STOCKTON – Watching the Chico State baseball team's 6-2 win against Cal Poly Pomona in the opening round of the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Tournament Wednesday was akin to watching a chute sprout up through the soil and stretch toward the sunlight. There's suddenly new life in the Chico State baseball program.
 

The Wildcats shook off a troublesome final six weeks of the season by posting a postseason-starting win against the Broncos, ranked No. 25 in the nation and the top seed in the tournament, at Banner Island Ballpark.
 
"We needed that win for many reasons, but mostly to be able to feel better about ourselves after not really finishing the season the way we wanted to," Chico State Head Coach Dave Taylor said.
 
Taylor went room-to-room late Tuesday night during bed check to hand each of his players a stat sheet. Next to each name on the sheet was a row of zeroes. Under the hits column, each player had a zero. Under the errors column, all zeroes. The Wildcats' record at the top: zero and zero.
 
Taylor's point: Everything up until this point of the season is in the team's rearview mirror – the good, the bad and the ugly. Wednesday provided an opportunity to start fresh.
 
The Wildcats played like they believed him.
 
Wildcats starter Clayton Gelfand provided substantial zeroes as well, firing six shutout innings out of the gate and outdueling CCAA Pitcher of the Year Michael Koval.
 
Gelfand (9-5) did not have the dominating stuff he's displayed at times as the team's ace. The junior right-hander only struck out two. He scattered six hits and walked four, but allowed only two unearned runs in seven innings.
 

It wasn't his best game of the season, but it may have been his most impressive.
 
With at least one runner on base, the Broncos were just 1-for-16 against Gelfand and grounded into three double plays. And with at least one runner in scoring position, Gelfand held them hitless in 10 official at-bats, including two double plays.
 
"I'm proud of the way Clayton stepped up," Taylor said. "He gave us everything we could ask for against a pretty good hitting team over there."
 
Gelfand could have cracked in the seventh and no one would have blamed him. The Wildcats committed three errors following a leadoff triple, but Gelfand minimized the damage, allowing just two unearned runs.
 
The junior First Team All-CCAA selection buckled down after Ryan Webberley's leadoff triple to right center, getting a pop out to third for the first out of the inning. A grounder to third could have been the second out, but perhaps preoccupied with the runner at third (who was not on the move), Andru Cardenas had it skip off his glove for an error.
 
After a sacrifice fly plated the Broncos' first run, Gelfand got another ground ball that could have gotten the Wildcats out of the inning. But Cardenas couldn't corral it, which allowed the tying run to come to the plate. Then catcher Cody Bistline airmailed a throw on a delayed steal.
 
Gelfand did not wilt under the hot, bright Stockton sun. Instead, he induced another grounder to third. Instead of throwing across the diamond for the force play, Cardenas chased the runner back toward second and tagged him out. The tag came after the run crossed the plate, however, cutting Chico State's lead to 4-2.
 
Gelfand's day was done after 114 pitches, including 22 in his resolute final inning of work.
 
Grant Wright made the lead stand, earning his second save of the season. Wright made a big impression with a great outing at Cal Poly Pomona earlier this year, netting a beefed up role in the bullpen. He stymied the Broncos once again on Wednesday, allowing only a two-out single in the ninth on the way to the six-out save.
 
While the Wildcats were coming to life and taking an early lead Wednesday, they got a new lease on their NCAA Championship Tournament life as well. The NCAA Regional Rankings were released just after Bistline knocked in Cardenas for the Wildcats' second run of the game. The Wildcats are ranked No. 6 in the West.
 

After dropping from fourth to fifth a week ago, Chico State lost three of four at Stanislaus State to end the regular season. Some feared for the worst when it came to this week's rankings release.
 
Instead, the Wildcats are right in the mix for at at-large selection should they not win the automatic berth that comes with a CCAA Championship Tournament title.
 
Sunday night at 7 p.m., the region's four at-large NCAA Championship participants will be announced. Those teams will join PacWest Conference champion California Baptist and the winner of this week's CCAA Championship Tournament, in the West Regional.
 
Cardenas, Dillon Kelley and Sonny Cortez had two hits apiece to lead Chico State's offense Wednesday. The Wildcats got four runs (three earned) on seven hits in five-and-two-thirds innings against Koval, who fell to 8-3.
 
Chico State grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the top of the second, but could have had more.
 
Kelley opened the inning with a sharp single to left and moved to second when Cody Snider's drag bunt down the first-base line went for a hit. Josh Falco followed with another nice bunt, and an anxious Jason Padlo barehanded the ball before throwing it wildly and into the stands on one hop.
 
