We're still a little way from those April days in the 80s, but the race for the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) is already heating up. Chico State enters this weekend's four-game series at Stanislaus State one-half game behind three teams tied for first: Cal State Monterey Bay, Cal State Dominguez Hills, and Cal State San Bernardino.
The Wildcats are 15-5 overall and 8-3 in the CCAA, coming off a series against San Francisco State in which they won three of four. Ranked 26
th in the nation, the Wildcats have won five of their last six games. Stanislaus State enters the weekend 7-10 overall and 5-7 in the CCAA.
The series is set to start Friday at 5 p.m., under the lights at Warrior Baseball Field. It continues with a doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m., and concludes with a single game Sunday at noon. All four games will be broadcast locally on AM-1290 and FM-102.9 KPAY Sports and streamed on the CCAA Network. For $9.95 per month, fans can access nearly every Chico State game—home and away—along with all live and archived CCAA matchups. Live Stats will also be available, with links found at
www.chicowildcats.com in the calendar section of the website's homepage, and on the Chico State baseball schedule page.
This weekend's series provides the Wildcats an opportunity to get it rolling on the road. They have been nearly unbeatable at Nettleton Stadium, where they won their first 13 games before dropping last weekend's finale. On the road, they are just 2-4. They've been historically strong in Turlock, having won two straight and five of their last six there. The Wildcats are 18-6 in Turlock since the start of the 2011 season.
Of course, only four players remain from the last time these teams met in 2019: Andrew Renteria and Grady Morgan from Chico State; and Grant Bunker and Matt Elser from Stanislaus State.
The Wildcats have been successful in nearly every phase of the game thus far this season. They lead the CCAA in batting average (.330), rank third in team ERA (4.48), and fourth in fielding% (.970).
Stanislaus State ranks last in the CCAA in team batting at .238. The Warriors rank eighth with a fielding percentage of .961 and ninth in team ERA at 6.78.
The Wildcats' catching corps, led by Jarret Lindsay, lead the conference in runners caught stealing percentage, having mowed down seven of 20 attempting to steal. Meanwhile, the Warriors have successfully stolen 30 of 36 bags: both totals equaling the second highest in the conference. The Wildcats have also been good at erasing baserunners via double plays. They led the conference and rank sixth in the nation with an average of one per game.
