Chico State Athletics

The Chico State softball team is one of those rare groups which truly believes that any player on the roster can step up and execute in a crucial situation. Junior catcher Claire Wayne has been doing that all season long. Wildcat pitchers swear by her, while the rest of the team knows she has an uncanny knack of providing an inspiring spark at just the right time. The Norco product answered the bell not once, but twice in the NCAA Championship Tournament West Regional, delivering big hits to help the 'Cats win three straight games and take another step forward in the team's pursuit of a national championship. Wayne's clutch postseason play makes her the latest Wildcat of the Week.
 
In Thursday's NCAA West Regional opener against Northwest Nazarene, Chico State's 25-game winning streak was in serious jeopardy as the Wildcats trailed the Nighthawks 2-0 going into the bottom of the fifth inning. Wayne got the Wildcats on the board with a booming solo homer that ignited a game-winning four-run rally.
 
The Wildcats were faced with a similar situation in Saturday's title game against California Baptist. Down 2-1 in the sixth inning, Wayne stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded. She promptly ripped a line-drive double into the right-center field gap, knocking in three runs and giving Chico State a lead it would not relinquish. Thanks to Wayne's clutch extra-base knock, the Wildcats went on to beat the Lancers 7-2 to close out the NCAA West Regional bracket and advance to the West Super Regional.
 
Wayne's eight dingers on the year gives her 15 in her three years as a Wildcat, good for sixth on Chico State softball's career home run list.
 
Wayne and the Wildcats are in St. George, Utah, this week to take on Dixie State in the best-of-three NCAA Championship Tournament West Super Regional. The winner advances to the NCAA Championship Finals May 24-28 in Salem, Virginia.