SEASIDE, Calif. — Stan State closes out the 2026 regular season this weekend with a four-game CCAA series on the road at No. 10 Cal State Monterey Bay. The series begins Thursday, April 30 at 3 p.m., continues with a Friday doubleheader at 12 p.m. and 3 p.m., and concludes Saturday, May 2 at 12 p.m. at CSUMB Baseball Field.
Warriors Update
Through 44 games, Stan State is batting .278 as a team with 399 hits, 78 doubles, nine triples and 38 home runs while scoring 257 runs. The Warriors carry a .424 slugging percentage and a .358 on-base percentage entering the final weekend of the regular season.
On the mound, Stan State owns a 6.17 team ERA with 259 strikeouts in 363 innings. Opponents are hitting .298 against Warrior pitching, and the defense has compiled a .955 fielding percentage.
Offensive Leaders
Kian Sanchez leads the team with a .416 batting average, recording 37 hits, seven doubles, one triple and three home runs. Zach Lewis has a team-high 51 hits and 12 doubles while batting .317, and AJ Carter is hitting .282 with 37 hits, three triples, three home runs and 28 RBI.
Mason Kelley is batting .286 with 42 hits, including nine doubles and five home runs, while driving in a team-best 32 runs. Chris Ortiz has contributed 34 hits, including a team-high 12 doubles and a team-high six home runs with 33 RBI, while Tyler Crudo has recorded 40 hits and 16 RBI.
Pitching Leaders
Austin Balentine leads the staff with a 7-4 record and a 4.72 ERA over 61 innings while striking out 42. Pierce Sailer has recorded a team-high five saves with a 4.50 ERA, while Eli Blurton has added two saves and 31 strikeouts in 29 innings.
Evan Fanconi is 3-0 on the season with a 4.55 ERA in 29.2 innings, while Payton Hawkinson has struck out 29 batters in 46.1 innings of work.
Warriors Close Out Home Schedule with Series Split
Stan State went 2-2 at home against Cal State Dominguez Hills last weekend to earn a series split. The Warriors hit .345 as a team in the four-game set with 48 hits, including five home runs, while scoring 35 runs.
Chris Ortiz led the way, hitting .615 with eight hits, three home runs and 11 RBI while posting a 1.385 slugging percentage. Tyler Crudo added six hits, including two doubles, while Eric Perez hit .500 with four hits. Arthur Navarette Jr. recorded seven hits and scored a team-high seven runs.
Mason Kelley drove in six runs, including a home run, while Austin Sargent added a homer and two hits. AJ Carter chipped in four hits, and Kian Sanchez added five hits and two stolen bases.
On the mound, Eli Blurton and Austin Balentine each turned in strong starts, combining for 12.1 innings and 11 strikeouts. Balentine and Payton Hawkinson each recorded a win during the series, while Rocco Gurrola and Cameron Rosen did not allow a run in relief appearances.
Seeing Double
Stan State has recorded 104 multi-hit games this season, including 77 two-hit performances, 23 three-hit efforts and four four-hit games. Zach Lewis leads the team with 14 multi-hit games, including six three-hit performances and one four-hit game.
Mason Kelley and Tyler Crudo have each added 12 multi-hit games, while Kian Sanchez and Chris Ortiz have recorded 10 apiece. AJ Carter has contributed nine multi-hit performances, followed by Jacob Reyes and Chase Wilson with seven each. Eric Perez has added six multi-hit games, while Korey Likens has recorded five.
Driving Them In
Stan State has totaled 58 multi-RBI games this season, including 37 two-RBI performances, 15 three-RBI efforts, five four-RBI games and one five-RBI performance. AJ Carter and Chris Ortiz lead the team with nine multi-RBI games each, with Ortiz recording three four-RBI efforts.
Mason Kelley has added eight multi-RBI games, including a team-high one five-RBI performance, while Kian Sanchez has recorded six multi-RBI games. Zach Lewis has contributed five multi-RBI performances, followed by Eric Perez with four.
Tyler Crudo and Chase Wilson have each added three multi-RBI games, while several players, including Jacob Reyes, Cameron Taylor and Korey Likens, have recorded multiple multi-RBI efforts.
