There couldn't had been a better time to go into a scheduled bye weekend for the Chico State baseball team, especially since the Wildcats are on a six-game losing skid. Coming out of the much-needed break, the 'Cats will look to end the freefall and make a final push for a spot to the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championships with 14 games remaining.
Chico State returns to San Francisco State's Maloney Field to complete the four-game series with a 9/7-inning doubleheader with the Gators Wednesday at noon. The Wildcats then have Thursday to prepare for a critical conference series with No. 23 Cal State San Bernardino at Nettleton Stadium. The four-game set begins Friday at 5 p.m. The two teams will then play a doubleheader Saturday at noon followed by the series finale Sunday at 11 a.m.
All six 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. Baca can also be heard on the CCAA Network when the 'Cats host the Yotes.
Chico State has catching up to do to qualify for the six-team CCAA tournament in May. At 9-12 with a .429 conference percentage, the 'Cats currently sit eighth in the standings with three weeks to play. They have a chance to make up ground by playing the fifth-place Gators, who are 15-14 with a .517-win percentage.
Including the two wins over Chico State in midweek action last week, SF State had won 7-of-8 games before losing 3-of-4 to Stanislaus State in Turlock over the weekend. The lone was the 7-inning game. The Gators scored all five runs in the late innings that eventually avoided the sweep. Nick Upstill had only two hits against the Warriors that it cost him the lead in the CCAA batting average column. He dropped to fifth with a .378 average.
San Bernardino has been the surprise team in the CCAA, at least to the head coaches. Before the season began, the head coaches predicted the Yotes to finish fifth. With three weeks remaining, the Yotes are only two games back on first-place Cal State Monterey Bay. Speaking of the Otters, that was who the Yotes hosted over the weekend, with the top two ballclubs in the CCAA splitting their four-game series. San Bernardino is loaded with powerful bats. It has 57 total home runs on the year and is third best within the NCAA West Region.
Three Wildcats have got their on-base percentage high enough to make it into the top 10 within the CCAA. Jeffrey Ray is sixth with a .479 average while Logan Drummond (.453) and Kyle Dobson (.450) round out the group.
