With the crack of a bat and the pop of the glove, CSU East Bay Pioneer baseball kicked off their season Saturday with a four game series against the Central Washington Wildcats.

The Pioneers opened their season with hopes of improving on last year’s 18-30 record and seem to be doing just that, starting the season with a series sweep.

Bob Ralston, second year head coach of the Pioneer Baseball team, believes this team will be more competitive than last year’s.

“We are a better, well rounded team this year than we were last year and a little more solid in all areas of the game,” said Ralston. “We are a solid defensive club, with solid pitching, and we have a couple guys in the lineup who are going to have some good offensive years.”

One of those players is Jordan Wilder. One of the top players for the Pioneers, Wilder was an All-California Collegiate Athletic Association honorable mention last year after batting .317 to lead the team.

“Our expectations of him is to continue doing what he’s been doing with the bat,” said Ralston. “He is really a good, tough at bat. He gives you a good at bat every time up and he’s just a good solid offensive player.”

Through two games Wilder is already batting .429 with 5 runs batted in and is well on his way to another great season.

“I expect to hit in the high .300s, get a lot of stolen bases and do well in the field,” said Wilder, who hopes to be able to celebrate more than just another good offensive year. “Really, my main goal is to have a winning season.”

Having good, tough at bats, grinding out games, and being tough physically and mentally is the main focus for the team this season.

“The main thing we preach is guys to have quality at bats and putting the ball in play with two strikes. That’s real big,” said Darren Lewis, a former Major League Baseball player who is now associate head coach of the Pioneers. “Going up there and battling at the plate, not being so worried about batting average but getting quality at bats, we love that type of stuff.”

The CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll, a vote of conference coaches conducted every year, came out on Jan. 24; it was anything but a vote of confidence for the Pioneers.

“The Coaches’ Poll has us coming in last place in our league and that’s just inspiration. There’s no pressure against us, just show everyone what we got,” said Andrew Rodriguez, a senior who leads off for the Pioneers. “We are a real good team. We are going to surprise a lot of people this year.”

Rodriguez, much like his coaches and Wilder, has his own expectations for his senior season.

“For me, I just want to have a good senior year and contribute in any way possible,” said Rodriguez. “One thing I put my eye on at the beginning of the season is the single season stolen base record that is something I hope to break.”

The coaching staff predicts Rodriguez could steal anywhere from 20 to 30 bases and with the single season record of 29, set in 2006, Rodriguez’s goal could easily be within reach.

Coach Ralston is using the things he learned in his first season in hopes of making this second season more successful.

“Well it was definitely a learning experience; to know and learn the conference, the strength of the conference, and to learn what we need to do to recruit and be successful,” said Ralston.

Chico State opens the 2013 season ranked 11th nationally in the Collegiate Baseball preseason poll and UC San Diego is ranked 23rd. With this high level of play, every team in the CCAA including the Pioneers have a difficult season ahead of them.

“We have some work to do, but going into this season we feel much more confident especially with the players we brought in.” Ralston said.

Despite the difficulty of playing in the CCAA, Ralston outlined his objectives for the season. “Our goal is to be competitive with every club. If you stay around a .500 record you can have a real solid year. You want to prevent getting swept.”

The Pioneers opened up their season against the Central Washington Wildcats in a four game series that started on Feb. 3 and finishes on Feb. 6.

The Pioneers took the first game of the season, in walk-off fashion with the help of 15 hits. Rodriguez led the game off with a long towering home run to left, but the Pioneers found themselves down by a run entering the ninth.

After a hard fought at bat, Naea Kalehuawehe hit a high chopper to left, which scored the winning run to hand the Pioneers a 5-4 victory.

In the second game, the Wildcats scored two runs in the first inning but the Pioneers pitched eight scoreless innings after that. All the Pioneers runs came in the fourth as they scored five runs and beat the Wildcats for the second day in a row, 5-2.

In the third game, behind a dominant performance by senior, Matt Fontaine, the Pioneers shut out the Wildcats, 6-0. Fontaine pitched seven scoreless innings while striking out seven on his way to his first victory of the season.

With the help of some Wildcat errors and several key hits, the Pioneers were able to win the series and their third game in a row.

In the fourth and final game the Pioneers flexed their offensive muscle, scoring 12 runs off 12 hits to complete the sweep of the Wildcats. Rodriguez got three hits and Wilder added two RBI’s to continue theirs and the Pioneers hot start on the way to the win.

The Pioneers now focus on their next opponent, Oregon Tech, who they host this weekend with a double header on Saturday, February 9 and the final game of the series on Sunday February 10.