The Chico State softball team knew it was inevitable. After winning 17 straight to start the season, the Wildcats suffered their first losses of the 2018 campaign when they split a four-game series in Turlock against Stanislaus State. Now 19-2 overall, the 'Cats don't have to worry about wearing the weighty "undefeated" tag, but Head Coach Angel Shamblin's crew does need to lock in on what should prove to be a very competitive matchup with Cal State Monterey Bay, which comes to Chico this weekend for a big California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) battle at University Softball Field. The four-game set gets underway with a doubleheader Friday at 12 noon, followed by a Saturday twin bill starting at 11 a.m.
Despite the two losses to the Warriors, Chico State still sits atop the CCAA standings with a 14-2 conference record, while also moving up two spots to No. 5 in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Top 25 rankings.
The Wildcats take on a dangerous Cal State Monterey Bay team that is 11-9 overall and is fifth place in the CCAA with a 6-5 conference mark. The Otters come to Chico after winning three in a row last weekend against San Francisco State.
The series features two of the top hitting teams in the CCAA. Chico State is batting a collective .296 and leads the conference with 23 home runs. Monterey Bay is hitting .327 as a team—second among the 11 CCAA teams—while averaging over six runs and nine hits a game.
The Wildcats continue to boast the conference's top pitching staff, leading the CCAA with a 1.15 team earned run average, nine shutouts and 118 strikeouts, while holding opposing teams to a .188 batting average. Monterey Bay hurlers have combined for a 3.61 ERA and are second in the conference with 84 strikeouts.
The Wildcats have several players in the upper reaches of several CCAA statistical categories:
-- Kristen Worley is fifth in the CCAA in batting (.431), and second in both on-base percentage (.532) and stolen bases (15).
-- Wendy Cardinali is tied for the conference lead in runs scored (25), has been walked a CCAA-high 23 times, and ranks fourth in on-base percentage (.525), fourth in doubles (6) and 10th in slugging percentage (.618).
-- Ari Marsh is tied for second in the CCAA in runs batted in (21) and ranks fifth in hits (25).
-- Bailey Akins is tied for the conference lead in home runs (6) and is ninth in slugging percentage (.625).
-- Karli Skowrup is tied for fourth in home runs (4) and is fifth in RBI (19).
-- Claire Wayne is also tied for fourth in the CCAA in home runs (4).
-- Haley Gilham leads all CCAA pitchers in ERA (1.26), complete games (9), shutouts (5), strikeouts (63) and opponent batting average (.174), and is second in the conference with nine victories.
-- Naomi Monahan is third in the CCAA in ERA (1.38), tied for third in wins (7), fourth in opponent batting average (.206) and sixth in strikeouts (36).
Cal State Monterey Bay's top offensive weapon is Courtney Hennings. An All-CCAA First Team selection last season, the junior infielder is batting .393 with five home runs and a CCAA-best 25 RBI in 2018. Freshman catcher Savannah Salyer Kovacs is third in the conference in batting (.442), while senior infielder Julia Garcia—last season's CCAA Newcomer of the Year—currently sports a .375 batting average with three homers and 14 RBI.
The ace of the Otters' pitching staff is sophomore right-hander Hayley Fein. The CCAA's 2017 Freshman of the Year is 7-4 this season with a 3.15 ERA, is fourth in the conference in strikeouts (50), and is tied with Gilham in complete games (9).
Last season Monterey Bay won three of five meetings with Chico State. The Otters won three out of four April 21-22 in Seaside, but the Wildcats blanked Monterey Bay 3-0 May 5 in the CCAA Championship Tournament. The Otters hold a slim 30-29 lead in the all-time series between the two teams.
