NCAA Division II Baseball Championship Montgomery, Alabama

06/03/06
Celebration planned to congratulate baseball team
Join us for a celebration on Monday, June 5 at 5:15 to congratulate the baseball team on its tremendous run for a national championship. The event will take place on the Kendall Hall (administration building) lawn on the Chico State campus, just at the end of Normal Street. Following the celebration everyone is invited to join the players and coaches at the Madison Bear Garden patio.

06/03/06
Wildcats lose well-fought NCAA championship title game in extra innings
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The Chico State baseball team was one pitch away from winning the national championship. That strike never came.

The University of Tampa put together three two-out base hits in the ninth inning to tie the game, the last two hits coming with two strikes. The No. 1-ranked Spartans then plated the go-ahead run in the 10th inning to win the 2006 NCAA Division II College World Series 3-2 Saturday night in front of 1,821 fans at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Alabama.

“You’re down to the last strike and you feel like that should be good enough. Unfortunately, it’s not that way in baseball,” said Chico State head coach Lindsay Meggs. “My heart just breaks for these guys. It really does. I wish I had the words to make it feel better.”

The Wildcats took a 2-1 lead on Daniel Code’s RBI-single in the eighth inning. Billy Spottiswood, who had already tossed two scoreless innings to bring his scoreless streak in the CWS to seven, emerged from the dugout to attempt to close out the victory in the ninth. He got the first two batters out before giving up a line single to Craig Corrado.

The next hitter, Roberto Mena, hit a two-strike smash at third baseman Jerin Harper, who knocked it down, picked it up, and threw low to first baseman Christopher Sweeney. Sweeney almost dug it out, but the ball popped out of his glove and the Spartans were still alive with their second two-out hit.

Spottiswood got ahead of the next hitter, Troy Ferguson, as well. But Ferguson grounded a 1-2 pitch past a diving Jesus Luna at shortstop to plate the tying run.

The Wildcats went down quietly in the bottom of the ninth, and Tampa scored the winning run in the 10th on Chris Rosenbaum’s pinch-hit, two-out single.

All-American pitcher Sergio Perez came on to close the game for the Spartans. Chad Williams breathed life into the Wildcats with a two-out double down the left field line, but Harper grounded out to the shortstop to end the game.

The Wildcats, who finished the season 46-21, were playing in their fourth national title game in 10 seasons under Meggs. According to Meggs, the 2006 Wildcats have as much to be proud of as the two national championship teams of 1997 and 1999.

“It’s tough for me not to consider this group of guys I coached this year to be anything other than champions,” said Meggs. “We’ve got some class kids in this program. They are first-rate. I’ve never been more proud of a team.”

Starting pitcher Nick Bryant and four Chico State relievers combined to limit the Spartans to just three runs on 12 hits, only one of which went for extra-bases. Tampa, which finished the season 54-6, entered the championship game hitting .377 with 281 extra-base hits and 582 runs in 59 games. But Bryant surrendered just one run in five-plus innings on only three days rest. Garrett Rieck then got the Wildcats out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the sixth by educing two pop flies. Spottiswood, Elliott Tyson, and Ben Buker finished the game.

“I thought our pitchers showed great courage,” said Meggs. “That’s a team that has dismantled their opponents offensively all season, and we battled them all night long.”

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, Tampa pitchers Ross Jackson, Aaron Cook, and Sergio Perez matched them pitch-for-pitch. Jackson got the start and allowed just one run on three hits in seven innings of work. Cook, who got the win to improve to 9-1, surrendered the go-ahead run in the eighth, but only allowed two hits while striking out three in two innings of work. Perez, the top-rated Division II prospect in the nation according to Baseball America, earned his first save of the season by pitching the 10th.

Both teams looked anxious at the plate early on, but the Wildcats opened the scoring in the second inning. Sweeney’s one-out double to right-center field set things up for Robby Scott, who singled through the right side to make it 1-0.

The teams combined for just two hits over the next three innings before the Spartans broke through in the sixth. Mena doubled to lead off the inning, and after moving to third on a sacrifice bunt, scored when Wildcats shortstop Jesus Luna couldn’t handle a hard-hit grounder with the infield pulled in to try to cut down the tying run at the plate. Two base hits later, the bags were juiced and Rieck was called in to quell the rally. He did just that, getting Third Team All-American Jose Jimenez and catcher J.R. Hopf to pop out to third. The score remained 1-1.

It stayed that way until the eighth. Greg Finazzo’s bunt single and Carl Fairburn’s walk gave the Wildcats their best chance to score since they stranded two runners in the third. Code took advantage with a sharp single through the right side that scored Finazzo, and the Wildcats could almost taste that national title.

But in the end, it was not to be.

06/02/06
Championship game to be televised
The championship game between Chico State and Tampa on Saturday at 5:00 will be televised. KHSL-TV Channel 12 is working on getting the feed. Comcast SportsNet is also scheduled to broadcast the game. Viewers in the Chico area can find Comcast SportsNet on Comcast Cable (channel 34), DIRECTV (channel 656) and Dish (channel 409). Pre-game broadcast with Mike Baca on KPAY Radio 1290 begins at 4:30 p.m.

06/02/06
Out of the parking lot and into the title game
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The Chico State baseball team has gone from the parking lot to the penthouse in two short months.

The Wildcats will play the University of Tampa for the national championship in the finale of the Division II College World Series in Montgomery, Alabama’s Riverwalk Stadium Saturday at 5 p.m., PST. But back in April, Wildcats head coach Lindsay Meggs kicked his team out of the locker room and told them to change somewhere else before and after practice because they were not living up to the legacy of those teams that had gone before them. For most of them, that place was the parking lot.

“That really lit a fire under our rear ends,” said Daniel Code. “Getting kicked out of the locker room was not fun.”

Though it felt like punishment to the players for the mediocre baseball they played during the middle part of the season (they were 16-16 during one stretch after beginning the year 17-3) it was actually an attempt to get them to focus on the present instead of the College World Series.

“We felt like they weren’t capable at that time of handling the expectations that go along with wearing our uniform,” explained Meggs. “First we took everything down off the walls. We took the pictures down, we took the banners down. We took the trophies down. But that didn’t work. So we decided to make it as simple as possible so they didn’t have to be reminded of all the expectations and told them to stay out of the locker room. The only thing we wanted them to focus on was practice that day.”

It worked. Something did anyway. It may have been getting kicked out of the locker room. They were let back in within a week after taking 3-of-4 games from Cal State Monterey Bay, by the way. Or it may have been the realization that if things continued the way they were going, there was a good chance the Wildcats would be on the outside looking in when it came to the postseason for the first time in 11 years.

Whatever it was, it caused the team to become one Meggs now says is more-than-worthy of the Chico State baseball legacy.

“We always say everybody wants to win. I’ve never had a player who didn’t want to win. But only certain people are willing to do what it takes to win,” said Meggs. “We had very few people doing what it took early on. We needed guys to play a position they didn’t necessarily want to play, hit in a spot they didn’t necessarily want to hit in, or do things at the plate they didn’t necessarily want to do. But once they bought in and started to do those things, we started to win some games. That’s why we’re here now. These guys have become a team that will help set the standard for future teams.”

The Wildcats have reeled off 13 wins in their last 14 games, outscoring their opponents 123-48 in the process. They breezed through the CCAA Championship Tournament with three dominating wins. They won three straight at the NCAA Championship Tournament West Regional, and after taking their one mulligan, a 9-7 loss to Cal State L.A., they rebounded to crush the Golden Eagles 8-1 for the regional title. With that win, the Wildcats earned a spot at the Division II College World Series for the third straight season and seventh time in the last 10 years.

Now, Saturday, the Wildcats will play for the national title for the fourth time in 10 years. The Wildcats won in 1997 and 1999, and lost the title game in 2002. No other program in the nation has played for four national titles in the last decade. Tampa, Chico State’s opponent Saturday, comes closest. The Spartans will be playing for their third national title since 1997. They won a title in 1998 and fell in the 2003 championship game.

