Imagine your focus has drifted during a Chico State baseball practice drill and you hear your name ring out, reverberating off the bleachers. With 40-plus inside Nettleton Stadium, it could be difficult to quickly ascertain exactly who wants your attention. Is it head coach Dave Taylor? Is it a fellow player?
 
According to Taylor, it is just as likely to be one of the team's returning players as it is him this season.
 
"One thing I've noticed since the start of the fall is, whether you are in the weight room on the field before practice, or down in the batting cages, you've got to do your job or you're going to hear about it from those guys," Taylor said.
 
The Wildcats will find out what kind of fruit that accountability may have produced this weekend when they open the season with a three-game series at 21^st-ranked Azusa Pacific. They'll play a doubleheader Friday at 2 p.m. and a single game Saturday at noon. All three games will be broadcast locally on AM 1290 KPAY, as will every game this season. Links to streaming audio, live stats, and streaming video are available on the top-right corner of this preview story, on the baseball schedule page, and in the calendar section on the homepage.

 
The Wildcats enter the 2020 campaign listed among teams "also receiving votes" in the national poll, No. 7 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Preseason West Region rankings, and picked to finish fourth in the CCAA in the conference's preseason coaches poll.
 
Azusa Pacific is the preseason favorite to win the Pacific West Conference title for the fourth consecutive year and ranked No. 2 in the West Region.
 
"(The series) can do great things for us. If we have some success it will set a great tone for the season. If we don't play well we will come back with a clearer understanding of what we need to work on," Taylor said. "We've been 100-percent focused to go down there and compete."
 
The 17 returning letter winners on the team have taken the lead of fifth-year seniors Grant Larson and Tyler "Ty" Stofiel, who made it clear during fall practice that an 'okay' season like the Wildcats had last year (finishing 28-21 and in third place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association) is not going to cut it in 2020.
 
"I mean, 28-21, for most teams in our league, third place in the conference, that's a pretty good year," Taylor said. "I know it's not. It's good that they know it's not.
 
"They understand where they're at, what they want to do, and what we failed to do last season, and as coaches we don't bring that up very often because we want to focus on the positive stuff. But guys like Ty and Grant that have been here for five years want a trip East in May (to the Division II College World Series in Cary, North Carolina) and they're going to hold their teammates accountable to give them a shot to do that. That's what's nice about having some of that fifth-year senior leadership that maybe hasn't achieved the goals that they want to and have strived to reach since they arrived on campus."
 
While the 2019 Wildcats advanced to the postseason for the 22^nd time in the last 24 seasons, they fell short of the NCAA Championship Tournament for just the sixth time since 1996. This team not only wants to get back to NCAA Tournament play, but also has its eyes on its first NCAA Championship Tournament West Regional title since 2014.
 
"The returning guys came back with a little bit of a chip on their shoulder knowing the history of the program and not having advanced to a regional last year,"  Taylor said. "That was talked about early on, mostly by them. They're taking ownership for what's in front of them. They know what the history of this program is, and they want to make their mark."
 
Taylor believes the team's depth—specifically in the infield and on the pitching staff—will be key to its success from the season-opening series on. He also loves the toughness his team has displayed thus far.
 
Among the Wildcats' 17 returners are Stofiel (catcher) and starting infielders JT Navarro (shortstop), Griffin Hennessey (second base) and Jorge Perez (third base), along with part-time starter Tyler Grissom (middle infield).
 
Navarro was a stalwart defender, fielding .965, and hit .335 with team highs in doubles (12) and runs scored (37) last season.
 
"His leadership at that shortstop position is crucial for us," Taylor said. "He gets in line with all the great shortstops who have come through here who are off the charts defensively. Plus, he's got ad-value offensively. He'll leadoff or hit in the two-hole. You don't always get both of those tools, especially at such a high level."
 
Perez (who Taylor says has a chance to be the top defensive third baseman in the CCAA), Hennessey ("A baseball rat and really good defensively."), and Grissom are also gold-glove caliber defenders. Perez committed only six errors last season, and Hennessey five. Grissom, meanwhile, was an America Baseball Coaches Association Gold Glove recipient two years ago at LA Mission College.
 
Another returning letter winner, Andrew Renteria, is also in the middle infield mix and coming off a season in which he appeared in 16 games and hit a cool .400. 

 
A new crop of infielders will look to make some noise as well. At first base, junior college transfers Willie LaJoie, Adam Muñoz and Junior Sandoval (who is also expected to pitch) are all angling for playing time.
 
"Willie has probably been our best hitter going into the spring," Taylor said. "He can hit for power and average. He's a tough kid who takes tough at-bats. His competitive spirit is inspiring.

"Adam is an athletic guy. The ball comes off his bat different than anyone else on the team. And junior will get some different looks as well. I like group we have over there."
 
At second base, left-handed hitter Aidan Rasmusson, who has flashed some power in the fall and spring, has been pushing for playing time. The Grossmont Community College prospect could also see time at third base, or even in the role of designated hitter.
 
