The Chico State baseball team has been so thoroughly dominant this season a second straight California Collegiate Athletic Association title and 16^th NCAA Championship berth in the past 22 seasons seems at this point like a foregone conclusion.
 
But if the Wildcats arrived at the ballpark for Sunday's series finale against Cal State San Bernardino lacking even the slightest bit of enthusiasm, they soon found all the motivation they would need in a special pre-game ceremony.
 
Many members of the program's 1997 National Championship team that put Chico State baseball on the map were on hand to celebrate the 20^th anniversary of that special season. And so was the NCAA Championship trophy they brought home.
 
When the 2017 Wildcats looked at that group they saw legends. They also witnessed the opportunity they have to become legends themselves and be celebrated forever in Chico State baseball lore.
 
There was no let up Sunday. Chico State beat Cal State San Bernardino 9–4 for its sixth straight victory, its 27^th in the past 30 games, and its eighth series sweep this season.
 

The 4^th-ranked Wildcats improved to 34-7 overall and 27-3 in the CCAA and secured the CCAA's North Division title. They also lowered their magic number to clinch their second straight CCAA title (something that no Chico State team has accomplished since 2000) to two games, meaning that any combination of Wildcat wins and UC San Diego losses totaling two over the final two weeks of the regular season would seal the deal.
 
Cam Greenough started, set the tone, and earned the win for the Wildcats Sunday. The junior improved to 4-0 at home and 7-1 overall, allowing two runs in six innings of work. Cody Snider's two-run triple and Cameron Santos' two-run single were the game's key hits.
 
After surrendering the game's first lead for just the 11^th time this season in the top of the third, the Wildcats answered resoundingly in the bottom half of the frame. Casey Henderson (2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI Sunday) sparked the four-run rally with a leadoff single. After a sacrifice bunt, the Wildcats loaded the bases when Sonny Cortez was hit by a pitch and Snider drew a walk. The sizzling Santos (15-for-23 over the past two weekends) smacked a two-run single up the middle to give the Wildcats the lead. Snider scored on a throwing error after advancing to third on a wild pitch, and then Dillon Kelley drove in Santos with a sacrifice fly for a 4–1 lead.
 
Henderson again got things started in the fourth, drawing a one-out walk. Tyler Stofiel singled him to third, and Cortez bunted him in to make it 5–1.
 
Twice the Coyotes attempted to climb back into the game. But each time, the Wildcats had another answer. Cal State San Bernardino (11-31, 8-22 CCAA) scored a run in the sixth. Chico State scored twice in the bottom half of the inning. The Coyotes scored twice in the seventh. Chico State responded with two runs of its own.
 
The Wildcats' lead was 5–2 when Andrew Carrillo started the sixth with a base hit. With two down and two on, Snider smashed an opposite-field triple to the gap, plating both runs.
 
Kelley doubled leading off the seventh and eventually scored on Casey Bennett's bunt. With two down and a runner on second, Henderson lined an RBI-single to center to stretch the lead back to five.
 
Snider, Santos, Kelley, and Henderson had two hits apiece for the Wildcats. Cortez and Henderson each scored two runs. Josh Falco's bunt single in the third stretched his hitting streak to 11 and his consecutive games on-base streak to 31. Snider has now hit safely in seven straight games and 14 of the past 15. Santos has reached base safely in 29 straight games, Kelley in 24 in a row, and Santos in 16 straight.
 
Steven Baker pitched a scoreless eighth and Anthony Baleto a scoreless ninth to seal the victory.
 
The Wildcats will wrap up their home campaign with a four-game series against Cal State East Bay next weekend and hope to clinch their conference title at Nettleton Stadium. The series starts with a single game Friday at 6 p.m., continues with a doubleheader Saturday at noon, and concludes with a single game Sunday at noon. The team's 16 seniors will be honored prior to Sunday's game.