But that’s all in the past. Both teams are focused on Saturday night now. Tampa enters the game ranked No. 1 in the nation with a record of 53-6. No team has boasted a better winning percentage at the end of the season in the last five years of NCAA Division II baseball. What’s possibly even more impressive is that the Spartans have won 18 straight and 51-of-54 after starting the season 2-3.

The Spartans are led by a ferocious middle-of-the-batting order. Cleanup hitter Lee Cruz leads the nation with 26 home runs, 97 RBI, and 101 total hits. He blasted two home runs against Franklin Pierce to break long-time New York Yankee Tino Martinez’s school record of 25.

But Cruz, recently named the NCAA Division II National Player of the Year, is just one of four All-Americans on the team. He’s sandwiched in the batting order by First Team All-American Orlando Rosales in the third spot, and Third Team All-American Jose Jimenez in the fifth spot. Rosales is batting .414 with 14 home runs, 70 RBI, and 19 stolen bases. Jimenez, just a freshman, is hitting .394 with 17 home runs.

“They can really hurt you,” said Meggs. “You have to assume those three guys are going to get some hits, so you have to keep the guys hitting in front of them and behind them off the bases. We’re not afraid to pitch to them, though. People get in trouble trying to pitch around those guys. The only way to have success against them is to go after them. So as much as we can afford to go after them, we will.”

Fortunately for the Wildcats, they will likely see little or none of Tampa’s other All-American, ace Sergio Perez. The top-rated Division II professional prospect in the nation according to Baseball America, Perez started and threw 100-plus pitches in the Spartans’ win over Franklin Pierce. That doesn’t mean the Wildcats won’t see a formidable opponent, however. No one goes 53-6 without a number of good pitchers, and the Spartans are no exception. They’ll likely start Ross Jackson (11-0, 3.35 ERA) or Nick Peterson (3-1, 2.38 ERA).

Chico State will probably counter with either staff ace Nick Bryant (8-2, 2.44 ERA) on three days rest, or Billy Spottiswood (10-5, 4.43 ERA), who has been the team’s ace reliever in the tournament so far, collecting a win and a save in five shutout innings. Reid Horton, who has allowed just one run on seven hits in his last 14 innings of work, is a likely candidate to see some work out of the bullpen.

Win or lose, the Wildcats will have made their mark on the Chico State baseball program. Their legacy is as secure as that locker room door was in April.

06/01/06
Unbeaten Wildcats to play for national title
Championship game Saturday, 5:00 vs. Tampa
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Check the charcoal supply, make sure the fridge is stocked, and cancel those Saturday night plans. The Chico State baseball team is going to be playing for a national championship.

The Wildcats beat Montevallo 9-5 in a national semifinal game at Paterson field to advance to their fourth NCAA Division II national title game in 10 years. Greg Finazzo and Christopher Sweeney drove in two runs apiece and Billy Spottiswood tossed three scoreless innings for his first collegiate save as the Wildcats improved to 46-20.

They’ll play No. 1-ranked Tampa University (53-6) for the title at Riverwalk Stadium, home of the Montgomery Biscuits Double-A team, Saturday at 5 p.m., PST. The game will be broadcast on Newstalk 1290 KPAY AM  and televised on CSTV.

“We talk all year about putting ourselves in a position to play for the national championship and it’s an honor and privilege to get the opportunity,” said Chico State head coach Lindsay Meggs. “It’s what we talk about every day and it’s why we come to the yard every day, so we’re thrilled.”

Chico State won national titles in 1997 and 1999 and lost the national championship game in 2002. That loss, coupled with two straight losses in 2004 and consecutive losses in 2005, ran the team’s losing streak to five games. A 2-1 victory on Sweeney’s bases-loaded single in the bottom of the ninth Sunday broke that streak, though, and the Wildcats won again Tuesday with four runs in the 13th inning.

Today, the Wildcats struggled defensively, committing four errors. Starting pitcher Ben Buker, going on three days rest, also labored. He walked six batters and hit another in six innings. He allowed five runs, only two of which were earned. And though the game was tight throughout, this was the first game that didn’t take late-inning heroics for the Wildcats to win.

The lead changed hands four times in the first five innings before Chico State took control for good in the sixth. Daniel Code walked, moved to third on Sweeney’s single, and scored on a disputed balk call to tie the game 5-5. Jesus Luna then singled with two outs to plate Sweeney, who scored what proved to be the winning run.

After Montevallo pitcher John Chamblee picked off Code sneaking off of third base, first-base umpire Ruben Chavira called a balk - the seventh called at the tournament. What looked like a big out for Montevallo turned into the game-tying run for the Wildcats.

“For a guy to make that call in that situation...I don’t think it’s necessary,” said Montevallo head coach Greg Goff. “He gave the explanation that he thought he stepped toward home too far. John has made that pick four times this year and never been called for a balk.”

Goff later said: “That was the pivotal call of the game. I don’t know where he’s from, but that was the pivotal call of the game.”

Chavira is representing the west region at the tournament.

“I didn’t have a real good angle on the play from the dugout, but I will say that every team has gotten some calls they’ve liked and every team has had some they haven’t liked and in the end it all evens out,” said Meggs.

Code said it was obviously a balk.

Spottiswood entered in the bottom-half of the inning and went on to make a winner out of Buker (9-3) by holding the Falcons to just three ground-ball singles. He’s now tossed five scoreless innings of relief in Alabama. Those are his first two appearances in relief all season.

“I just feel as long as I’m helping out the team in some way, I’ll do it,” said Spottiswood. “I definitely like being out there at the end though.”

The biggest pitch Spottiswood made today ended the seventh. With one out and the bases loaded, he got Brantly Clay to ground into a double play for just the second time in 166 at-bats this season.

“We had the bases loaded and Brantly up there. He’s one of our fastest runners and he hits into a double play. It just wasn’t meant to be,” said Goff.

The Wildcats broke the game open with three runs on three straight two-out singles in the ninth. Finazzo was hit by a pitch, stole second, and moved to third on Jerin Harper’s single through the left side. With two away, Sweeney, Aaron Demuth, and Robby Scott notched RBI-singles to make it 9-5.

Code hit his second home run in three games leading off the second inning to open the scoring. Montevallo answered with two runs on two walks, two singles, and an error in the third.

Chico State tied the score 2-2 in the fourth. Harper singled, moved to third on Code’s base hit, and scored on Sweeney’s ground ball to the right side.

The Wildcats surged into the lead again with two runs in the fifth. Robby Scott led off the inning with a single, and after Trevor Weedon drew a walk, Finazzo ripped a two-run double to the wall in left-center to make it 4-2.

The lead was short-lived, however. Two errors, including Sweeney’s throwing error on a double-play ball, opened the gates for a three-run Montevallo inning that put the falcons back into the lead, 6-5.

It was Montevallo’s last lead. The Falcons finished their season with a record of 43-18.

“My hat’s off to Montevallo. That’s a well-coached team,” said Meggs. “I think they’re going to be getting back here a lot.”

Not this season, however. Instead, it’s the Wildcats who will be looking to win their third national championship.

“We showed up at the park at 6:30 on a lot of mornings,” said Finazzo. “This is the reason why. We didn’t talk about getting to the national championship game, we talked about winning it. I think we have the team to do it.”

The nation will soon find out.

NOTES – The game might be broadcast on the local CBS affiliate, but that could not be confirmed as of Thursday night...With his second-inning home run, Code became the 14th Chico State player to hit 10 in a season...Carl Fairburn went 0-for-5, ending his team season-high 15-game hitting streak...During a run in which they’ve won 13 of 14 games, the Wildcats have outscored their opponents 123-48...Chico State and Tampa have faced each other just once. The Wildcats won 5-3 in a second-round winners’ bracket game at the College World Series in 1997...Chico State is now 8-1 in Buker’s last nine starts...The Wildcats are 8-1 this season when Finazzo leads off...Spottiswood has not walked a hitter in 12.1 innings of work...Sweeney has 11 multi-hit games in his last 21 starts.

