STOCKTON – It’s been awhile since Chico State softball has been involved in postseason play – five years, to be exact. But Head Coach Angel Shamblin’s Wildcats, thanks to nine straight wins to close out the regular season, ended the program’s postseason drought and will be in Stockton Friday to take part in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championship Tournament, taking on No. 1 seed Cal State Monterey Bay at 7 p.m. in first round action at Arnaiz Stadium.

The Wildcats, 28-17 on the year and ranked No. 6 in the latest NCAA West Region rankings, snagged the fourth and final CCAA Championship Tournament berth with a four-game sweep of Cal State Stanislaus last weekend, finishing just a half-game ahead of Humboldt State for fourth place in the conference standings. The nine wins to close out the regular season is the longest win streak for any Chico State softball team since the early 1980’s.

Friday will mark the first time Chico State has participated in the conference tournament, which the CCAA began in 2007. The Wildcats, the tourney’s No. 4 seed, faces a very talented field – Cal State Monterey Bay is ranked No. 4 in the West Region; Sonoma State is No. 3 in the West and ranked 19th in the latest NCAA Division II Top 25 poll; and Cal State Dominguez Hills holds down the No. 8 slot in the West Region rankings.

As a team, Chico State is hitting .268 heading in the CCAA Championship Tournament, and was 6-6 during the regular season against the three other tournament teams. Charlotte Honciano, named to the All-CCAA first team earlier this week, is tops on the Wildcats and ranks fourth in the conference with a .389 batting average; she also leads the ’Cats in hits (58), home runs (3), triples (2), slugging percentage (.523), on-base percentage (465), hit by pitches (16) and stolen bases (10). Chico State boasts two of the hottest pitchers in the conference – righthanders Jessica McDermott (13-6) and Kacie McCarthy (13-9) have combined to toss 13 straight complete games and six shutouts. The duo has allowed just three earned runs in their last 69 innings of work (an eye-popping 0.30 ERA). McCarthy is sixth in the CCAA with a 2.14 ERA, while McDermott ranks fourth in the conference in strikeouts (124) and seventh in ERA (2.29).

Cal State Monterey Bay is 32-16 on the year entering Friday’s conference tournament opener. The Otters, which won the 2009 CCAA Championship Tournament, won five straight and eight of their last nine to close out the season, sweeping Cal State East Bay over the weekend to move past Sonoma State and claim the CCAA’s regular season crown. Monterey Bay’s offense is led by freshman outfielder Angelina Orozco (.345 batting average) and senior outfielder Jenny Montez (.299, 5 HR, 23 RBI), an All-CCAA first team selection. All-CCAA second team catcher Shae Olds hit .299 and was fourth in the conference in both home runs (9) and RBI (37). The Otters’ top arm is junior righthander Diane Ortiz, the CCAA’s co-Pitcher of the Year. Ortiz’ 16 wins was fifth among conference hurlers; she also ranked fourth in ERA (1.84) and sixth in strikeouts (120). Junior lefty Nicole Garcia was 8-3 during the regular season and ranked tenth in the CCAA with a 2.42 ERA.

The only time Chico State and Cal State Monterey Bay met this season, the Otters took three of four February 19-20, with the Otters outscoring the Wildcats 21-9 in the series. The two teams were supposed to play each other in early February during the Mizuno Best of the West Invitational, but the game – and the remainder of the tournament – was rained out. All-time, Chico State and Monterey Bay have split their 24 meetings, but the Otters have won six of the last seven matchups.

Live stats for Friday’s tournament opener will be available on the Internet via the CCAA website. Click here to access the official tournament page.