CHICO – With 12 seniors on the roster and coming off back-to-back NCAA Championship Tournament appearances, the Chico State softball team has high expectations for itself as the 2012 season unfolds this Saturday and Sunday in Turlock at the Mizuno Best of the West Invitational. The Wildcats aren’t the only ones anticipating big things – the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) has designated Chico State as the No. 15 team in the country, according to the organization’s Division II preseason poll announced Wednesday.
National champion UC San Diego – which earned the No. 1 slot on the NFCA poll – was the only West Region school ranked higher than Chico State. Before the Wildcats and Tritons square off Feb. 10-11 in San Diego to kick off California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) conference play, Chico State will take part this weekend in the two-day, 10-team Mizuno Best of the West Invitational, hosted by Cal State Stanislaus and taking place at Pedretti Park in Turlock. The ’Cats began the 2011 campaign at the Invitational, winning three of five contests.
Chico State, 31-19 last season, boasts 11 letterwinners and four All-CCAA players on the 2012 roster. The Wildcats, shooting for a third straight 30-win season (unprecedented in the program’s history), will play five games during the Invitational, beginning Saturday at 10 a.m. against Dominican University. The ’Cats beat the Penguins (2-41 in 2011) twice last year, once to open the season and once in April at the Mizuno Tournament of Champions.
Chico State squares off with Western Washington Saturday afternoon at 2:30. The Vikings, 36-16 last season and appearing in the NCAA Championship Tournament for the first time in four years, failed to beat the Wildcats in two 2011 matchups. Chico State has won 13 of 20 meetings between the two teams dating back to 1983.
The Wildcats wrap up Saturday play with a 4:45 p.m. contest against conference rival Humboldt State. The Lumberjacks, national champions back in 2008, were 27-24 in 2011 and finished in seventh place in the CCAA. Chico State beat Humboldt three times last season in a four game series Apr. 8-9 at University Softball Field.
Chico State begins play Sunday at 10:15 a.m. against Cal State San Marcos. The Cougars, ranked No. 2 in the nation among National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) teams, are coming off a 45-11 season and a Final Four appearance in the NAIA Softball National Championships. In the only previous meeting between the ’Cats and the Cougars, Cal State San Marcos beat Chico State 9-0 Feb. 5 in last year’s Mizuno Best of the West Invitational.
The Wildcats wrap up Sunday and weekend action with a 12:30 tilt against Metro State (Colo.). The Roadrunners reached the NCAA Championship Tournament in 2011 thanks to a 34-18 record, and have been picked to finish third this year in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Sunday’s game will mark only the second time – and the first in nearly 23 years – Chico State and Metro State have met on the softball field. The Wildcats beat the Roadrunners 5-3 back on Mar. 31, 1989.
Game schedule, ticket information, directions and Live Stats for selected games will be available through the
official Mizuno Best of the West Invitational web page.