05/31/06
Seasoned veteran Weedon withstands the test of time
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Days turned into weeks, which turned into months, which turned into years. Players came. Some left. Some were sent home.

Trevor Weedon has remained.

The fourth-year senior catcher has been the one constant in the recent history of the Chico State baseball program. Now, after failing to make the NCAA Tournament as a freshman and suffering through four consecutive losses in the College World Series during his sophomore and junior year, Weedon has the Wildcats are on the brink of the national championship game.

After showing bunt with Jesus Luna on second with no one out in the top of the 13th inning, Weedon pulled the bat back and slapped a single through the charging infield to plate the go-ahead run in an 8-4 victory over Ashland University Tuesday night in a winners’ bracket game in Montgomery, Alabama. That win, in the longest postseason game in Chico State history, leaves the Wildcats in need of just one more win to clinch a spot in the national championship game.

They will face the winner of Wednesday night’s Montevallo-West Chester game Thursday at 12:30 p.m., PST, and can claim a spot in the title game with a win. If they lose, they play again Friday with a spot in the national championship game on the line. The national championship will take place Saturday at 5 p.m.

Weedon almost left the program soon after arriving from Nordhoff High School in Ojai for his freshman season.

“We hadn’t had a lot of freshmen in this program when we signed Trevor. After the first two weeks of fall ball he was feeling overwhelmed by the pace,” explained Chico State head coach Lindsay Meggs. “One day after practice we went up and sat down in the bleachers and he told me he didn’t know if he could handle it. He said he didn’t know if he was the right person for our program. He thought he might be better off going home.

“But he stuck around and I think that was a real turning point for him. He could have packed it in but he stayed and battled and he’s gotten better and better and better and better. He’s not only gotten so much better but he’s just grown as a person. He’s so much more confident when you talk to him and so much more of a leader.”

But that doesn’t mean it’s ever gotten easy for Weedon. Every year, Meggs has brought someone in to take Weedon’s job. Despite Weedon’s .276 average and 40-percent success rate throwing out attempting base stealers as a freshman, Meggs brought in James McCabe to take over for Weedon behind the dish in 2004. Weedon out-hit and outplayed McCabe, however, and the next season, Weedon was back in a Chico State uniform and McCabe was gone.

In 2005, Justin Jacque was to be the heir apparent. He faced a similar fate to McCabe, however, and did not return this season. Instead, it was Mark Gentry and Lorin Nakagawa who Meggs expected to battle to take away Weedon’s job this season. Gentry was supposed to be better offensively. Nakagawa was supposed to be better defensively. But Weedon has thrown out 11-of-22 would-be base stealers and is hitting a career-high .300.

“I just try to be consistent,” said Weedon, explaining how he’s won his job over and over. “I think when it comes down to it, coach knows what he’s going to get with me.”

His reputation among his teammates has helped as well.

“Trevor’s the steadiest guy. He’s never too up or too down. He’s ready to go every day,” said Chico State senior pitcher Ben Buker. “Through all of our ups and down as a team, he’s kind of what kept it together for us the whole year. For two years I’ve looked at him as our captain.”

Weedon has also been one of the team’s largest offensive contributors over the last month of the season. He’s always been a steady hitter with a career average of .273, but over his last 17 games, he’s hitting like he never has before. During that stretch, he’s batting .370 with nine RBI.

“I think he’s finally been able to relax,” said Meggs. “He feels like the position is his every day whether he has a good day or bad day. It’s really all come together for Trevor and it’s been fun to watch.”

There are a lot of Chico State fans who probably agree.

05/30/06
Cardiac 'Cats strike again Tuesday
Chico play 12:30 Thursday with championship game on the line
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The Chico State baseball team scored four times in the 13th inning to win an 8-4 thriller over Ashland University Tuesday night in a winners’ bracket game of the NCAA Division II College World Series at Paterson Field in Montgomery, Alabama.

The Wildcats twice blew leads, survived a bases-loaded, one-out situation in the 11th, and had the potential winning run thrown out at home in the 12th inning in the longest postseason game in school history.

With a little help, the Wildcats were not to be denied in the 13th. Jesus Luna took advantage of a second chance when he doubled after his routine pop fly one pitch earlier was dropped by Ashland third baseman Justin Richards. Chico State head coach Lindsay Meggs gave Trevor Weedon the bunt sign, but when the Eagles charged in to try to take the sacrifice away, Weedon slashed and sent a grounder through the infield to plate Luna. Jerin Harper’s two-run triple and Daniel Code’s RBI-grounder broke the game open.

“In my mind that’s what college athletics is all about,” said Meggs. “I told my guys in the top of the 13th to take a deep breath and enjoy the moment because this is one of the greatest baseball games anybody’s ever had the opportunity to play in. So try to enjoy it. Take a moment to look around and think about where you are because this is a pretty neat moment. Try not to be afraid of it and let’s relax, get the leadoff guy on, and anything can happen.”

Luna obliged his coach, and good things did happen. As a result, the Wildcats are just one win away from earning a spot in the national championship game for the fourth time in ten years. They’ll try to get that win Thursday at 12:30 p.m., PST, against the winner of Wednesday’s elimination game between West Chester and Montevallo. If they win, they will play for the national championship Saturday at 5 p.m. at Riverwalk Stadium. If they lose, they’ll play again Friday with a spot in the national championship game on the line.

 “People keep asking me if I think experience plays into this,” said Weedon, who had lost all four of the games he’d played in Alabama in 2004 and 2005. “But I’ve never been in this experience before. At this point, everything’s new to me. I’m excited. I just played 13 innings and I’m ready to play again. I can’t wait until Thursday.”

Chico State’s pitching staff could probably use the rest, however. After Nick Bryant tossed seven effective innings, allowing three runs on seven hits and striking out seven, four relievers finished the game. All-American closer Marcus Martinez pitched a scoreless eighth, but got into trouble in the bottom of the ninth. He walked the leadoff hitter, and after a sacrifice bunt, lefty Steven Johns was called in to face lefty David Waters. Waters blooped a single off the end of his bat into right field to plate the tying run.

Reid Horton and Billy Spottiswood kept the Eagles hitless over the final four-and-a-third innings. Spottiswood earned the win to improve to 10-5 and become just the 13th 10-game winner in Chico State baseball history.

Just because the Eagles got no hits does not mean they weren’t on the brink of winning the game, however. Horton hit Chase Beatty with a pitch leading off the bottom of the 11th. After a sacrifice bunt that moved Beatty to second, Horton intentionally walked the next hitter and then walked another to load the bases. Ashland’s Justin Randall, a .422-hitting All-American, and Casey Jirsa, a .423-hitting All-American, both had a chance to win the game. But Horton struck out Randall with a high fastball and then got Jirsa to pop up to first base to end the inning.

“That’s a pretty tough loss to take, having our three and four hitters up there with the bases loaded,” said Ashland outfielder David Waters. “You’ve got to believe we’re going to win that ball game.”

Horton was quite possibly the only one at Paterson Field who didn’t expect the Eagles to win.

“You’ve got to give Reid Horton a lot of credit,” said Meggs with a chuckle, smile, and shake of the head. “He just made pitch after pitch after pitch. He has so much courage and we’ve seen it time and time again.”

The Wildcats had a chance to take the lead in the 12th, but Christopher Sweeney was thrown out at the plate trying to score from first base on Greg Finazzo’s double to left-center.

Chico State jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the opening inning when Code blasted a two-run homer over the left field wall plating Chad Williams, who drew a leadoff walk. Code finished the night 3-for-6 with four RBI and two runs scored.

