Regular season college baseball doesn't get much better than: Chico State and Sonoma State. Nettleton Stadium. A weather forecast calling for mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-60s. An opportunity to help us pack the Hungry Wildcat Food Pantry.
 
The 15^th-ranked Chico State baseball team will open California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play with a four-game series against the rival Seawolves. The first game will take place Friday at 2 p.m., followed by a doubleheader Saturday at noon, and a single game Sunday at noon. The Wildcats closed the non-conference portion of their schedule with a record of 7-2, while Sonoma State is 3-6.
 
All four games will be broadcast locally on AM-1290 KPAY with a link to the stream online for those outside of the area. Three of the four games are available for purchase on the CCAA Network—Friday's game, Saturday's first game, and Sunday's game—with Mike Baca providing the play by play. For $9.95 per month, fans can access nearly every Chico State game—home and away—along with all live and archived matchups from throughout the conference. Proceeds go to support staffing and equipment costs related to streaming the games. Links to the audio stream, CCAA Network stream, and live stats are all available at www.chicowildcats.com via the baseball schedule page and calendar section on the homepage.
 
The teams last met on April 28, 2019, when Trenton Stowe smacked a walk-off single in his final home game as a Wildcat. That win completed a four-game sweep for the Wildcats, who also won the third game of the set in walk-off fashion. Chico State has won five straight and 12 of its last 13 contests against Sonoma State.
 
Thanks to a four-game season-opening sweep of Saint Matin's and a doubleheader sweep of Simpson University, the Wildcats are 6-0 at home and have outscored their opponents here by a combined 85-15. They lead the CCAA in earned run average (2.93), batting average (.348), slugging percentage (.502), and on-base percentage (.466), and ranks fourth in fielding percentage (.977).
 
Sonoma State has dropped four straight following a three-game sweep at the hands of Fresno Pacific at home last weekend. The Seawolves are hitting just .240 as a team, but their 10 home runs rank second. They rank seventh in the CCAA with a team ERA of 5.21, and rank sixth in fielding at .972.
 
HELP US PACK THE PANTRY!
It's Chico State Athletics Pack the Pantry Week and we have set a big goal—10,000 items—which would break the record we set last year. We need your help to reach it. You can donate monetarily HERE and every dollar will count for two items. You can also drop off a donation at any of Chico State Athletics' 12 basketball, softball, and baseball games this weekend or at the Pantry itself Monday through Friday until 3 p.m., or by calling 530-898-4098 to make arrangements. Thank you for your support of Chico State's students, including student-athletes!