Five games down, six to go.
 
That should be a thought to those on the Chico State baseball team as it is now in the middle part of playing 11 games in the span of 13 days.
 
After playing Hawai`i Pacific in a non-conference game on a rare Monday, the Wildcats had two days to prepare for the road trip to the defending California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) champions Cal State Monterey Bay for another rare part of the schedule. With Easter Sunday on the horizon, the conference shifts all scheduled series' a day forward. The Wildcats and Otters will clash Thursday at 3 p.m. The two teams will then play the 9/7-inning doubleheader Friday and the series finale Saturday. Both are at noon.
 
Before returning home to Chico for a scheduled bye weekend, the 'Cats will make a brief stop to San Francisco State to play the Gators in a makeup from the March 10-12 weekend. Game one will be played Tuesday at 3 p.m. and game two is Wednesday at noon. The doubleheader is scheduled to be made up on April 19 at noon.
 
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.
 
Although the 'Cats slugged their way to a 6-1 win over the Sharks on Monday, they are still in search for a CCAA series win since taking three from Cal Poly Pomona three weeks ago. The last two series splits with Sonoma State and Cal State East Bay kept the 'Cats in third place in the CCAA standings at 9-6 with less than a month away from the conference tournament.
 
Even though Chico State is not proud of the defensive performance all season long, the pitching continues to have the best pitching corps in the NCAA West Region, boasting a 3.46 ERA. The ERA also ranks seventh-best among all Division II schools nationwide. Josh Verdon has been the hero in the end of close games, recording seven saves this season to take lead among CCAA relievers.
 
The Otters are 18-9 overall and currently sit in first place in the CCAA standings at 16-4 (.800). They hold a .118 percentage lead over second-place Cal State San Bernardino, which is 15-7 (.682). Cal State Monterey Bay resumes play after a scheduled bye last weekend. Before they went on break, the Otters have won nine of their last 10 games including conference sweeps over Sonoma State and most recently Cal State East Bay.
 
San Francisco State returns to the Bay Area after taking 3-of-4 at Cal State LA over the weekend. Before they welcome the 'Cats to Maloney Field, the Gators will entertain Cal State San Marcos over the weekend. SF State owns the best batting average in the CCAA, hitting .339 as a team. They are also maintaining a .508 slugging percentage that ranks second best in the conference.
 
Chico State has won seven of the last nine meetings with SF State, but Cal State Monterey Bay has beaten the 'Cats in five of the last seven meetings.