After three hard-fought months between the chalk lines, the Chico State softball team begins postseason play this week as one of six teams competing in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Tournament, taking place Thursday through Sunday at the Cal State Monterey Bay Softball Field in Seaside. The defending tournament champion and this year's No. 2 seed, the Wildcats will see their first action of the four-day event Thursday at 5 p.m., when they take on the winner of the 12 p.m. San Francisco State-Cal State San Bernardino contest.
Tickets to the CCAA Tournament will be available at the field's main entrance on game days with general admission seating available for $10. Students with a valid ID, seniors and children 12 and under will be admitted for $5.
Fans unable to attend in person can follow the entire CCAA Tournament on the Internet, with Live Stats and live streaming video available online. The final three days of the tournament will be also be available for DirecTV subscribers on channel 623 and U-verse customers on channel 1665.
Chico State—ranked No. 21 in the nation and No. 3 in the West Region—finished the regular season with an overall record of 29-13. The Wildcats are making their fifth straight CCAA Tournament appearance and eighth in Angel Shamblin's 10-year tenure as head coach. The 'Cats have reached the conference finals each of the last three seasons, capturing the program's first CCAA Tournament title in 2018 on the way to taking the NCAA West Region crown and reaching the NCAA Championship finals.
For the first time since 2008, the tournament will be contested outside of Stockton and on a CCAA campus. The field has also expanded from four to six teams as the tournament remains a double-elimination format. The tournament winner will earn the conference's automatic berth into the 2019 NCAA Division II Softball Championship field.
CCAA regular season winner UC San Diego,earned the conference tournament's No. 1 seed thanks to an overall record of 31-12. The Tritons, ranked No. 13 in the nation and No. 2 in the West Region, finished the regular season dropping six of its last 11 decisions.
No. 3 seed San Francisco State—37-16 overall and ranked No. 4 in the West Region—enters the CCAA Tournament as the hottest team in the conference. The Gators finished the regular season with eight straight victories and 17 wins in its last 18 contests.
On the strength of a 29-18 regular season record, Sonoma State is the CCAA Tournament's No. 4 seed. The Seawolves, ranked No. 8 in the West Region, lost six of 10 to finish out the regular season.
No. 5 seed and host school Cal State Monterey Bay (27-23 overall) also stumbled to the regular season finish line. After their series win over the Wildcats, the Otters split their final 12 games, including a doubleheader loss to Humboldt State last Saturday.
Cal State San Bernardino grabbed the CCAA Tournament's No. 6 seed on the final day of the regular season, thanks to a series split against UC San Diego, and a huge assist from Cal State San Marcos, who shut out Cal State Dominguez Hills 2-0 Saturday to deny the Toros a trip to the postseason. The Coyotes, coached by former Chico State player and assistant coach Dee Payan, head into tournament play having lost four of their final seven games.
The Wildcats enter postseason play having won six of their last seven contests, and were the beneficiaries of a well-deserved week off while the rest of the CCAA teams concluded conference play over the weekend. Chico State finished the regular season ranked third in the CCAA in team batting average (.295), while Wildcat pitchers combined to top the 11-team conference in earned run average (1.91), strikeouts (220), and opponent batting average (.207). 'Cats' hurlers surrendered the fewest hits (221) and home runs (9) of any CCAA staff.
Chico State won nine of the 16 regular season games it played against the other five CCAA Tournament teams. The Wildcats swept San Francisco State in a four-game series to kick off conference play, and took three of four from Sonoma State February 22–23. The 'Cats split a rain-shortened two-game series in early March against Cal State San Bernardino, then dropped back-to-back decisions to UC San Diego two weeks later. The Wildcats lost three of four to Cal State Monterey Bay April 6–7.
2019 CCAA SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
all games played at the Cal State Monterey Bay Softball Field in Seaside
Thursday, May 2
12 p.m.—Game 1 No. 3 San Francisco State (37-16, 26-13 CCAA) vs. No. 6 Cal State San Bernardino (26-18, 20-16 CCAA)
2:30 p.m.—Game 2 No. 4 Sonoma State (31-18, 21-15 CCAA) vs. No. 5 Cal State Monterey Bay (27-23, 23-17 CCAA)
5 p.m.—Game 3
No. 2 Chico State (29-13, 23-11 CCAA) vs. Game 1 winner
Friday, May 3
12 p.m.—Game 4 No. 1 UC San Diego (31-12, 24-9 CCAA) vs. Game 2 winner
2:30 p.m.—Game 5 Loser of Game 2 vs. Loser of Game 3 (elimination game)
5 p.m.—Game 6 Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 4 (elimination game)
Saturday, May 4
12 p.m.—Game 7 Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6 (elimination game)
2:30 p.m.—Game 8 Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4
5 p.m.—Game 9 Winner of Game 7 vs. Loser of Game 8 (elimination game)
Sunday, May 5
10 a.m.—Game 10 Winner of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 9
12:30 p.m.—Game 11 Winner of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 9 (if necessary)