“He was trying to challenge me early on and he left the ball up,” said Code. “I was just trying to stay short but the ball hung and just kind of took itself out of the yard.”

Sweeney, who went 4-for-5, doubled high off the wall in right-center on the following pitch, but was stranded at second.

The Wildcats added a run in the fifth when Code walked and later scored on Sweeney’s base hit that made it 3-0.

Ashland, the 10th-ranked offense in the nation, finally got to Chico State starter Nick Bryant in the bottom of the fifth. Consecutive singles got things started for the Eagles, and Eric Zattlin’s double plated the first run. Waters’ RBI-grounder made it 2-0, and Zattlin tied the game by sliding in ahead of Bryant’s tag after a low fastball got past Weedon.

The runs against Bryant were the first he had yielded in 10-and-a-third innings of work in Montgomery spanning three seasons. They were also the last he gave up Tuesday.

He left after seven innings with a 4-3 lead thanks to Code’s RBI-grounder that scored Carl Fairburn in the seventh.

05/29/06
Closer Martinez receives All-American honor
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Jason Gillard describes Marcus Martinez as “kind of a hermit.” According to head coach Lindsay Meggs, he’s a “practical joker lurking in the dugout.” Billy Spottiswood doesn’t know how to describe him.

Here’s a hint: Try All-American.

Martinez, the quirky closer on the Chico State baseball team, earned Third Team All-American honors in the Rawlings/American Baseball Coaches Association 2006 NCAA Division II All-American teams announced Monday.

Known almost as much for his unique personality as his pitching ability, Martinez is a perfect 12-for-12 in save opportunities this season. In those save situations, he’s allowed just seven hits and no runs in 14 innings. He boasts a 2-0 record and ERA of 1.59 on the season.

Martinez is hoping to improve on those numbers this week at the NCAA Division II College World Series in Montgomery, Alabama. The Wildcats, winners of their first game in the tournament, will take on Ashland University Tuesday at 4:30 p.m., PST in the double-elimination tournament.

Martinez is the latest in a long line of Chico State relievers to earn All-American honors. John Soldate was a Second Team All-American in 1997. Brian Grover earned First Team honors in 1999. Dale Thayer was named Second Team All-American in 2002. Most recently, Nick Burger was a Second Team pick in 2004.

Martinez actually reminds Meggs of Grover, who ranks second on the school’s career saves list with 16.

“He’s a lot like Brian Grover. What makes him effective is he can throw three pitches for strikes – a fastball, cutter, and change,” said Meggs. “Now, a lot of guys can do that in the bullpen. But he can do it out on the mound almost every night. That’s rare. He doesn’t overpower you. For him, it’s all about location and changing speeds.”

Bullpen mate and roommate Jason Gillard is equally impressed with Martinez’s abilities.

“He hits his target every time. As a pitcher, that’s really impressive to me,” said Gillard.

Martinez’s personality has also left quite an impression on his teammates and coaches.

“Closers usually have a different kind of personality, and he fits the bill,” said Meggs. “He’s a little bit out there.”

“He’s kind of a hermit,” said Gillard. “I thought I didn’t do a whole lot, but he’s beyond me. I live with him and the only place I ever see him is in his bedroom or on the couch.”

“Marcus is his own personality, but on the mound, he’s as dialed in as his Greg Maddux look-alike goggles,” said James McCarthy.

Baja Bob, a Willie the Wildcat bobblehead doll, is Martinez’s main concern when he isn’t pitching. Baja Bob has accompanied Martinez to every game this season. Unfortunately, he’s taken a few spills along the way. Martinez is often seen begging graduate assistant athletic trainer Troy Ward for athletic tape needed for emergency surgery on Bob. He’s become quite the bobblehead physician, however, and Bob is currently bobbing and weaving as well as he has all season.

Bob always accompanies Martinez on the pitching rubber when he’s called to warm up down in the bullpen.

So two things are obvious: Martinez is a closer extraordinaire and possesses eccentric qualities, but he has a few other notable personality traits. According to teammate Daniel Code, Martinez can recite every line from every episode of South Park. He is also well-liked and well-respected by his teammates for his selfless attitude.

“I actually admire Marcus a lot for a lot of reasons,” said Gillard. “He is a little different, but he’s a great guy,” said Gillard. “He cares about others more than he does himself. He’s always willing to do something for you. He always puts himself last.”

Last. Where else would you expect an All-American closer to want to be?

05/28/06
Sweeney comes through in bottom of the ninth for win
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - It’s been four years since Lindsay Meggs felt this good after a baseball game. It’s been forever for Christopher Sweeney.

Sweeney singled through a drawn-in infield with the bases loaded to bring home Carl Fairburn in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Chico State baseball team to a 2-1 victory over Emporia State in the opening round of the 2006 NCAA Division II College World Series Sunday night. The win, Chico State’s first in Montgomery since 2002, snapped a five-game CWS losing streak for the Wildcats.

 “This is a great night for us. I’m very excited,” said Chico State head coach Lindsay Meggs. “The most important thing about game one is to win it and we hung in there and did that. It’s a great feeling.”

Sweeney, 0-for-3 with two strikeouts prior to the game-winning at-bat, stepped to the plate with the bases loaded after Fairburn led off the inning with a double, Jerin Harper was intentionally walked, and Daniel Code reached on a bunt single. He was down 1-2 in the count, but got a breaking ball and hit a wicked one-hopper toward second baseman Conner Crumbliss. Crumbliss went down on both knees to try to snare the ball, but it skipped off his glove and Fairburn scored with ease.

“This is definitely the biggest stage I’ve played on in my career so I’ve never had a bigger hit,” said Sweeney. “I just wanted to pick up the pitching staff.”

Wildcats starter Garrett Rieck and reliever Ben Buker certainly deserved as much. Rieck worked the first five innings and gave up just three hits. Bill Sharp’s solo home run in the third was the only blemish in his night. Buker was even better. He gave up just one hit in four innings to earn the victory and improve to 8-3.

“Their pitchers did a great job from start to finish,” said Emporia State head coach Bob Fornelli. “(Rieck) just continued to battle and battle. Then (Buker) came in and kind of shut the door on us.”

Rieck and Buker had to be that good because Emporia State starter Gabe Medina was nearly unhittable. The 6-3 senior allowed just two hits through the first eight innings and struck out nine in the process. He sat down Sweeney twice and Wildcats leading home run hitter Aaron Demuth all three times he stepped into the batters’ box. Only the bottom three hitters in the Chico State lineup – Robby Scott, Jesus Luna, and Trevor Weedon, avoided being struck out Sunday. Medina, the Central Region Pitcher of the Year, fell to 13-2 with the loss.

The fifth-ranked Wildcats, winners of 11 of their last 12 games, are now 44-20. Emporia State, ranked No. 2 in the nation entering the tournament, dipped to 48-12.

Medina had the Wildcats tied up with a steady diet of sliders all night because they were expecting more fastballs.

“We were geared up for his fastball. We were dead red on the fastball,” said Fairburn. “He just kept going slider, slider, slider. He had us pretty mixed up.”

Thus, it seemed as though the Wildcats would have to wait for their opportunity to break through until Medina tired and Fornelli was forced to go to his bullpen. That was only partially the case. Medina left the game after Fairburn smashed a double down the left-field line and Harper was intentionally walked to open the ninth.

“It was just a bad time to make a bad pitch,” said Medina. “It was a slider that hung up a little bit. I just hung it at a bad time.”

Just how bad the timing was even Medina didn’t know. A hanging slider is exactly what Fairburn was looking for.

“Before I came to the plate, coach Meggs grabbed me and said: if he hangs a slider up, go get it,” said Fairburn. “That’s exactly what I did.”