Kelley scored, Snider and Falco were in scoring position, and the Wildcats were primed to put a crooked number on the board.
 
Cardenas did his job, hitting a slow topper toward short, but Snider did not get a good first read on the ball. Unsure if Koval might snare it, he momentarily stayed near the third-base bag. Falco, meanwhile, read it as a slow grounder to short right away and took off toward third. That forced Snider's hand after the moment of hesitation, and when he broke for the plate, Broncos shortstop Ryan Webberley threw home in plenty of time to get Snider.
 

Bistline grounded into a double play to end the threat and the Wildcats had to settle for a 1-0 lead.
 
Cardenas' leadoff single and subsequent steal of second sparked a two-run rally in the fifth. Cardenas scored on Bistline's grounder through the left side, and when the throw came home, Bistline advanced to second. He moved to third on Casey Bennett's sacrifice bunt, which proved important when Cortez cued an 0-2 pitch toward third. Bistline got a great read on the ball and scored easily, making it 3-0.  
 
Kelley got on for the third straight time leading off the sixth, drawing a walk, and eventually scored his second run. After Snider moved Kelley to second with a sacrifice bunt, Cardenas lined a single up the middle to drive him in, stretching the lead to 4-0.
 
The Wildcats quickly answered with a run after the Broncos cut the lead in half in the seventh. Ben Gamba set the table with a one-out double and eventually scored on a two-out error when second baseman Chris Stratton booted Snider's grounder.
 
Chico State added to its lead in the ninth. Dallas Porter – on as a defensive replacement at third – led off with a single. Bistline bunted him into scoring position and then Cortez came through with a two-out hit, a line drive up the middle, that plated Porter and made it 6-2.
 
"Our guys were a little (peeved) about being the 6 seed after having a pretty good season, and they played with an edge today," Taylor said. "They were bothered by it and it was good to see them bothered by something. They have a little chip on their shoulder to try to win this thing."
 
If the Wildcats win Thursday, their chances will grow exponentially. They'll be one more win away from a spot in the title game.
 
2016 CCAA Championship Tournament
Banner Island Ballpark – Stockton, California

Wednesday, May 11
Game 1 – 11:00 a.m.	No. 6 Chico State 6, No. 1 Cal Poly Pomona 2
Game 2 – 3:00 p.m.	No. 2 Cal State East Bay 13, No. 5 Cal State San Bernardino 2
Game 3 – 7:00 p.m.	No. 3 Cal State Monterey Bay 11, No. 4 UC San Diego 7
Thursday, May 12
Game 4 – 11:00 a.m.	Cal Poly Pomona vs. Cal State San Bernardino (elimination game)
Game 5 – 3:00 p.m.	Chico State vs.UC San Diego (possible elimination)
Game 6 – 7:00 p.m.	Cal State Monterey Bay vs. Cal State East Bay
Friday, May 13	(if four teams remain after game 6)
Game 7 – 3:00 p.m.	Winner of game 5 vs. Winner of game 6
Game 8 – 3:00 p.m.	Winner of game 4 vs. Loser of game 6
Game 9 – 7:00 p.m.	Loser of game 7 vs. Winner of game 8
	(if five teams remain after game 6 and two teams remain after game 9)
Game 7 – 11:00 a.m.	Loser of game 5 vs. Loser of game 6
Game 8 – 3:00 p.m.	Winner of game 4 vs. Winner of game 5
Game 9 – 7:00 p.m.	Winner of game 6 vs. Winner of game 7
	(if five teams remain after game 6 and three teams remain after game 9)
Game 7 – 11:00 a.m.	Loser of game 5 vs. Loser of game 6
Game 8 – 3:00 p.m.	Winner of game 4 vs. Winner of game 5
Game 9 – 7:00 p.m.	Winner of game 6 vs. Winner of game 7
Saturday, May 14	(if four teams remain after game 6)
Game 10 – 12:00 p.m.	Championship: Winner of game 7 vs. Winner of game 9
Game 11 – 4:00 p.m.	If-necessary
	(if five teams remain after game 6 and two teams remain after game 9)
Game 10 – 12:00 p.m.	Championship: Winner of game 7 vs. Winner of game 9
Game 11 – 4:00 p.m.	If-necessary
	(if five teams remain after game 6 and three teams remain after game 9)
Game 10 – 12:00 p.m.	Winner of game 8 vs. Loser of game 9
Game 11 – 4:00 p.m.	Winner of game 9 vs. Winner of game 10

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