SEASIDE - A crisp, clear night suddenly turned into pea soup as I traveled with the Chico State baseball team to Seaside for a four-game showdown with California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) rival Cal State Montery Bay. The dense fog made getting my bearings in the unfamiliar territoy nearly impossible. It reminded me of the 2011 CCAA baseball season. The sudden upswing of a team like the Otters under Head Coach Walt White have made a usually hard to predict conference even tougher this season.

Cal State Monterey Bay, a conference doormat since joining the CCAA, is not only a respectable 5-7 on the season, but the Otters (2-2 in the CCAA) are coming off a series split with defending National Champion UC San Diego, which entered the weekend ranked No. 1 in the nation.

Meanwhile, the Wildcats are 8-1 overall and 3-1 in the CCAA. They're ranked No. 9 in the nation by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. However, they're unranked by College Baseball Lineup. That doesn't make Head Coach Dave Taylor angry though. In fact, even he is still figuring out just what kind of team he has with 21 newcomers and two freshmen in the starting rotation.

The fog was thick Thursday night, but it will soon be lifting. Little by little the team the Wildcats really are will be revealed. So far, Chico State's fans have liked what they've seen. The Wildcats are hoping that trend continues this weekend.

The series opens with a single game Friday at 2 PM. That's followed by a doubleheader Saturday at 11 AM and the series finale Sunday at 11.

Thursday's game will be broadcast locally on AM 1340 ESPN. The final three games of the series will be on AM 1290 KPAY. All four games will be available on the Chico State athletics home page (www.chicowildcats.com) via the Wildcat Webcast link.