After Harper was intentionally walked, Fornelli went to his bullpen and left-hander Mickey Lara to face Code. Instead of giving his leading RBI-producer a chance to win the game, Meggs set up Sweeney for the heroics by asking Code to lay down his first sacrifice bunt of the season. After bunting through the first pitch badly, Code bunted the next one softly down the third base line. It flirted with going foul, but hugged the foul line and stayed fair for a base hit.

“We bunt for 20 minutes every day. Every guy out there bunts,” said Meggs. “He told me he felt comfortable doing it and he put a pretty good one down.”

Prior to Sweeney’s game-winning hit, neither team had scored since the third inning.

Sharp opened the scoring with his solo home run to left with two down in the third. But the Wildcats got production from the bottom of their order to answer back. Scott opened the inning with a single to center. He moved to second on Luna’s hit-and-run grounder to first. Weedon, batting ninth, doubled him home to knot the score 1-1.

Some great defensive plays and stellar pitching from the Wildcats kept the game tied. With two runners on in the fourth, Scott made a sliding, back-handed snare of a grounder ticketed to center field and threw out the speedy Eric Fischer to rob the Hornets of a run.

In the fifth, Luna ranged far to his left to grab a grounder, stepped on second, and fired to first for an inning-ending double play. Harper put an end to the sixth by leaping high to grab a line drive headed for left field with two runners on.

Chico State’s win sets the stage for a winners’ bracket showdown with Ashland University Tuesday at 4:30 p.m., PST. The winner of that game will play Thursday night with a spot in the national championship game on the line. The loser will play in an elimination game at 12:30 Wednesday.

The tournament’s other second round match-ups are also set. The nation’s top-ranked team, the University of Tampa, will face Montevallo in a winners’ bracket game on Monday at 4:30 p.m., PST. That game follows the tournament’s first elimination game featuring Francis Marion and West Chester at 12:30.

In the other half of the bracket, Franklin Pierce and Emporia State will kick off Tuesday’s action with an elimination game at 12:30 prior to the Chico State-Ashland affair.

Notes – The Wildcats are now 9-2 in when Rieck starts this season…This was the first meeting ever between the schools…Fairburn’s double extended his hitting streak to 14 games. Scott, who was undoubtedly the defensive player of the game, has not committed an error in 87 chances since March 27…Wildcats center fielder Greg Finazzo ended the third inning with a flourish by making a brilliant diving catch in shallow left-center field…Chico State is now 14-7 all-time in CWS play, including 4-3 in first-round games…The three times the Wildcats won their first-round games, in 1997, 1999, and 2002, they wound up playing in the national championship game.

05/27/06
Wildcats ready to rocket into College World Series
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Aaron Demuth swivels his hips, shifts his weight forward, and throws his hands all in one instant. His bat connects solidly with a baseball traveling upwards of 90 miles per hour. What results is a rocket.

Demuth, Daniel Code, Jerin Harper, Carl Fairburn, and Christopher Sweeney have all proven their ability to send a baseball into orbit. The Chico State baseball team is hoping to ride some of those rockets to a Division II College World Series title.

Chico State head coach Lindsay Meggs and his suddenly-slugging Wildcats are in Montgomery, Alabama, May 27-June 3 for an eight-team tournament that will determine the NCAA Division II national baseball champion. The Wildcats, champions of the Western Region, open that effort Sunday at 4:30, PST, against Central Region champion Emporia State.

This is Chico State’s third consecutive trip to Alabama and the seventh in 10 years. The last two trips have not been kind to the Wildcats, however. They have been one of the first two teams eliminated from tournament play in back-to-back seasons, losing consecutive games both times. Last season, the Wildcats failed to score a run.

That prompted Meggs to make a change in his recruiting thought process. He decided the Wildcats needed to get more physical at the plate. In short, he wanted to find some guys who could change a game with one swing of the bat. Meggs found what he was looking for.

The Wildcats certainly look the part. Demuth is 6-5, 235. Sweeney is 6-6, 225. Code is 6-3, 220, and Fairburn is 6-3, 210. Early in the season, however, that size wasn’t necessarily paying off. Chico State had managed just 29 home runs through their first 47 games. Then, on April 28, rockets started flying. They haven’t stopped.

Chico State bashed four home runs to open a four-game series at Cal State San Bernardino and have now hit 29 in their last 16 games, including 12 in eight postseason games. Only three times in their last 16 games have they failed to go deep.

Demuth has led the charge with 14 round trippers, including 10 in the last 16 games and four in the postseason. That’s a Chico State single-season postseason record and matches the career postseason mark. His 14 home runs are the third most in Chico State single-season history. Fairburn has homered six times since April 28 and three times in the postseason. Harper has homered five times since April 28 and twice in the postseason. Nine of Code’s team-high 21 doubles have come in the last 13 games. Harper has doubled four times in the last five games and 18 times on the season.

That power, more than any other thing, gives Meggs and his Wildcats hope his team can turn around the CWS struggles of the past two seasons.

There is no time like Sunday’s matchup with Emporia State to make that happen. The Hornets, 48-11 on the season and ranked No. 2 in the nation, feature Central Region Pitcher of the Year Gabe Medina (13-1). The 6-4, 230-pound flame thrower from Venezuela has struck out 133 hitters in 97-plus innings of work and boasts a 2.50 ERA. He has surrendered just 77 hits and 29 walks and opponents are batting just .213 against him. There is one way to get to Medina, however, and that’s via the long ball. He’s given up nine home runs this season.

Medina will likely duel with Wildcats No. 1 starter Nick Bryant, who also has a few guns in his holster. Bryant, 8-2, has struck out 90 batters in 107-plus frames. The First Team All Region hurler boasts a 2.35 ERA and is 5-0 in his last 10 starts. In two prior appearances at the CWS, Bryant has not allowed a run and surrendered just four hits in six-and-a-third innings.

Bryant, or whoever starts for the Wildcats, will face a formidable Emporia State lineup. Outfielder Mark McBratney enters the championship tournament batting .400 with 13 home runs and 80 RBI. He’s one of 10 Hornets hitting .300 or better. As a team, they’re batting .330, they’ve bashed 53 home runs, and they’ve also stolen 100 bases.

The winner of Sunday night’s game will take on Sunday afternoon’s Ashland-Franklin Pierce winner at 4:30 Tuesday. The losers will play at 11:30 a.m. in an elimination game.

05/24/06
Bryant, Martinez named First Team All-RegionThe two anchors of Chico State’s pitching staff this season - No. 1 starter Nick Bryant and closer Marcus Martinez - were both named to the 2006 NCAA ABCA/Rawlings All-West Region First Team announced Wednesday. They join a strong fraternity of Chico State pitchers since Lindsay Meggs took over the program, becoming the 14th and 15th Wildcats pitcher to earn First Team All-West Region recognition since 1996.

Bryant boasts an 8-2 record and 2.35 ERA. In 17 appearances, 16 of them starts, he’s struck out 90 hitters in 107.1 innings, allowing 96 hits and just 22 walks in the process. His 90 strikeouts this season are the fourth most in Chico State history and his 4.10 strikeout-to-walk ratio is the fifth highest by a Wildcat.

Nearing the end of his third season in the program, Bryant also ranks high in many of Chico State’s career pitching categories. His 168 career strikeouts are second all-time, his 54 appearances are the third most, his 190.2 innings of work are the fifth most, and his 23 starts are the ninth most ever.

Martinez’s selection marks the third straight time and the sixth time in 10 seasons a Wildcat closer earned First-Team honors. Nick Burger earned First Team recognition in 2004 and 2005. Prior to that, closers Dale Thayer (2002), Brian Grover (1999), and John Soldate (1997) were First Team selections.

Martinez is 12-for-12 in save opportunities and has not given up a single run in a save situation. Overall, he is 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA. In 22.2 innings, he’s struck out 24 and allowed just 19 hits.

