If Chico State softball fans are looking for a model of consistency, they need look no further than the right side of the Wildcat infield. Junior second baseman Diana Payan has contributed in nearly every game this season, and last week she came up big again, particularly on offense. For starters, the El Monte native batted .500, piling up 11 hits – including five doubles – and hit safely in all eight of the Wildcats’ games. Payan also scored seven runs, collected four RBI and posted a .727 slugging percentage to go along with a .593 on-base percentage to lead the ’Cats to a series win over Cal State East Bay and a weekend split against Cal State San Bernardino. Payan’s prowess at the plate has earned her Wildcat of the Week recognition.
Among Payan’s many highlights last week was a two-run double in the finale of Chico State’s March 9 doubleheader with East Bay that proved to be the game winner in a 4-2 Wildcat victory over the Pioneers. On March 11, her RBI double keyed a four-run fifth inning to give Chico State a come-from-behind 6-5 victory in game two of the Wildcats’ twinbill against Cal State San Bernardino. In the final game of Saturday’s doubleheader, Payan had two hits, reached base in all three plate appearances and scored twice in a 13-5 loss to the Coyotes.
Payan, currently enjoying a nine-game hitting streak, is currently second on the team in batting, and her .379 average ranks eighth among CCAA players. She is tied for the conference lead with nine doubles and is ninth in the CCAA in on-base percentage (.471). Payan also tops the Wildcats in walks (10) and sacrifice hits (7), and in the field has committed just one error at second base in 21 games.
Payan and the Wildcats are back in action this Friday and Saturday, traveling to Rohnert Park to take on Sonoma State.
