When it comes to conference play, the Chico State baseball team is halfway there—22 games in with 22 games to go. In this case, that means the Wildcats have everything still ahead of them.
With a 12-10 record in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play and 16-12 overall, the two-time defending conference champion doesn't have the mark it wants at this point, but Chico State also has a good enough record to know that there is much to be decided. Whether it's a conference title, an automatic West Region berth or a resume worthy of an at-large spot, any of those remain in play.
The Wildcats remain ranked seventh in the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's NCAA Division II West Region poll, one spot away from the cutoff line as six teams advance with the three conference champions garnering automatic berths and three at-large berths.
More importantly, the Wildcats sit alone in fifth in the conference standings, and they have played only one team ahead of them thus far. That team, Cal State Monterey Bay, might have taken three of four games from the Wildcats but did so without outscoring them in the series. The two teams tallied 22 runs apiece as the Otters eked out a pair of one-run contests, including that memorable 15-inning affair that was the longest game by innings in program history.
Chico State split its latest series, a matchup at home against Cal State San Bernardino, winning one game in 14 innings that took 4 hours and 58 minutes to complete and then breaking open another contest with a nine-run seventh inning that emphatically ended a 4-4 tie at the time.
Next up is Cal State LA, the conference co-leader, along with the aforementioned Otters, at 13-7. The Golden Eagles (16-9 overall) represent both a challenge and an opportunity: win the series and begin an ascent up the standings while knocking the region's fifth-ranked team down a peg or two. Cal Poly Pomona and UC San Diego are tied for third at 12-8 in the CCAA, a game behind LA and Monterey Bay while the Wildcats find themselves next in the pecking order.
Chico State's Tyler Stofiel reacts after reaching base
in a recent game this season. The sophomore has
five hits in his last 10 at-bats in three games.
The first contest of the four-game series is set for 6 p.m. Thursday and will be carried locally on AM-1290 KPAY. Links to live stats and audio are also available on the Wildcats Athletics website, both on the baseball schedule page and the calendar section of the homepage. Saturday's series finale at 11 a.m. can also be heard via any of those methods. Friday's doubleheader, which starts at 1 p.m., can be heard through the links found on the Wildcats' website or through the KPAY Sports app or KPAYSports.com.
While the Golden Eagles are ahead in the standings, much like the Monterey Bay series, they have gotten where they are in large part by winning close games. They're 6-1 in contests decided by one run.
In multiple categories, Chico State has fared better than Cal State LA this season. Offensively, the Golden Eagles are 11th of 12 in the CCAA in batting average at .254 and in the same spot in runs scored with 131. Chico State is fourth in average at .254 and fifth in runs scored with 154. On the mound, Cal State LA ranks fourth in earned run average at 4.52 with Chico State second at 3.35. Defensively, errors have cropped up for the Wildcats this season, but their 48 miscues is just one more than the Golden Eagles' 47, which have come in 77 fewer chances than Chico State's had. The Wildcats' .954 fielding percentage is better than LA's .951.