Cal State Dominguez Hills first baseman Jason Klug was named West Region Player of the Year. Western Oregon University pitcher Nick Waechter received Pitcher of the Year honors and WOU coach Jeremiah Robbins was named West Region Coach of the Year.

05/23/06
Wildcats leap to No. 5 in national rankings
When the Chico State baseball team will board a plane a the Chico Airport bound for the Division II College World Series in Montgomery, Alabama, Wednesday morning, it will do so as the fifth-ranked team in the nation.

Thanks to 10 wins in their last 11 games, the Wildcats jumped 16 spots to No. 5 in the nation in the latest Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll released Monday. Their first-round opponent in Montgomery, Emporia State, moved up nine spots to No. 2 this week. Other World Series teams in the rankings are: No. 1 Tampa, No. 3 Francis Marion, No. 4 Montevallo, No. 6 Ashland, No. 10 West Chester, and No. 12 Franklin Pierce.

Seven of the country’s top eight teams in last week’s rankings lost during regional play and will not be making the journey to Alabama. Tampa, which has been ranked No. 1 for much of the season, was the lone exception.

Division II West Regional hosted by Western Oregon Click logo for official site Live stats available for all games

05/21/06
Wildcats headed to College World Series for seventh time in last ten years
Five Wildcats named to West Regional All-Tournament Team, Harper MVP
KEIZER, Ore. - The Chico State baseball team went from agony to Alabama in three hours Sunday.

The Wildcats watched a 7-1 lead evaporate into a 9-7 Cal State L.A. victory, capped by R.J. Brown’s two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth, in the opening game. That forced a final game to crown the NCAA Division II West Region champion. The Wildcats responded with an 8-1 victory and punched their ticket to the College World Series in Montgomery, Alabama, for the seventh time in ten years.

“I told these guys after the game, if you can win this game, you can win any game,” said Chico State head coach Lindsay Meggs. “Some day your kids or your grandkids are going to be doing something and they’re going to say I can’t do it. You are going to tell them about today.”

Making just his third start of the season, Reid Horton allowed one run in seven innings of work to earn the win. His energy and emotion also gave the Wildcats a desperately needed lift after the heartbreaking defeat in Sunday’s opener.            

“I like Reid’s stuff. He’s got good stuff,” said Meggs. “But that’s not why I put him out there. I put him out there for his makeup. It wouldn’t have mattered if we were up by ten, down by fifteen, or if he was getting the start – he would have been the same regardless. That’s what makes him Reid Horton. That’s what makes him special.”

Chico State catcher Trevor Weedon explained why Horton’s presence was crucial to the win.

“That was devastating to be out on the field watching them score all those runs to come back to win,” said Weedon. “But seeing this guy out there on the mound like a bulldog gave me a lift. I think it gave everyone a lift.”

Jerin Harper also gave the Wildcats a lift with a three-run home run that capped a six-run second inning that put Chico State in control for good. The MVP of the regional, Harper also made two great defensive plays at first base and finished the week 13-for-23 with two home runs and eight RBI.

Harper’s round-tripper was the final blow in a big inning that had some of its roots in a Cal State L.A. error.

“If we make a couple plays in that inning it’s a different ball game,” said Golden Eagles head coach Dave Taylor, Chico State’s pitching coach from 1997 to 2004. “I don’t know if it’s a different outcome, but it’s a different ball game. Before that, we had all of the momentum in our dugout. But they quickly recovered it. To get down 6-0 really took it out of us.”

The Golden Eagles gained the momentum by scoring eight runs in the final two innings to win the opener. They banged out six consecutive two-out singles – the first five against Wildcats starter Billy Spottiswood and the sixth against reliever Steven Johns – to trim the lead to 7-3 in the seventh and start their improbable comeback. Chico State’s third pitcher of the inning, Jason Gillard, forced home one run by walking Cody Ferris. Jeff Carroll then looped a single to right to plate two more runners and make it 7-6. Elliott Tyson then took the mound for the Wildcats and promptly walked Matt Winkelman to reload the bases before striking out Henry Contreras to end the threat.

Tyson was not as fortunate in the eighth. Shortstop Jesus Luna broke the wrong way and missed Adam Klein’s routine grounder with two down. Klein then stole second base to put the tying run in scoring position. Jack Roche tied the game by blooping a soft single just over second base. Ryan Harbaugh was then called in to make his first appearance since May 6 and Brown lined his 0-1 pitch over the wall in right.

“You’re always in the game in college baseball,” said Brown. “I just wanted to get the next guy up. I just got a good swing on it and hit it out.”

It was no happenstance. Brown was 4-for-5 with four RBIs in the game and finished the tournament 12-for-24.

The Wildcats threatened in the ninth when Carl Fairburn led off with a double, but Harper flew out and Daniel Code and Aaron Demuth struck out to end the game.

Leadoff hitter Greg Finazzo drew a seven-pitch walk to leadoff the first game. Carl Fairburn doubled down the third-base line to put runners on second and third, and Harper’s bloop single to right plated the day’s first run. Fairburn scored when Code grounded into a double play to make it 2-0 Wildcats.

The Golden Eagles answered back in the bottom-half of the inning. Jack Roche got things started with a one-out double and he came around to score on Brown’s base hit to right. Brown tried to advance to second on the throw home, but Weedon threw him out at second. That proved vital when Jacob Ferris doubled Spottiswood’s next pitch down the third-base line. Spottiswood got Jeff Carroll to hit a soft comebacker to get out of the inning. He cruised from there until the seventh.

It took just two pitches in the fourth inning for the Wildcats to make it 4-1. Code singled on the first pitch of the inning and Demuth hit the next pitch high over the left-field wall for his 12^th home run of the season and his first of three on the day.

Demuth later broke the game open in the seventh with a three-run homer well over the 12-foot wall in left-center field that gave the Wildcats a 7-1 lead. Harper singled and Code walked to set the table. The lead didn’t stand up, however, and the Wildcats entered game two a beleaguered bunch.

The Wildcats struck first in the second game. James McCarthy doubled with one out, and after Robby Scott walked, Luna reached on an error by Cal State L.A. third baseman Carroll to load the bases. Weedon’s pop fly to right fell just inside the foul line for a single that plated one run, and Finazzo grounded into a fielders’ choice to make it 2-0. Fairburn’s line-drive to right followed, scoring Luna. Harper’s 3-run shot followed, giving the Wildcats a 6-0 edge.

McCarthy’s solo shot to left in the sixth made it 7-0, but the Golden Eagles looked like they might have one more rally in them in the seventh. Ferris and Carroll notched back-to-back singles, the second plating Ferris and trimming the lead to 7-1. Horton got Matt Winkelman to ground out to end the inning, however.

The Wildcats capped the scoring with Demuth’s solo home run to right in the eighth.

Chico State will face Central Region Champion Emporia State next Sunday in their first-round game at the College World Series. The Wildcats have earned a trip to Alabama for three straight years now, but they came away without a victory in 2004 and 2005. Weedon believes this year will be different.

“This year we’ve got a pretty grounded team,” said Weedon. “The last two year’s we’ve pressed a little. We were pretty tight. But this team has a better understanding that the lights might be brighter and the stage might be bigger, but in the end, you’re just playing the game of baseball.”

The team’s offensive prowess won’t hurt either, according to Meggs.

“We can swing it this year. That’s the biggest difference between this team and the last two we’ve taken to Alabama.”

Sunday wasn’t the first time Chico State responded well to a devastating defeat this season. On May 5, the Wildcats led 5-1 but imploded with two errors in the eighth that led to six Cal State Stanislaus runs and a 7-6 loss. That loss, Chico State’s 16th in its last 32 games, dropped the Wildcats into fifth place in the CCAA standings. Only the top four CCAA teams qualify for the postseason, so Chico State was on the outside looking in.

The Wildcats responded with nine wins in a row, claiming the CCAA Championship Tournament title and earning a spot in the regional championship game in the process. Now, after bouncing back from their lone loss in the last 11 games, they’re headed back to Alabama.

