The Chico State baseball team will take to the road for the first time in 2016 this weekend against Holy Names University at the College of Alameda. The three-game series begins with a single game Friday at 4 p.m. and concludes with a doubleheader Saturday at 11 a.m.
 
The Wildcats are off to a 7-2 start after winning six straight at home to start the season before dropping two of three last weekend against Academy of Art.
 
Chico State is ranked No. 5 in the West Region by D2 Baseball News and No. 6 in the West by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
 
Holy Names is 2-8. The Hawks started the season with a pair of losses at Cal State Monterey Bay, took one of three against San Francisco State, and then dropped four of five last weekend against Montana State-Billings and Northwest Nazarene in neutral site games at Dixie State.
 
The series might be of special significance to Chico State first baseman Ben Gamba and assistant coach John Carrion. Gamba was a First Team All-West Region performer for the Hawks last season and Carrion was the team's head coach.
 
Jerrett Maas leads all Wildcat regulars in hitting at .500 (11-for-22). Cody Snider has hit safely in all nine games thus far and is batting .414. Snider and Gamba have both reached base in all nine games thus far. Cody Bistline leads the team with six RBI. Sonny Cortez and Cameron Santos have provided five stolen bases apiece.
 
Chico State's pitching staff boasts a team ERA of 2.39. The team's ace thus far, Clayton Gelfand, is 1-1 with a 0.95 ERA. The other projected starters are Steven Baker (1-0, 3.46) and Dalton Erb (1-1, 3.77).