The Chico State baseball team's California Collegiate Athletic Association title defense begins this weekend when the Wildcats open conference play against Stanislaus State.
 
Game Times/Location
Friday, 2 p.m. - Nettleton Stadium
Saturday, noon - Nettleton Stadium
Sunday, 1 p.m. (DH) - Turlock
 
The final three games of the series will be broadcast locally on AM-1290 KPAY.

Relevant links
Live stats for Friday and Saturday
Streaming audio and video for Friday and Saturday
Live stats for Sunday
Streaming audio for Sunday
Streaming video for Sunday
 
The CCAA is split into two divisions–North and South–for baseball, and the top three teams from each division reach the Conference Championship Tournament at Banner Island Ballpark in Stockton. The tournament champion earns an automatic berth in the NCAA Championship Tournament. In a change from last season, the top seed in the CCAA Championship Tournament will also be crowned the conference's regular season champion.
 
Last season the Wildcats finished a half-game out of first in the North Division, but won four games in Stockton to secure the conference and tournament title.
 
Chico State, picked by the CCAA's coaches to win the North Division and its second straight CCAA title, is off to a 7-4 start.
 
Stanislaus State was picked to finish tied for fifth in the North. But the Warriors are off to one of the hottest starts in collegiate baseball, having won nine straight to improve to 10-1.
 
The Wildcats and Warriors have relied on stellar pitching thus far this season. Stanislaus State hurlers have allowed 25 runs in 91 innings of work. Chico State's pitching staff has surrendered just 28 runs in 93-plus innings.
 
Wildcat starters Hunter Haworth and Cam Greenough have won the two latest CCAA Pitcher of the Week honors. And Wednesday, Greenough added West Region Pitcher of the Week accolades to his resume. Another Chico State starting pitcher, Casey Costello, leads the team's starters with a sparkling 0.56 ERA in three starts.
 
The teams' offenses rank in the middle of the pack in runs scored.  Defensively Chico State leads the conference with a fielding percentage of .992, while Stanislaus State ranks 10^th with a fielding percentage of .956.