West Regional All-Tournament Team:
P - Philip Springman, Cal State L.A.; Reid Horton, Chico State. C - Trevor Weedon, Chico State. 1B - R.J. Brown, Cal State L.A. 2B - Jack Roche, Cal State L.A. 3B - Jerin Harper, Chico State. SS - Paul Fisher, Western Oregon. OF - Daniel Code, Chico State; Jacob Ferris, Cal State L.A.; Jason Rees, Fort Hays State. DH - Aaron Demuth, Chico State.
MVP - Jerin Harper, Chico State.

05/20/06
Wildcats one win away from seventh trip to College World Series
Chico State plays for regional championship Sunday at noon
KEIZER, Ore. – The Chico State baseball team is one win from going back to 'Bama, and Western Oregon University is back to being frustrated in its attempts to beat the Wildcats. Starting pitcher Ben Buker allowed just one run in seven-plus innings, and Jerin Harper and Carl Fairburn homered as the Wildcats beat tournament-host and top seed Western Oregon 7-2 Friday. They earned a spot in the championship game of the NCAA Championship Tournament Western Regional with the win.

The Wildcats, 42-19, have now won nine straight games and 12 regional playoff games in a row. They’ll attempt to continue those streaks Sunday at noon against Western Oregon or Cal State L.A., pending the outcome of tonight's late game. If the Wildcats win that game, they are the regional champion for the seventh time in the last 10 years. If they lose, they will play another game approximately one hour later that will determine the champion.

“The thing I like about our group right now is that everybody’s pushing, pushing, pushing. That’s the key,” said Chico State head coach Linsday Meggs. “You keep applying pressure so you don’t feel pressure. I don’t think that’s going to stop win, lose, or draw. We’re just going to keep pushing and see how far we can go.”

Western Oregon, meanwhile cannot seem to push past the Wildcats. Chico State eliminated the Wolves from the playoffs in last season’s regional championship game. The Wildcats have won 23 of the last 26 meetings between the teams and hold a 37-8 lead in the overall series.

“They’re good. They get good players,” said Western Oregon head coach Jeremiah Robbins. “That’s what we’re shooting for.”

Already trailing 2-0, Western Oregon’s frustrations grew in the third inning. Daniel Code slid through Wolves catcher Ivan Munoz in a violent collision at the plate. Code was safe and Munoz was forced to leave the game with an undisclosed leg injury. Western Oregon’s coaching staff, players, and fans were clearly angered by the play. That was made especially clear when Western Oregon starting pitcher Matt Skundrick threw a high fastball behind Chico State’s Aaron Demuth in retaliation and both teams were warned.

“He won’t play the rest of the year,” said Robbins. “That’s all I’ll say about that.”

It was James McCarthy’s base hit that plated Code, giving Chico State a 3-0 lead. McCarthy entered the game in the top-half of the inning after Wildcats first baseman Christopher Sweeney left the game with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. McCarthy, who had advanced to second on a wild pitch, scored on Demuth’s base hit to make it 4-0.

Fairburn, Chico State’s second hitter of the day, opened the scoring with a home run to left field. It won not his first home run of the weekend. He also homered in the first inning of Friday’s 11-2 win against Cal State L.A. It was also not his first round-tripper against Skundrick, according to Fairburn. The pair played American Legion ball on opposing teams throughout high school.

“He found barrel and he earned it,” said Skundrick. “It’s a combination, of course. You leave a ball out over the plate against a good hitter like Carl and he’ll make you pay.”

About taking Skundrick over the wall, Fairburn simply shrugged and said, “I’ve done it before.”

Fairburn’s been making a habit out of hitting home runs recently. He’s hit five out of the park and driven in 14 runs during his current 11-game hitting streak.

The Wildcats built the lead to 2-0 when Harper reached on a bunt single and later came around to score on Demuth’s base hit.

They tacked on single runs in the sixth and seventh to build the lead to 6-0. Demuth walked to lead off the sixth, moved to second on Robby Scott’s base hit, and then to third on Jesus Luna’s sacrifice bunt. Trevor Weedon single plated Demuth. Harper hammered a pitch from reliever Adam Hoffman over the wall in left-center field in the seventh.

Meanwhile, Buker was keeping the high-powered Wolves offense off the scoreboard. Western entered the game averaging over eight runs per game, but Buker limited the Wolves to just six hits and no runs through the first seven frames. He was pulled from the game after hitting Boo Christenson with a pitch with one down in the eighth. Christenson eventually came around to score the only run of the day charged to Buker to trim the lead to 7-1.

“Buker was phenomenal,” said Robbins. “He attacked our hitters and did a real good job of keeping our guys off balance. I really tip my hat to Ben Buker.”

Buker, who struck out five and walked just one, improved to 7-3 with the win. It was the 21st start of his Chico State career, and by far the most meaningful one.

“I’ve been waiting for this game for over a year now,” said Buker, who was bitterly disappointed after he did not get an opportunity to start an NCAA Tournament game as a junior last season. “I’m real hungry after getting a taste of the (Division II College) World Series. I’ve been waiting all season for this game. That’s why the results were what they were.”

Chico State answered Western Oregon’s first run with one of its own via some small-ball in the bottom-half of the inning. Robby Scott led off the inning with a single up the middle, moved to second when Jesus Luna walked, and went to third on Weedon’s second sacrifice bunt of the day. Scott scored to stretch the lead to 7-1 when Western Oregon shortstop Paul Fisher misplayed Fairburn’s ground ball.

Western Oregon scored a single run in the ninth, but Chico State closer Marcus Martinez got Christenson to fly out to end the game.

The next time a Chico State pitcher records an out in the ninth, it could mean a spot in the College World Series. Harper, for one, couldn’t be more excited.

“I’ve never really won a championship or been to anything like a College World Series,” said Harper. “I want this as bad as anyone does, and maybe even more.”

Notes – Buker is 4-1 with a 1.56 ERA in his last five starts...Weedon’s two sacrifice bunts give him 18 for his career, the third most in Chico State history...The Wildcats are 25-5 in Western Regional games under Meggs...Chico State is 15-6 all-time when Buker starts...In Chico State reliever Steven Johns’ last six appearances, he’s retired all six batters he’s faced...Code’s double in the third was his 20th this season, tying him with Luis Sanchez (1999) for the second most in Chico State single-season history...Fairburn has now hit three postseason home runs this season, putting him in a four-way tie for first in Wildcats postseason history.

05/19/06
Wildcats win eighth straight, beat Cal State L.A. 11-2
Chico State faces Western Oregon Saturday at noon
KEIZER, Ore. - Dave Taylor has been on the winning side of many Chico State postseason blowouts. He experienced what it’s like in to be in the opposing dugout in an 11-2 Wildcats victory in a winners’ bracket game at the NCAA Championship Tournament West Regional Friday night at Volcano Stadium.

Taylor, the second-year head coach at Cal State L.A., was the Wildcats’ pitching coach and head assistant for a pair of College World Series titles and five regional championships between 1997 and 2004. That made the win somewhat bittersweet for Chico State head coach Lindsay Meggs.

“There is a time when you are a little kid when you like to play against your friends,” said Meggs. “But there’s so much at stake now. That’s one of my best friends in the other dugout and he’s a great coach. It’s not a lot of fun to compete against him.”

Chico State’s (41-19) victory sets up a matchup with the tournament’s top seed, Western Oregon University (40-14), Saturday at noon. The winner of that game will advance to championship Sunday and have two chances to win and claim the regional title and a trip to the Division II College World Series May 27-June 3 in Montgomery, Alabama.

Daniel Code went 3-for-3 with four RBI to lead the Chico State offense, which has now scored in double-figures in six games during its current eight-game winning streak. He also walked twice and stole a pair of bases. He’s now 5-for-his-last-5 at the plate and has reached base in seven consecutive appearances. Carl Fairburn and Robby Scott each hit two-run homers, and Jerin Harper drove in a pair of runs.

