SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — Stan State returns to CCAA play this weekend following a week off, traveling to Cal State San Bernardino for a four-game series at Fiscalini Field to conclude an eight-game road trip. The series begins Friday at 3:00 p.m., continues with a Saturday doubleheader at 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., and concludes Sunday at 11:00 a.m. Fiscalini Field will also serve as the site of the 2026 CCAA Baseball Championship Tournament, scheduled for May 6–9.

Series Recap: Cal State San Marcos
Stan State went 1-3 on the road at Cal State San Marcos (March 27–29) to move to 16-17 overall and 7-9 in CCAA play. The Warriors recorded 28 hits in the four-game series, including four home runs, with Zach Lewis leading the way with five hits, including a double and a home run, while AJ Carter added four hits and a home run. Evan Fanconi and Bradley Morris also homered during the series. Eli Hancock had a strong weekend at the plate, batting .375. Fanconi picked up the Warriors' lone win of the series with 3.2 scoreless innings, while Pierce Sailer recorded a save.

CCAA Standings
Cal State Monterey Bay leads the CCAA standings with a 10-6 conference record and a 25-9 overall mark. The Otters are ranked 21st nationally in the latest ABCA/NCAA Division II poll as of April 1. Cal Poly Pomona sits second at 12-8 in conference play and 20-14 overall and is receiving votes in the national poll, along with Cal State San Marcos, who is 9-7 in CCAA action and 22-9 overall.

Cal State East Bay is also 9-7 in conference play, while Cal State Los Angeles is 10-10. Cal State San Bernardino is 8-8, and Stan State enters the weekend at 7-9 in CCAA play and 16-17 overall, followed by Chico State (8-12) and Cal State Dominguez Hills (7-13).

The Warriors have 16 games remaining in the regular season. The top five teams at the conclusion of the CCAA regular season on May 2 will earn a berth into the 2026 CCAA Baseball Championship Tournament, scheduled for May 6–9 in San Bernardino. The winner of the tournament will receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA postseason.

This Week in the CCAA
Conference play continues this weekend with several key matchups, while Chico State has the weekend off. Stan State travels to San Bernardino to face Cal State San Bernardino, while Cal State Monterey Bay heads to San Marcos to take on Cal State San Marcos. Cal State East Bay travels to Pomona for a four-game series with Cal Poly Pomona, and Cal State Dominguez Hills visits Cal State Los Angeles.

Most series begin Friday afternoon and continue with Saturday doubleheaders before concluding Sunday.

Warriors Update
Through 33 games, Stan State is batting .273 as a team with 292 hits, 62 doubles, six triples and 23 home runs while scoring 185 runs. The Warriors carry a .407 slugging percentage and a .353 on-base percentage entering this weekend's CCAA series.

On the mound, Stan State owns a 5.27 team ERA with 199 strikeouts in 273 innings. Opponents are hitting .282 against Warrior pitching, and the defense has compiled a .954 fielding percentage.

Offensive Leaders
Kian Sanchez continues to lead the lineup, batting .452 with 28 hits, five doubles, three home runs and 16 RBI. Zach Lewis is hitting .322 with a team-high 39 hits and 12 doubles, while Tyler Crudo is batting .310 with 31 hits and 14 RBI. Chase Wilson is also hitting .293 with 22 hits.

AJ Carter has recorded 29 hits with three triples, three home runs and 23 RBI, while Mason Kelley has 30 hits, seven doubles and three home runs with a team-high 22 RBI. Jacob Reyes has added 22 hits and 11 RBI, while Chris Ortiz has 20 hits and 16 RBI.

Pitching Leaders
Austin Balentine leads the rotation with a 5-3 record and a 4.20 ERA over 45 innings while striking out 33. He is tied for sixth in Stan State history with 20 career wins and ranks 10th in program history with 165 strikeouts.  Pierce Sailer leads the bullpen with four saves and a 3.60 ERA in 25 innings, while Eli Blurton has two saves and 22 strikeouts in 16.2 innings. AJ Victoravich has added one save with a 4.15 ERA, and Cameron Rosen has one save with 12 strikeouts in 18.1 innings. Payton Hawkinson has also recorded a save while striking out 23 batters in 39 innings.

Warrior Record Book
Austin Balentine continues to climb the Stan State career record book, as he is tied for sixth all-time with 20 career wins and ranks 10th in program history with 169 strikeouts. Louie Souza ranks fifth with 23 career wins, while Eric Federico (170) and Nick Voumard (173) sit just ahead of Balentine on the strikeouts list.

Pierce Sailer is also making his mark, as he is tied for ninth on the Stan State single-season saves list with four. Eric Cendejas ranks eighth with five saves, while Andrew Troncale and Mike Shaw are tied for sixth with six. Sailer is two saves away from moving into the program's top 10 in career saves.

CCAA Leaders
Stan State ranks among the CCAA leaders in several categories this season. As a team, the Warriors are first in saves, second in sacrifice hits, third in shutouts, fourth in ERA, fifth in opponent batting average and sixth in doubles.
Individually, Austin Balentine is tied for fifth in wins while ranking sixth in innings pitched, eighth in ERA and tied for ninth in opponent batting average. Pierce Sailer is tied for second in saves, while Eli Blurton is tied for sixth. Korey Likens is tied for second in sacrifice hits, Zach Lewis is tied for second in doubles, AJ Carter is tied for third in triples, and Payton Hawkinson ranks eighth in opponent batting average.

FloCollege / CCAA Weekly Awards
Stan State has had multiple players recognized in the FloCollege/CCAA Baseball Weekly Awards this season. Austin Balentine has earned FloCollege/CCAA Pitcher of the Week honors twice (Jan. 30–Feb. 1 and Feb. 16–22), while Pierce Sailer was named FloCollege/CCAA Pitcher of the Week for the week of March 2–8.

