Based on a schedule that features 22 of its first 26 games on the road, you'd think that the Chico State softball team would be getting used to the rigors of the road. Just days after sweeping a four-game series against Cal State San Bernardino in their first home contests of the season, the Wildcats board the bus once again for two weekends worth of road trips. First stop: Arcata, where the 'Cats play a four-game set against Cal Poly Humboldt, with doubleheaders scheduled for Friday at 12 noon and Saturday at 11 a.m.
 
Fans unable to attend in person can follow the action online with live streaming video via the CCAA Network. For $9.95 per month, fans can access 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 softball schedule page.
 
Chico State, ranked No. 16 in the country in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division II Top 25 poll, enters the weekend sporting a 14-4 record on the season, and is tied for second place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with a 6-2 conference record. The Wildcats fashioned their current four-game winning streak last weekend at University Softball Field, taking three pitching-dominated games against San Bernardino before stunning the Coyotes in the finale with four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to steal a 5-4 decision.
 
The Wildcats' offense is averaging just under five runs and eight hits a game. The Chico State pitching staff ranks fifth among the 10 CCAA teams with a 2.31 earned run average, and leads the conference in strikeouts (156) and opponent batting average (.210). Defensively, the 'Cats are tops in the CCAA, committing just 12 errors in 18 games for a .975 fielding percentage.
 
Chico State is going to have to crank up the offense when it faces Cal Poly Humboldt this weekend. Though the Lumberjacks are just 7-9 on the season, the team is batting .301, averaging 5.5 runs a game, and leads the CCAA in home runs (14), doubles (31), and extra-base hits (52). The 'Jacks pitching has yet to solidify in 2022, and ranks last in the conference in team ERA (6.95). Opponents are hitting .343 against Humboldt hurlers, with the Lumberjacks surrendering a CCAA-high 10 home runs.
 
Cal Poly Humboldt will be trying to snap a four-game losing streak after being swept last weekend in Hayward by Cal State East Bay.
 
No matter the statistical difference, it's always a battle when Chico State and Cal Poly Humboldt square off on the softball diamond. The Wildcats have won 10 of the last 12 meetings, but prior to Angel Shamblin taking over as head coach of the 'Cats in 2010, the Lumberjacks dominated the all-time series. Humboldt has won two Division II National Championships (1999 and 2008), and was the national runner-up as recently as 2016.
 
The high point of Chico State's recent history against Humboldt was a little over 10 years ago, when on February 26, 2012, the Wildcats scored a combined 36 runs on 41 hits and posted three victories in one day in Arcata.
 
CHICO STATE GIVING DAY IS 3.22.22
This Wednesday is Chico State Giving Day. The support of our Wildcat Family over the years has helped propel our student-athletes' excellence. CLICK HERE TO GIVE
 
During our short time back together in 2021–22, Chico State's student-athletes are already back to blowing us away on every front. They've generated video companions aimed at encouraging all fellow Wildcats as part of their Scratch the Stigma initiative, re-launching with an enhanced version in March. They've earned six postseason berths, highlighted by CCAA and West Regional Men's Cross Country championships and the men's basketball team's highest-ever national and regional rankings. And they've exceled in the classroom, combining for 27 perfect 4.0 GPAs, while 217—more than two-thirds of them—earned GPAs of 3.0 or higher.
 
Chico State Athletics is about:

• Excelling academically.
• Contributing in the community.
• Conquering in competition.
  • 80 CCAA titles.
  • 37 West Region Championships.
  • 16 NCAA Champions.

Your gift to Athletic Training, Strength and Conditioning, 'CatsSkills, the Wildcat Athletic Fund (which provides for the department's greatest overall needs), and/or your favorite program, gets us a crucial step closer to the next special moment for our Wildcat Family. We go farther together than we do alone. Thank you!