To say there's a lot on the line this weekend when the Chico State softball team travels to Seaside to take on California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) leader Cal State Monterey Bay is certainly an understatement. The Wildcats, ranked 15th in the nation in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) top 25 poll, travel to Seaside for a four-game set with the No. 7 Otters, with solidifying a CCAA Championship Tournament berth and holding on to a favorable NCAA West Region ranking hinging on the outcome.
The series gets underway Friday with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. and concludes with a Saturday twin bill starting at 11 a.m. Fans can keep up with the action on the Internet with Live Stats, available through the Wildcat Athletics website.
With just eight games remaining, Chico State's overall record of 31-10 has earned the Wildcat the No. 5 position in this week's initial NCAA West Region rankings, with the top eight teams in the West at the end of the regular season getting the chance to compete for the Division II national championship.
In the CCAA race, the 'Cats enter the weekend in third place with a 21-9 conference record. The top four teams at the end of regular season play will advance to next month's CCAA Championship Tournament. Chico State finishes the 2017 campaign against two of the conference's top teams: first place Monterey Bay this Friday and Saturday, followed by a four-game home series the following weekend versus fourth place Sonoma State.
Chico State has dropped four of its last seven decisions and is coming off a 3-3 week that saw the Wildcats split a Monday doubleheader against Humboldt State and a four-game home series last weekend versus UC San Diego.
The Wildcats have played well on the road this season, winning 20 of 25 games away from University Softball Field.
The 'Cats are sporting a .296 team batting average while posting 4.6 runs and 7.7 hits a game. The Chico State pitching staff continues to put up impressive numbers, leading the CCAA with a 1.69 team earned run average and holding opposing hitters to a conference-low .234 batting average.
Individually, Haley Gilham tops all CCAA hurlers in ERA (0.82), shutouts (9) and opposing batting average (.202), is tied for the conference lead in complete games (20), is second in victories (18) and fourth in strikeouts (99).
Wildcats teammate Kristin Worley ranks sixth in the CCAA with a .378 batting average and is seventh in the conference with 23 stolen bases. Cailin Garmon is hitting .352 and tops the CCAA with 40 stolen bases, while Ari Marsh is batting .364 on the year and is tied for fifth in the conference with 37 runs batted in.
Cal State Monterey (38-7) not only leads the CCAA with a 26-6 conference record, but is the top-ranked team in the NCAA West Region. The Otters enter this weekend's series with the Wildcats on a seven-game winning streak and coming off a series sweep last weekend against San Francisco State.
Monterey Bay features the top offense in the CCAA. The Otters are hitting .357 as a unit, averaging 6.4 runs and 9.5 hits a game. Monterey Bay's pitching staff is also among the conference's best with a team ERA of 2.36.
The Otters feature four of the CCAA's top five hitters, led by infielder Julia Garcia. The junior leads the CCAA in batting (.423), RBI (50) and is second in the conference with 12 home runs.
Garcia is complemented by junior infielder Jayme Stark (.408 BA, 26 RBI), senior infielder Madison Castro (.404, 5 HR, 32 RBI), senior outfielder Mikal Cuellar (.388) and sophomore catcher Lusi Stanley (.378, 5 HR, 34 RBI).
Reigning CCAA Pitcher of the Week Hayley Fein (24-6) leads the conference in wins, is third in strikeouts (116) and fourth in ERA (1.61).
The all-time numbers bear out the fact that Chico State and Monterey Bay have been equally matched over the years. Last season the Wildcats and Otters split a four-game series February 20-21 at University Softball Field, and in 54 meetings since 1983, each team has won 27 times.
