It took until the last day of the regular season, but the Chico State softball team officially punched its ticket to the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Tournament. Now, thanks to a rejigged format, the Wildcats—which reach postseason play for the seventh straight season—are faced with an opening round "win or go home" scenario as they face No. 3 tournament seed Cal State San Marcos in a single elimination game Wednesday beginning at 12 noon at Toro Diamond in Carson.
Fans can follow the action online with Live Stats and live streaming video, with links located on the Wildcat Athletics homepage and the softball schedule page. Accessing the live video stream requires a monthly subscription fee that grants users access to every CCAA event on the network.
Wildcat fans who plan to attend the CCAA Tournament in person can purchase tickets online at
GoCCAA.org/Tickets. Parking is $10 across the Cal State Dominguez Hills campus, with upper Parking Lot 4 closest to Toro Diamond.
Chico State (23-24) captured the sixth and final CCAA Tournament berth by winning five of its last seven games, culminating in a doubleheader sweep of Cal State East Bay on Saturday's final day of the regular season.
Cal State San Marcos (27-18), which had been nationally-ranked for much of the season and is No. 5 in the most recent NCAA West Region poll, overcame a five-game losing streak in early April to finish the 2023 campaign winning six of its last seven games.
The Wildcats and Cougars went head-to-head March 3–4 in Southern California, with San Marcos taking three of the four contests. Chico State's lone win over the Cougars was a 7-5 decision in the first game of the March 4 doubleheader.
Wednesday will mark the first time Chico State and Cal State San Marcos have met on the softball diamond in postseason play.
The 'Cats enter the CCAA Tournament batting a collective .253 and wrapped up the regular season ranked third in the conference with 67 stolen bases. Chico State's pitching staff was sixth in the CCAA in team earned run average (2.63), and finished second only to Cal State Monterey Bay in strikeouts (253).
Cal State San Marcos batted .277 as a team and ranked third in the CCAA with 20 home runs on the year. The Cougars' pitching corps, featuring standout lefthander Savannah Coyle (15-6, 1.76 ERA), posted a combined 2.37 ERA—fourth-best in the conference.
Chico State has reached the CCAA Tournament in 10 of the 12 full seasons under Wildcat head coach Angel Shamblin, with the 'Cats' lone CCAA Tournament title coming in 2018. Last season in Seaside, Chico State lost two one-run decisions and made an early tournament exit, but went on to play in the 2023 NCAA Championship Tournament.
The CCAA Softball Tournament's new format mirrors the one utilized last year by baseball. With the two top-seeded teams earning first round byes, the three through six seeds play a single elimination game on the tourney's first day. Once the field is reduced to four, the teams are re-seeded and begin double-elimination play on Thursday, May 4.
The winner of the CCAA Tournament will received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship Tournament, scheduled for May 11–26.
2023 CCAA SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT
May 3–6, Toro Diamond, Carson
Hosted by Cal State Dominguez Hills
Wednesday, May 3 — first round single elimination games
Game 1: No. 3 Cal State San Marcos (27-18) vs.
No. 6 Chico State (23-24), 12 p.m.
Game 2: No. 4 Cal State Dominguez Hills (30-16) vs. No. 5 Cal State Monterey Bay (28-24), 2:30 p.m.
(No. 1 seed Sonoma State and No. 2 seed Cal State San Bernardino have first round byes)
Thursday, May 4 (after re-seed)
Game 3: No. 1 Sonoma State (34-11) vs. No. 4 seed, 10:30 a.m.
Game 4: No. 2 Cal State San Bernardino (31-18) vs. No. 3 seed, 1 p.m.
Game 5: Loser of Game 3 vs. loser of Game 4 loser
(elimination game), 3:30 p.m.
Friday, May 5
Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. winner of Game 4, 12 p.m.
Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. loser of Game 6
(elimination game), 2:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 6
Game 8: Winner of Game 6 vs. winner vs. Game 7, 12 p.m.
Game 9: If necessary, 30 minutes after conclusion of Game 8
