CHICO – With a third straight trip to the NCAA West Regionals on the horizon, the Chico State softball team hopes this weekend’s California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championship Tournament will serve as a more positive springboard for the Wildcats than it has in past seasons. Over the last two years, the ’Cats have dropped four of five conference tournament games, and the 2012 edition of the double-elimination event features four very evenly-matched teams – with three ranked in the top 20 nationally. Chico State will have its hands full right out of the gate Friday, taking on the CCAA’s top-hitting team, Cal State Monterey Bay, at 7 p.m. at Arnaiz Field in Stockton.
The game will be broadcast live on the internet – CLICK HERE or click the white “Wildcat Webcast” button to the right of the Wildcat Athletics home page.
The tournament’s first game will begin Friday at 4:30 p.m., pitting the conference’s No. 1 seed, Cal State Dominguez Hills (41-11 overall, 27-7 in the CCAA), and No. 4 UC San Diego (32-18, 23-13 CCAA).
Chico State, ranked 19th in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Top 25 Coaches Poll, heads into the CCAA Championship Tournament with a 34-14 regular season record, earning the No. 3 seed in the tourney with a 25-9 conference mark. The ’Cats roll into postseason having won seven of their last eight contests, including a four-game sweep of Cal State East Bay last weekend. In the all-important West Region rankings – the top eight teams advancing to next month’s NCAA Championship Tournament – Chico State sits at the No. 4 position.
Cal State Monterey Bay, the No. 6 team in the nation and ranked second in the West Region, is also hot entering postseason play. The Otters (42-10, 27-7 CCAA) claimed a share of the conference’s regular season title by winning their final five games (including an impressive series sweep of defending national champion UC San Diego last weekend in La Jolla) and 19 of the last 21. Interestingly, Monterey Bay’s last loss was to Chico State in the first game of an April 18 doubleheader. The Otters are making their fourth CCAA Championship Tournament appearances in the last five years.
The Otters and Wildcats, the CCAA’s No. 1 and 2 hitting teams, respectively, split their four regular season games in 2012, and judging by the final scores, there promises to be plenty of scoring Friday night. The two teams combined for 52 runs in a tight four-game set (a March 23 doubleheader and the rain-delayed twinbill April 18 in Seaside), with two of the contests going extra innings.
Both teams have been productive on the road this season. Cal State Monterey Bay is 24-7 in away games, while Chico State is 22-10 away from University Softball Field.
Collectively, the Wildcats are hitting .308, averaging 5.3 runs and 8.7 hits a game. Chico State features five .300 hitters, led by senior outfielder Britt Wright, who is fourth in the CCAA with a .398 average and in the midst of a 12-game hitting streak. Senior outfielder Sam Quadt is batting .380, followed by senior second baseman Diana Payan’s .354 average. Senior catcher Hailey Stockman continues to be the ’Cats’ top power hitter and run producer, batting .333 with a school-record 10 home runs and 55 runs batted in. Sophomore shortstop Taylor Hanamaikai is batting .306, and senior center fielder Bianca Lopez is just under the .300 mark at .296.
The Chico State pitching staff is ranked fifth in the CCAA with a team earned run average of 2.87, and is third in strikeouts (283). Senior righthander Sam Baker (17-5, 2.49 ERA, 156 strikeouts) has won her last eight decisions, and has not lost since bowing March 30 to Dixie State 1-0 during the Mizuno Tournament of Champions in Turlock. Senior righty Jessica McDermott (10-5, 3.20 ERA) finished the regular season with two sparkling performances against Cal State East Bay, while junior righthander Kayla McConnell (6-4, 3.11 ERA) allowed just one run and notched a save in three relief appearances last week.
Cal State Monterey Bay is hitting a collective .334 on the season, averaging a CCAA-best 6.6 runs and 8.8 hits a game. Four players are batting over .400: freshman infielder Nina Villanueva is hitting .429 with 15 home runs and a conference-leading 68 RBI; senior first baseman Jamie Moon sports a .430 batting average and has piled up 45 RBI and 24 extra-base hits; and senior infielder Jackie Serna is hitting .417 with 10 homers and 55 runs batted in. Freshman Cori Reinhardt boasts the Otters’ top batting average, hitting at a .472 clip.
Monterey Bay’s pitching staff ranks fourth in the CCAA with a 2.68 team ERA. Reinhardt, a righthander, is the Otters’ ace with a 21-3 record and 1.58 ERA. Sophomore righty Kylie Linnane is 11-2 with a 2.59 ERA.
The winner of Friday’s Chico State-Cal State Monterey Bay game will play the Cal State Dominguez Hills-UC San Diego winner in Saturday’s semifinal round a 2 p.m. The two Friday losers will play Saturday at 4:30 p.m. in a tournament elimination game.
CCAA CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
All Chico State softball games during the CCAA Championship will be broadcast live on the internet. To access the link and hear the play-by-play, visit
www.chicowildcats.com and click on the white “Wildcat Webcast” button on the right side of the home page.
