STOCKTON – It turned out to be a much shorter visit to Stockton than the Chico State softball team had hoped for. After falling 7-6 in 10 innings Friday to Cal State Monterey Bay, the Wildcats were eliminated Saturday in the second round of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championship Tournament, dropping a 6-3 decision to Sonoma State. There could still be some more games in the 'Cats immediate future, but the team will have to wait until Monday to find out if they will be among the eight West Region teams selected for next week's NCAA Championship Tournament.
Chico State entered the weekend ranked No. 7 in the West, with Pacific West Conference school Hawaii-Hilo idle at No. 8. Adding to the drama is Montana State-Billings – a team that the Wildcats beat 9-1 in April's Tournament of Champions and was unranked in the West – earning an automatic bid to the NCAA West Regional Saturday by winning the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament. That means a shakeup is likely at the bottom of the West Region rankings, with one team currently in the top eight being bumped from further postseason competition.
The 64-team NCAA Championship Tournament field – eight teams from each of eight different regions across the country – will be revealed Monday at 7 a.m. during a live selection show on www.ncaa.com.
Saturday's loss to Sonoma State dropped the Wildcats to 28-20 on the season, while the Seawolves, ranked No. 5 in the West Region, improved to 39-18 and stayed alive in the quest for the CCAA Championship Tournament title and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA West Regional.
The Wildcat offense was held to just four hits on the afternoon, with just one against Seawolves' pitcher Amanda Llerena, who tossed four-and-a-third innings of scoreless relief to her earn her 24th victory of the season. Courtney Brown drove in two of Chico State's three runs, with Desiree' Gonzalez producing an RBI for the sixth consecutive game.
Sonoma State jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning courtesy of an RBI single by Ashley Long and a two-run homer from Jena Kaser. The Wildcats cut the deficit to one in the top of the second when Brown doubled off the base of the fence in right-center field, plating Emily McEnaney and Kelli Keefe. In the third the 'Cats pulled even when Gonzalez singled home Alli Cook.
The Seawolves regained a lead it would not relinquish in the bottom of the third inning, going up 5-3 when Mayleen Mazon tripled home a run and then scored on a double by Karly Macadangdang. Sonoma State extended its advantage to three with a run in the bottom of the fifth inning, though the 'Cats – on a walk to Gonzalez and an infield single by Keefe – got the tying run to the plate with two outs in the top of the sixth. Llerena got Brown to pop up to first to end the threat, then retired Chico State in order in the seventh to lock down the Seawolves' 6-3 win and knock the Wildcats out of conference tournament play.
