CHICO – The Chico State baseball team is looking up at Cal State Dominguez Hills in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) standings, the NCAA West Region rankings, and the National Rankings. But the Wildcats have a chance to look the Toros in the eye all weekend as two teams with huge postseason aspirations square off four a four-game series at Nettleton Stadium.

First pitch for Friday’s series opener is scheduled for 6 p.m. The series continues with a doubleheader beginning Saturday at noon and concludes with Sunday’s noon first-pitch finale.

Chico State enters the contest 26-12 overall and 21-11 in the CCAA. The Wildcats are ranked No. 29 in the nation and No. 3 in the West Region. Cal State Dominguez Hills is 31-10 overall and 27-7 in the CCAA. The Toros are ranked No. 13 in the country and No. 2 in the West Region.

Chico State is 16-2 at home this season, but they’ll face a Toros team that has won 12 in a row and 23 of 26 since an 8-7 start.

Friday night’s showdown between Wildcats ace Michael Gleason (6-0, 2.89 ERA) and Toros ace Brett Montgomery (5-1, 2.32 ERA) will kick off the highly anticipated series in style. The Wildcats are 9-0 when Gleason takes the hill this season and he’s been at his very best of late. He’s 3-0 with a 1.15 ERA thanks to 31 strikeouts in 31 innings in his last four starts. Montgomery, meanwhile, has limited the opposition to a CCAA-low .180 batting average and he ranks second in the conference with 65 strikeouts in 66 innings of work.

Offensively, the Wildcats appear to feature more balance with eight regular starters hitting above .300 and eight with 20 or more runs batted in. Dominguez Hills features three players hitting .390 or better in third baseman Abel Medina (who ranks third in the CCAA with a .434 average and also leads the Toros with seven home runs and 45 RBI), outfielder Kevin Pillar (who has hit safely in a CCAA-record 39 straight games, 10 shy of the NCAA Division II record), and first baseman Steve Carillo. But the Toros’ most oft-employed lineup also includes five players hitting sub-.300.

History is certainly on Chico State’s side. The Wildcats are 22-3 all-time against the Toros in Chico, including 17-1 since the opening of Nettleton Stadium. The Wildcats’ hold a 42-15-1 edge in the overall series and had won 20 of 22 before the Toros won three straight to finish last season’s series in Carson.

All four games will be broadcast locally on ESPN Radio 101.7 FM and 1340 AM and on the Chico State Web site webcast link.