Tyler Erne, like Hennessey, can play all around the infield. Meanwhile, Josh Verdon (who will also see time on the mound) gives Taylor another plus-defender at the hot corner. True freshmen infielders Trevor Johannes (from Leland High School in San Jose) and Hewitt Grissom (from Saugus High School in Santa Clarita and the younger brother of Tyler) are expected to redshirt.
 
"I like the depth in the infield. We're very good again defensively," Taylor said. "That's something that we always strive for."
 
Joining Stofiel behind the plate is fellow returner Bryce Beauchamp, redshirt freshman Nick Mora, true freshman Jack Gallagher, and Nate Maggi, a transfer from Mission Community College. Maggi, who provides Taylor with a good offensive option, could also see time as the team's designated hitter.
 
"I'm really comfortable with our depth there and ability to take care of a pitching staff," said the former Catcher of the Year in the Milwaukee Brewers organization.
 
A number of familiar arms, particularly among the relief corps, will be throwing to that crew. Grant Larson is the only returning starting pitcher, but Christian Stiegele and Austin McFarlane are back after a season away. Relievers Connor Sealey (2-0 with 2 saves last season), Daniel Foret (6-1 in a team-high 25 appearances), Alex Kent (4-5 with 8 saves), Kenton Carruthers (2-0 with 1 save), and Kristian Scott also return.
 
Larson returns for his fifth and final season in the program and enters the campaign ranked among the Wildcats' career top 10 in strikeouts, appearances, starts, innings pitched, and complete-game shutouts.
 
"He has the ability to be the best left-handed pitcher in our league," Taylor said. "He's pitched in huge games for us and had success. You can't overstate the value of that kind of experience."
 
Larson is expected to be joined in the starting rotation—at least to begin the season—by Braeden Gowdy, Stiegele, McFarlane.
 
"Gowdy has very good command of four pitches and he's been fun to watch," Taylor said. "The kid can really pitch."
 
Stiegele redshirted last season after finishing the 2018 campaign strong, and according to Taylor, has been very good.
 
McFarlane, who redshirted for the Wildcats in 2018, spent 2019 at Butte College where he earned First Team All-Conference honors and gained a ton of confidence, according to Taylor.
 
"Those four guys are really good. I like our depth starting wise," Taylor said.

 
Kent, Sealey, Foret and Carruthers all performed in high-leverage situations last season. In fact, they were the four relievers with the most appearances on the team. Scott made two strong appearances late in the season and then spent the summer pitching in the West Coast League. The strapping right hander, who Taylor says may be the program's most improved player, will open the campaign as the Wildcats' closer.
 
Brendan Henry, who tossed three complete-games and posted a 3.29 ERA last season at College of the Canyons, could fill a role as the team's setup man, while Vince Inman is expected to be the staff's matchup lefty.
 
Taylor will be challenged to get everyone a look with all of the returners, along with a number of promising newcomers. Junior College transfers Tyler Chivens, Ryan Calderon, Chad Burchit (nephew of former Wildcat Bryan Burchit), Troy Maki, Verdon, and Sandoval also feature talented arms.
 
"We have a lot of quality depth in the bullpen. All of these guys are very good pitchers. They have command of their secondary stuff. They can pitch."
 
Those pitchers will have a strong defense working behind them in the infield, and in the outfield as well.
 
Kyle Pineda, Eddie Zavala and Cody Wissler all return and are expected to be in the outfield on opening day. Redshirt freshman Grady Morgan, Orange Coast College left-hander Skylar Limonchi, and possibly Muñoz are expected to get some opportunities as well. Returner Turner Olson is expected to redshirt.
 
Pineda came on strong at the end of last season and solidified a spot in the starting lineup with his speed (7-for-7 in stolen bases) and defensive acumen. "It's nice to have a guy in our outfield, which is spacious, who can go get it," Taylor said. "That's been really fun to watch. He's just very athletic."
 
Wissler also finished 2019 strong, going 6-for-9 in the CCAA Tournament, on the way to a team-best .402 batting average. He's expected to start the season in right field and hit in the middle of the lineup.
 
Zavala flashed a good combination of speed and power and is likely to start in left.
 
Morgan, who Taylor says will make a big impact in the program once his opportunity arrives, is another player with a good speed/power combination. Limonchi, meanwhile, can hit leadoff or second when he's in the lineup. "He's a winner and we love his makeup," Taylor said.
 
Following the season-opening series at Azusa Pacific, the Wildcats will open their home schedule Feb. 7–8 with a three-game set against Fresno Pacific. They'll wrap up the regular season with a four-game series at home against UC San Diego. It will mark the Tritons' final visit to Nettleton Stadium—barring a potential postseason matchup—before they transition to Division I next season.
 
The Tritons figure to be among the favorites for the CCAA title as well. So, it could potentially make for quite a regular-season finale. For now, however, Taylor and the Wildcats are remaining focused on starting strong.
 
"I'm excited to get them out there on the field," Taylor said. "It's a good group to be around as far as their energy and I like where our minds are at. We're all looking forward to getting on that bus."