Starting pitcher Luke Barker has a chance to make history and the Chico State baseball team has a chance to make up valuable ground in the postseason race when the Wildcats host Cal State Monterey Bay for a four-game series this weekend.
 
Barker will likely be on the mound for Chico State on Friday night. With a win he would become the first pitcher in the program's history to rank among the all-time top 10 in both wins and saves. The senior from Chico will be going for his 16^th career win. Last season he was the team's closer and saved a school record 18 games, the third most in the school's career history.
 
Barker's transition back into the starting rotation has been seamless. He ranks third in the California Collegiate Athletic Association with a 1.07 ERA. In conference action, he leads the CCAA in innings pitched and ranks third in strikeouts. He also ranks among the top three in school history in single-season hits per nine innings (6.00), strikeout-to-walk ratio (7.60) and walks per nine innings (1.07).
 
Barker would gladly trade some of those numbers for a few more team wins, however. In the tight race for a top-four conference finish in the CCAA and postseason berth that comes with it, they're currently on the outside looking in at 9-10. But even in eighth place, they're only two and a half games behind fourth-place Cal State L.A.
 
They'll attempt to make up some ground against second-place Cal State Monterey Bay (18-10, 14-6 CCAA) this weekend. The series kicks off Friday at 6 p.m., continues with a doubleheader Saturday at noon, and concludes with a single game Sunday at 11 a.m.
 
Barker is not the only Wildcat among the conference's statistical leaders. Andrew Carrillo currently ranks fifth in hitting at .360 and Dylan Garcia is 10^th at .347. Tyler Madrid is tied for third with three home runs in conference play, while Sean Smith's five stolen bases rank tied for fourth in conference action. Pitchers have hit Madrid, Peter Miller and Connor Huesers five times apiece, ranking fifth in the CCAA. Robert Hook ranks second with nine pitching appearances in conference play, fellow releiver AJ Epstein is fourth in wins (three) and appearances (nine), and Wildcats closer Ryan O'Shea ranks fourth in saves with three.