Coming off a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) baseball series split against Sonoma State last weekend, Chico State is about to prepare for perhaps the busiest part of its schedule in the next two weeks, which the 'Cats will play nine games in the span of as many days.
Starting this weekend, the Wildcats host Cal State East Bay in the usual conference series over the weekend and then Hawai`i Pacific comes to Nettleton Stadium for one non-conference game on Monday. The 'Cats and Pioneers open the series Friday at 5 p.m. The two will then play the doubleheader Saturday and a single game Sunday. Both are noon start times. Chico State and Hawai`i Pacific will square off at 3 p.m.
All five games can be seen on the CCAA Network. For $9.95 per month, face can access every Chico State – home and away – along with all live and archived CCAA matchups. Fans can also listen to the game live on AM-1290 KPAY with Mike Baca on the call.
An important note to those planning at being at Nettleton Stadium this weekend and Monday: the concession stand will not be open. Chico State Athletics apologizes for the inconvenience.
Once they get the Pioneers and Sharks into the books, it will become a short turnaround for head coach Dave Taylor as he has two days to prepare his team for a series at defending CCAA champions Cal State Monterey Bay. In observance of Easter Sunday, those two teams will play Thursday-Saturday as done in years past.
The Wildcats return home after finally playing games at an opponent's ballpark. Although Chico State had to settle with a conference series split with Sonoma State, the Wildcats saw offensive production from Kyle Dobson, who went 7-for-14 in the series with a home run and four RBIs. In addition to the two walks and hit by pitches, Dobson moved into first in the CCAA in on-base percentage at .552. He is also third in the CCAA with a .412 batting average.
Chico State continues to have the best pitching staff in the NCAA West Region, boasting a 3.49 ERA that ranks ninth-best in Division II. Cody Gentry, despite giving up two unearned runs in Sunday's finale against the Seawolves, saw his ERA lowered to 1.44, which ranks third best in the region.
The Pioneers saw their record dip to 10-12 overall and 4-8 in the CCAA after getting swept at home to Monterey Bay last weekend. Despite hitting .242 as a team and ranking last in the CCAA in on-base percentage (.337), Cal State East Bay has been the toughest team to strike out. The Pioneer batters have combined for only 109 strikeouts, the fewest in the conference.
East Bay has two pitchers that can be found in the CCAA's top 10. Ethan Brodsky ranks 10
th in the CCAA in ERA (3.35) and fifth in strikeouts (36). Gabe Tanner currently sits second in strikeouts with 42.
The 'Cats have won 10 of their last 12 meetings with the Pioneers dating back to 2019.
Hawai`i Pacific is 10-15 overall and has yet to leave the island. The Sharks will make their first trip to the mainland on the season, visiting Fresno Pacific before coming to 'The Nett' on Monday.
HPU has relied heavily on its offense in the 25 games played, collectively hitting .288 which ranks second best in the PacWest. Kota Suzuki is hitting .400 to rank seventh in the conference.
It'll be the first time the 'Cats and Sharks have met on a baseball field since the 2010 NCAA regionals held in Compton. HPU won that game 11-3 to end Chico State's season.
