HAYWARD—The Chico State baseball team went to Hayward for its final regular-season baseball series of 2022 chasing the No. 2 seed in the upcoming California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament. Despite a four-game sweep of host Cal State East Bay, they didn't get it. But what they did get might prove to be much more important—the kind of pitching they will need if they are to reach their ultimate goal: the NCAA Division II College World Series.
Buoyed by their fourth straight strong pitching performance of the week, the Wildcats won 3-1 to finish the regular season 34-14. They finished 27-12 in the CCAA, in a tie for second place with Cal Poly Pomona, but the Broncos will be the No. 2 seed thanks to the head-to-head tiebreaker.
The CCAA Tournament will take place at Chico State's Nettleton Stadium Wednesday through Saturday. For schedules, ticketing, live streaming, and other information,
visit the Tournament Central Page at www.GoCCAA.org. Chico State and Cal State Dominguez Hills will open the tournament with an elimination game Wednesday at 3 p.m. Both of Wednesday's games—Chico State vs. Cal State Dominguez Hills followed by Sonoma State vs. Cal State San Bernardino—are elimination games. That leaves four teams remaining in a double-elimination format, which begins on Thursday. If the Wildcats win Wednesday, they will face Cal Poly Pomona Thursday at 3 p.m.
Performances like they received from pitchers Braeden Gowdy, Kevin Lyons, and Eric Hills Saturday, and all the other Chico State hurlers who threw this week, could help make this postseason particularly exciting. Gowdy fired five shutout innings, allowing only two hits while striking out seven, to collect the win Saturday. Lyons relieved, allowing a run on a walk and hit batter in two innings. And Hill got the last six outs for his second save in as many days, and fifth of the season.
Willie Lajoie's two-out, RBI-single broke a scoreless tie in the sixth inning. Grady Morgan followed with a two-run double for a 3-0 lead that Lyons and Hill made stand. Morgan finished 3-for-4 and Jack Murphy was 2-for-3.
This week's results will likely help in the Wildcats' pursuit of an NCAA Championships berth as well. They entered the week ranked No. 4 in the West. Six teams from the region will reach the NCAA Championships: the CCAA and Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament champions and PacWest Conference regular-season champion; and three at-large teams selected by the committee. The current West Region rankings, released Wednesday, have Point Loma on top of the rankings, followed by Azusa Pacific, Cal State Monterey Bay, Chico State, Northwest Nazarene, Cal Poly Pomona, Western Oregon, and Fresno Pacific. The NCAA Selection Show and announcement will take place next Sunday, May 15, at 7 p.m., Pacific, at NCAA.com.
