With the end of the regular season less than two weeks away, the Chico State softball team has its foot on the gas with no intention of slowing up. The Wildcats have gone undefeated in April and have won 12 straight to rise to No. 18 in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association Top 25 poll, and have put themselves in a great position to be one of the four conference teams advancing to next month's California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championship Tournament. There's still plenty of work to be done, though, and this weekend the Wildcats travel to Hayward to battle Cal State East Bay. The four-game set begins with a doubleheader Saturday at noon, followed by a Sunday twin bill at 11 a.m.
Fans can follow the action online with Live Stats, available through the Wildcat Athletics website.
Chico State enters the weekend 30-10 on the season and sitting in second place in the CCAA with a 21-9 conference record. Thanks to last weekend's four-game sweep of Cal State Dominguez Hills, the Wildcats put a little distance between themselves and their closest pursuers in a tight race for the four CCAA postseason slots. With eight regular season games remaining, Chico State is three games ahead of third place UC San Diego (19-13 CCAA), four games up on fourth place San Francisco State (17-13), four-and-a-half games in front of fifth place Sonoma State (16-13) and five games ahead of sixth place Cal State San Bernardino (17-15).
The Wildcats are also keeping an eye on the upcoming NCAA Championship Tournament. The first regional ranking of the season was released Wednesday, with the Wildcats holding down the No. 2 spot in the West. The top eight teams in the region will earn a bid to compete for the Division II national championship.
The Wildcats have actually played better on the road than at home this season. Chico State has won 18 of their 22 games away from University Softball Field.
The 'Cats offense, which has averaged over nine runs in the last five games, is now hitting a collective .304 on the season (third highest among the 11 CCAA teams) while averaging 5.2 runs and 8.2 hits a contest. The Chico State pitching staff ranks second in the conference in team earned run average (2.06) and second in strikeouts (252) while holding opposing hitters to a conference-leading .202 batting average.
Cal State East Bay is 14-24 on the year and in ninth place in the CCAA with a 9-17 conference record. The Pioneers began the month dropping four of six at the Tournament of Champions, then split a doubleheader in a rain-shortened series last weekend versus Cal State San Marcos. Wednesday East Bay lost both ends of a twin bill against Stanislaus State.
The Pioneers are batting .280 as a team entering the series, averaging 4.3 runs and 7.5 hits a game. East Bay has a talented pitching staff that ranks fourth in the CCAA with a 2.84 ERA. Despite an 8-10 record, right-hander Sierra Clark has struck out 100 batters and is sixth in the conference with a 1.93 ERA.
Cal State East Bay is 6-8 this season on its home diamond, Pioneer Softball Field.
The Wildcats and Pioneers have split their last eight meetings, with Chico State winning the last three contests between the two teams. The 'Cats have beaten East Bay 57 times in 93 tries since 1983.
