thing.

“With every award that came it felt like it was always someone different,” said Becker. “A bunch of different guys were getting recognized, which says it wasn’t just one guy doing everything, it was the entire team. I think that’s the best part of the award side of it. It wasn’t just one person it was sprinkled throughout the entire roster.”

Looking past all the awards and accolades, something that has become evidently clear is that the CSUEB baseball program has changed.

Castillo, who played his last season here at East Bay, believes this program has changed permanently.

“The attitude at East Bay has changed,” said Castillo. “I can expect from now on East Bay being a contender and I think everyone else can. I think our coaching staff knows that and that’s the mindset we all have as players. We are going to compete and we are going to be contending.”