Box Score STOCKTON—Playing in a ballpark favoring physical, fly-ball hitting offenses, the Chico State baseball team simply couldn't put enough runs on the board to contend for its third straight California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament.
 
The Wildcats' tournament title run officially came to an end with an 8-2 loss at the hands of top-seeded Cal State Monterey Bay Friday morning at Banner Island Ballpark in Stockton.
 
The No. 6 team in the West Region entering the tournament, the Wildcats (31-22) will now wait to see if they are among the six teams chosen for the NCAA Championship Tournament, scheduled to begin Thursday. The selection show will air Sunday night at 7 at NCAA.com.  

"We're going to prepare like we know we are going to be there and hopefully have a short memory and flush this and turn things around and play well next week," Cameron Santos said.
 
After winning their opener 4-3 in walk-off fashion against Cal Poly Pomona Wednesday, the Wildcats dropped a 5-2 decision to UC San Diego Thursday, setting up Friday's elimination game.
 
Banner Island Ballpark has always been a powerful fly-ball hitters' happy place. This week more than ever. Twenty-five home runs had been hit in the first seven games of the tournament by the time the Wildcats and Otters were through.

 
Only one of those belonged to the Wildcats.
 
Meanwhile, they allowed six, including a pair of two-run homers in their loss to UC San Diego Thursday night and three homers Friday.
 
Chico State reliever Anthony Baleto allowed two hits and two unearned runs in two and two-thirds innings of work Friday, combining with Dan Beavers and Kenton Carruthers to allow just one earned in five-plus frames.
 
"Your mindset has to be to put up zeroes on the board," Baleto said. "It didn't happen too often in this tournament. But you have to live low in the strike zone and pound the zone."
 
The Wildcats actually took the lead on three straight two-out singles in the second but mustered only two more hits after that.
 
Tyler Stofiel's humpback liner bounced out of the glove of the second baseman and fell in for the first hit. Casey Henderson followed that up with a line shot to left that one-hopped the left fielder and clanged off his glove for an error that allowed Stofiel to score from first and Henderson to advance to second. Turner Olson sliced an RBI-double down the right field line to make it 2-0.
 
Cal State Monterey Bay answered quickly with a wind-aided homer off the bat of Jacob Tonascia to spark a two-run rally in the bottom half of the inning. Tonascia's two-run blast in the third put the Otters in the lead for good.
 
"It's disappointing," Wildcats head coach Dave Taylor said. "These guys had already solidified themselves for next weekend and we hadn't. But we looked like the team that had. So it's frustrating."
 
 
2018 CCAA Baseball Championship
Banner Island Ballpark | Stockton
Wednesday, May 9
Game 1 – 11 a.m. – No. 1 Cal State Monterey Bay 14, No. 6 San Francisco State 11
Game 2 – 3 p.m. – No. 2 UC San Diego 19, No. 5 Cal State LA 1
Game 3 – 7 p.m. –  No. 3 Chico State 4, No. 4 Cal Poly Pomona 3

Thursday, May 10
Game 4 – 11 a.m. – Cal State LA 10, San Francisco State 7 (San Francisco State eliminated)
Game 5 – 3 p.m. –Cal Poly Pomona 12, Cal State Monterey Bay 5
Game 6 – 7 p.m. – UC San Diego 5, Chico State 2
 
Friday, May 11
Game 7 – 11 a.m. – Cal State Monterey Bay 8, Chico State 2 (Chico State eliminated)
Game 8 – 3 p.m. – Cal State LA vs. Cal Poly Pomona (elimination game)
Game 9 – 7 p.m. – Cal State Monterey Bay vs. UC San Diego (possible elimination game)

Saturday, May 12 (if UC San Diego loses Game 9)
Game 10 – 12 p.m. – winner of Game 8 vs. loser of Game 9
Game 11 – 4 p.m. – Championship: winner of Game 9 vs. Winner of Game 10

Saturday, May 12  (if UCSD wins Game 9)
Game 10 – 12 p.m. – Championship: winner of Game 8 vs. winner of Game 9
Game 11 – 4 p.m. – If necessary