Chico State Athletics

In a weekend series that saw slim offensive production and only a handful of runs scored, there was one Chico State softball player who seemed to have no problem finding her way on base. In just three games, Tayler Berens accounted for over 30 percent of the Wildcats’ entire offensive output against Stanislaus State, raising her batting average 76 points and helping the ’Cats take three out of four from the visiting Warriors. The lefthander’s outstanding hitting display makes Berens the pick for Wildcat of the Week.
 
Berens, who entered the weekend hitting .281, batted a healthy .600 (6-for-10) against Stanislaus to raise her average to .357 on the season—14th-best in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). The Artois product scored one run, drove in another, and stole three bases as Chico State moved to 11-9 on the season and into a tie for fifth place in the CCAA standings.
 
In Friday’s series opener, Berens contributed a key base hit that led to Chico State scoring the only run of the game, as the ’Cats blanked Stanislaus 1-0. She went 2-for-3 in game one of Saturday’s twin bill, scoring the lone run in Chico State’s 1-0 victory. In the nightcap, Berens delivered three hits in four trips to the plate and drove in one of the two Wildcat runs.
 
Berens currently leads the Wildcats in on-base percentage (.471) and ranks second on the team in batting average, runs batted in (7), and stolen bases (5).
 
Berens and the Wildcats travel to Southern California this weekend for an important conference series with Cal State San Bernardino. The four-game set begins with a doubleheader Friday, followed by a twin bill on Saturday.