Kelly Starnes named CCAA Baseball Player of Week
Starnes finished the season with a .352 batting average to lead the Pioneers. (Photo: Kelley Cox)
- May 6, 2014
Cal State East Bay junior centerfielder Kelly Starnes has been named the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Baseball Player of the Week for Apr. 28 - May 4. He batted .500 as the Pioneers' leadoff hitter in helping the Pioneers take three out of four games from San Francisco State May 2-4.
The Pittsburg, Calif., native posted three three-hit games over the weekend, finishing 9-for-18 with a .722 slugging percentage. Starnes had three doubles, three stolen bases, two runs batted in and a team-leading six runs scored in the four games.
Starnes was drafted in the 40th round of the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft by the Minnesota Twins out of Los Medanos College, but elected to attend and play for CSUEB. In his first season as a Pioneer, he started all 48 regular season games and led the team in batting average (.352), on-base percentage (.416), runs (38), hits (63), home runs (4), and total bases (87). He ranked second in the CCAA with a .371 average in conference play this year. Over the last seven series, spanning 28 games, Starnes batted .436 to lead the league.
This marks the second straight week a Pioneer has been named CCAA Baseball Player of the Week. Starnes joins teammate Ryan Kochan, who won last week's award after batting .467 in a four-game sweep of Cal State L.A.
CSUEB notched its second straight 30-win season in 2014, finishing the regular season at 30-18 with a school-record 24 wins against CCAA competition.