Multi-Hit Games
Stan State has totaled 78 multi-hit games this season, including 58 two-hit performances, 17 three-hit efforts and three four-hit games. Zach Lewis and Tyler Crudo lead the way with 10 multi-hit games each, while Kian Sanchez, Mason Kelley and AJ Carter have each recorded eight.
Chris Ortiz has added seven multi-hit games, while Jacob Reyes and Chase Wilson each have six. Korey Likens and Eric Perez have contributed four multi-hit efforts, while Shane Callison and Eli Hancock each have two.

Multi-RBI Games
AJ Carter leads the Warriors with seven multi-RBI games this season, followed by Kian Sanchez and Mason Kelley with six each. Zach Lewis has added five multi-RBI performances.
Chris Ortiz has recorded three multi-RBI games, including one four-RBI effort, while Jacob Reyes, Tyler Crudo, Eric Perez and Chase Wilson each have two. As a team, Stan State has recorded 33 multi-RBI games this season.

Streaks to Watch
AJ Carter enters the weekend on a four-game hitting streak, while Chase Wilson carries a two-game streak. Shane Callison and Eli Hancock have each hit safely in two consecutive games.  Tyler Crudo leads the team with an 11-game active reached-base streak, while Carter has reached base in four straight contests. Eli Hancock, Jacob Haros and Cameron Taylor each carry three-game reached-base streaks.

Earlier this season, Zach Lewis and Mason Kelley each posted 10-game hitting streaks, while Kian Sanchez reached base in a team-best 13 consecutive games.

NCAA Leaders
As of Saturday, April 4, Stan State ranks among the NCAA Division II leaders in several categories. The Warriors are 21st nationally in strikeouts per nine innings and walks allowed per nine innings, and 40th in sacrifice hits.
Individually, Pierce Sailer ranks 32nd in the nation in saves, while AJ Carter is 40th nationally in triples per game.

Scouting Cal State San Bernardino
Cal State San Bernardino enters the weekend at 16-16 overall and 8-7 in CCAA play, including an 11-8 mark at home. The Coyotes are hitting .343 as a team with 387 hits, 64 doubles, seven triples and 63 home runs while scoring 312 runs. They carry a .580 slugging percentage and a .452 on-base percentage.

Eddie Alfaro leads the lineup with a .418 batting average, while Garret Barto is hitting .415 with a team-high 12 home runs and 31 RBI. Tyson Pettingill is batting .411 with seven home runs and 33 RBI, and Dom Dominguez has added 10 home runs and a team-high 41 RBI. Jeremy Giesegh also provides production with a .341 average and 10 stolen bases.

On the mound, Cal State San Bernardino owns a 7.92 team ERA with 237 strikeouts in 261.1 innings. Kailer Saunders leads the rotation with a 4-2 record and a 5.18 ERA over 40 innings, while Devyn Hernandez has recorded 44 strikeouts in 37 innings. Jesse Alfaro and Aidan Colin have combined for two saves out of the bullpen.

Defensively, the Coyotes are fielding .963 as a team and have turned 22 double plays this season.

Series History vs. Cal State San Bernardino
Stan State holds a 32-25 advantage over Cal State San Bernardino in the all-time series since 2008. The Coyotes won the most recent matchup, 18-11, on February 23, 2025 in Turlock.

The Warriors are 19-12 at home and 13-12 on the road in the series, including a 32-25 edge in CCAA contests. The two teams have split the last 10 meetings dating back to 2023.

Stan State won two of three games in the most recent series in San Bernardino in 2024, including 6-2 and 13-11 victories. In the 2025 series opener in Turlock, the Warriors earned a 2-1 win behind a strong outing from Austin Balentine, who pitched seven innings, allowing just one run on six hits while striking out eight. Cameron Rosen recorded the final two innings to secure the victory.

Stan State's longest winning streak in the series was six games from March 31, 2018 through March 11, 2022. The Warriors' largest margin of victory was a 20-1 win on March 30, 2018, while the smallest margin of victory was a 5-4 decision on February 22, 2025. The two programs have combined for 365 runs in the series, averaging 6.4 runs per game.

FloCollege
All four games of this weekend's series will be streamed live on FloCollege. Live stats will also be available through Stan State Athletics.

Up Next
The Warriors return home to Warrior Baseball Diamond to host Chico State in a four-game CCAA series beginning Friday, April 17 at 6 p.m. The series continues with a Saturday doubleheader at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. and concludes Sunday at 12 p.m.

Stan State remains at home the following weekend to host Cal State Dominguez Hills beginning Friday, April 24 at 6 p.m., which will also serve as Blue Chip Broadcasting Sponsor Night. The series continues with a Saturday doubleheader at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. and wraps up Sunday at 12 p.m.

Senior Day will take place on Sunday, April 26 at 11:30 a.m. prior to the series finale against Cal State Dominguez Hills at Warrior Baseball Diamond. Stan State will honor Shane Callison, Jacob Reyes, Cameron Rosen, Tyler Crudo, Korey Likens, AJ Carter, Rocco Gurrola, Austin Balentine, Eric Perez, Bradley Morris, Herman Luna, Zach Geiss, Arthur Navarette Jr., Evan Fanconi, Jared Sawyer, Adam Davies, Chase Wilson, Chris Ortiz, Austin Sargent and Cole Pacheco.

Stan State closes out the regular season on the road at No. 21 Cal State Monterey Bay beginning Thursday, April 30 at 6 p.m. in Seaside. The series continues with a Friday doubleheader at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. and concludes Saturday, May 2 at 12 p.m.

All games will be streamed live on FloCollege with live stats available. The Warriors' final eight home games will also be broadcast live on BlueChipBroadcasting.com with Bryan Nelson calling the action.