Streaks to Watch
Zach Lewis and Mason Kelley have each recorded a team-best 10-game hitting streak this season, while Kian Sanchez has added a nine-game streak. Sanchez enters the weekend on an eight-game hitting streak, while Chris Ortiz carries a six-game streak. AJ Carter has also hit safely in three consecutive games, and Eric Perez has a three-game streak.
Sanchez and Kelley each carry active eight-game reached-base streaks, while Ortiz leads the team with a 12-game reached-base streak. Tyler Crudo has reached base in four straight games, while Perez has reached safely in four consecutive contests and Carter in three.
Earlier this season, Sanchez posted a team-best 13-game reached-base streak, while Ortiz added a 12-game streak. Kelley, Crudo and Wilson have each recorded 11-game reached-base streaks.
Warrior Record Book
Austin Balentine continues to climb the Stan State record book, ranking sixth all-time with 22 career wins and eighth with 172 career strikeouts. He is also tied for ninth in single-season wins with seven. Peter Maldonado ranks seventh in program history with 198 strikeouts, while Louie Souza is sixth with 23 career wins.
Pierce Sailer has also made his mark in the record book, as he is tied for eighth in single-season saves with five and is just one save away from moving into a tie for eighth place on the program's career saves list.
CCAA Leaders
Stan State ranks among the CCAA leaders in several categories this season. The Warriors are tied for first in saves, third in sacrifice hits, and rank fifth in both doubles and triples.
Individually, Austin Balentine ranks fourth in the conference in strikeouts looking, is tied for fourth in wins, fifth in innings pitched, ninth in ERA and 10th in opponent batting average. Pierce Sailer is tied for first in the CCAA in saves.
Zach Lewis and Chris Ortiz are tied for fifth in doubles, while Payton Hawkinson ranks ninth in opponent batting average. Eli Blurton is tied for ninth in saves.
Scouting Cal State Monterey Bay
No. 10 Cal State Monterey Bay enters the final weekend of the regular season with a 34-12 overall record and a 19-9 mark in CCAA play, including a 19-5 record at home. The Otters are hitting .321 as a team with 515 hits, 94 doubles and 54 home runs while scoring 407 runs and carrying a .491 slugging percentage.
James Starkus leads the lineup with a .391 batting average, 12 home runs and 55 RBI, while Jason Del Villar has driven in a team-high 62 runs with 11 home runs. Andrew Lehmann is hitting .360 with 50 hits, while Conner Smith is batting .340 and anchors the middle of the order.
On the mound, Cal State Monterey Bay owns a 4.55 team ERA with 344 strikeouts in 393.1 innings while limiting opponents to a .266 batting average. Andrew Kotin leads the rotation with a 9-1 record and a 3.04 ERA, while Hayden Hall is 7-2 with 56 strikeouts. Drew Aguiar has recorded a team-high five saves out of the bullpen.
Defensively, the Otters are fielding .978 as a team and have turned 36 double plays this season.
Series History vs. Cal State Monterey Bay
Cal State Monterey Bay holds a slight edge in the all-time series, leading 42-41 since the first meeting in 2006. The Otters are 20-17 at home and 21-24 on the road in the series, with a 39-40 record in CCAA matchups.
Monterey Bay has won eight of the last 10 meetings between the two programs, including taking three of four games last season in Turlock. The Otters also hold the longest win streak in the series at 10 games from 2020 to 2023, while Stan State's longest streak was 17 games from 2007 to 2010.
Stan State's last win over Cal State Monterey Bay came in a 9-6 victory, highlighted by a strong pitching performance from Rocco Gurrola, who earned the win after tossing 6.0 innings. Cameron Rosen closed the game with a scoreless inning to record the save.
The last meeting between the two teams came on April 27, 2025, when Cal State Monterey Bay defeated Stan State 5-2. The Otters' largest margin of victory in the series was 16-2 in 2025, while the closest contest was a 5-4 decision in 2022.
Overall, the two teams have combined for 525 runs in the series, averaging 6.33 runs per game.
Up Next
All CCAA games will be available on FloCollege with live stats provided, while Stan State home games will also be broadcast on Blue Chip Broadcasting.
