Chico State Athletics

On a weekend dominated by softball Senior Day festivities and the battle for the No. 2 seed in the upcoming CCAA Tournament, leave it to a true freshman to step up and fuel the Chico State offense in the team’s regular season-ending series with Sonoma State. Constantly kick-starting scoring rallies, third baseman Grace Stover hammered Seawolves pitching for two straight days, and was a key reason for the ’Cats coming away with a hard-fought—and much-needed—series split. Stover’s prowess at the plate makes her the latest Wildcat of the Week.
 
Stover batted .571 over the four-game set, with three doubles among her eight hits. The Rocklin native scored four runs while also posting an impressive .786 slugging percentage and .600 on-base percentage hitting out of the leadoff spot.
 
In Friday’s series-opening doubleheader, Stover picked up a hit and scored a run in Chico State’s 2-0 game one victory, then followed with a 4-for-4 performance in the nightcap. Stover doubled twice and collected three hits in Saturday’s doubleheader opener, won by the Wildcats 2-1 to clinch second place in the CCAA standings.
 
Stover heads into postseason play batting .338 on the year while ranking fifth in the CCAA in runs scored (36) and sharing eighth place in the conference with a team-leading 13 doubles.
 
Stover and the Wildcats will be in Seaside beginning Thursday for the CCAA Softball Tournament, where Chico State will attempt to capture its first conference tourney championship banner since 2018 and earn the CCAA’s automatic bid to the May 12–20 NCAA Championship Tournament.