Code attributes better pitch selection to his recent success. He’s 17-for-32 over the last eight games and he’s struck out just twice in his last 11 starts.

“I’m just seeing the ball a lot better,” he explained. “My pitch selection has been helping a lot. I’m seeing the outside pitch a little longer and going that way. I’m seeing the inside pitches long enough to turn on them.”

Starting pitcher Garrett Rieck earned the victory to improve to 4-2. He allowed just two runs in six innings of work. He put five straight zeroes on the board after surrendering R.J. Brown’s two-run homer in the first.

“I made a mistake and he hit it,” said Rieck. “After that, I just wanted to throw strikes and let the defense work behind me, and they did a great job.”

Jason Gillard followed with a pair of scoreless innings, and Reid Horton put up another zero in the ninth for the Wildcats bullpen, which has now allowed just one run in seven innings of work during the tournament.

“They put the pressure on us early, which is something we like to do to other teams,” said Taylor. “Give them credit where credit is due.  Chico State is experienced and our guys are finding out what it takes to compete at this level.”

The Wildcats put three runs on the board before the game’s first out. Greg Finazzo, making his first start since May 7 and just his fourth since the beginning of April, led off the game with a triple to the right-center field gap. Fairburn then drew a walk, and Harper followed with his third double in the last two games to plate Finazzo. Code’s two-run bloop single to center followed, making it 3-0.

“I felt like if we were able to get it going early we could score a lot of runs,” said Finazzo. “I just wanted to do my part.”

The Golden Eagles answered back with two runs in the bottom-half of the inning on R.J. Brown’s two-run, opposite-field homer. Adam Klein led off the inning with a double.

Finazzo got things started for the Wildcats again in the second inning, this time with a two-out single to center. Fairburn followed and turned on Owsley’s belt-high pitch, sending it well over the left-field wall to stretch the lead to 5-2.

The Wildcats tacked on two more runs in the fourth. Jesus Luna drew a walk to lead off the frame. He moved to second on Trevor Weedon’s sacrifice bunt against Cal State L.A. reliever Nate Holguin, and then to third when Fairburn reached on a throwing error by Golden Eagles shortstop Felipe Gallo. Harper’s infield single plated Luna and then Code singled home Fairburn to give Chico State a 7-2 lead.

Scott sparked another two-run Chico State rally in the fifth with a leadoff triple. Luna singled him home with a line-drive to center field. He then moved to second on Trevor Weedon’s base hit to left. Fairburn was intentionally walked after Finazzo’s sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third. After Harper struck out for the second out, Code drew a walk to force a run home and put the Wildcats in control 9-2.

Scott put an exclamation point on the night with a two-run homer off the scoreboard beyond the left-center field gap in the eighth. Chad Williams, pinch-running for Code, also scored on the play.

“We were joking in the dugout with Robby after that,” said Meggs. “He’s such a great student but it’s taken him all semester to figure out the geometry of putting the barrel of the bat squarely on the ball. When he does, he hits it off the scoreboard.”

Notes – If the Wildcats do advance to Alabama, one team they will not see is defending national champion Florida Southern, which was eliminated after losing for the second straight day in the South Regional…When Harper struck out with the bases loaded in the fifth, it marked the first time in his last 88 at-bats…The Wildcats are now 8-2 in games Rieck starts…The triples by Finazzo and Scott tied the Chico State record for most in a postseason game…Chico State has now won 16 of its last 20 contests against Cal State L.A….Code’s four RBI brings his season total to 60, tying him with Rich Gregory’s 1998 total for sixth in Chico State single-season history.

05/18/06
Demuth's walk-off homer in extra innings wins opening game of Division II West Regional
Wildcats play Cal State L.A. Friday at 7 p.m.
KEIZER, Ore. – As he left the batters’ box, Aaron Demuth was just hoping Christopher Sweeney was fast enough to score from first on a double off the wall. He had his doubts.

By the time he rounded first base, he was pumping his fist in the air and the game was over. Demuth’s long fly ball carried well and snuck over the 12-foot wall in right-center field for a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th inning.

The blast lifted the Wildcats to a 5-3 victory over Fort Hays State in the opening game of the 2006 NCAA Championship Tournament Western Regional hosted by Western Oregon University at Volcanoes Stadium.

“I knew Sweeney was going to have a hard time scoring, but I was still hoping he could,” said Demuth. “Then I saw it go over the wall. There’s no better feeling than hitting a walk-off home run.”

Demuth may change his mind if the Wildcats win their third straight regional and seventh in the last 10 years to advance to the Division II College World Series. The team will have to play better than it did Thursday to make that happen, however. The Wildcats committed a season-high five errors, made a pair of base running blunders, and failed to get a key sacrifice bunt down.

“It certainly wasn’t the way we drew it up, but it’s a sign of character to be able to win when you aren’t playing like you are capable,” said Head Coach Lindsay Meggs.

It’s also the sign of a good pitching staff. Starter Nick Bryant and relievers Elliott Tyson, Steven Johns, and Jason Gillard limited Fort Hays State to six hits in 11 frames. Bryant, who struck out a career-high 10 hitters, allowed just five hits and one earned run in seven innings. Gillard (1-1) did not allow a hit or walk in one-and-a-third innings of work to earn the victory. Tyson allowed one run in two innings, and Johns struck out the only batter he faced.

The win was the seventh straight for Chico State, which improved to 40-19. With the win they move into the winners’ bracket where they’ll face Cal State L.A. on Friday at 7 p.m. CSLA beat Mesa State 10-2 in today's second game. This is their eighth 40-win season in the last 11. The win was also the Wildcats’ 10th straight in Western Regional play. They swept through the tournament in 2002, 2004, and 2005, going 3-0 each time.

That streak was in serious jeopardy for much of the day, however. Fort Hays State starter and Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year Bobby Lewton, who entered the day 12-3 with a 1.95 ERA, kept Chico State’s hitters off balance through nine innings. He surrendered just three runs on 10 hits and one walk. Tom Goodwin pitched a scoreless 10th but surrendered a base hit up the middle to Sweeney leading off the 11th. Demuth then ended the Wildcats’ second-longest postseason game in school history by smacking a 2-1 thigh-high fastball out of the yard. It was Demuth’s team-leading 11th home run on the season and his eighth in his last 18 starts.

Fort Hays State, the tournament’s No. 5 seed, dipped to 45-16 with the loss. The Tigers will take on Thursday night’s Western Oregon-Colorado State-Pueblo loser.

The Wildcats, seeded No. 2, opened the scoring with a single run in the third. Trevor Weedon got things started with a one-out single and moved to second on Carl Fairburn’s bunt hit with two outs. Jerin Harper made it 1-0 with a base hit to left.

The lead didn’t last, however, thanks in part to some shoddy defense. Wildcats shortstop Jesus Luna let a leadoff grounder skid under his glove and the Tigers quickly had the tying run on second. After Jason Rees doubled the run home, he moved to third on a grounder and then scored on a wild pitch to make it 2-1.

Chico State knotted the score 2-2 in the sixth. Harper was again in the middle of the rally with a one-out double. He moved to third on Daniel Code’s single and scored on Sweeney’s infield hit.

Fort Hays State jumped back into the lead, 3-2, when Rees hammered a Tyson offering well beyond the wall in left field. Tyson had retired the first two batters of his opening inning of work, but left a ball up and Rees got all of it. Chico State got the run back in the bottom half of the inning. Harper led off the inning with a double and scored on Code’s double down the left-field line. Code was eventually stranded at second when Demuth flew out to center to end the inning. He would later get his redemption, however.

NOTES – Demuth has driven in 22 runs in his last 18 starts...Harper is hitting .411 (46-112) since the beginning of April, spanning 29 games...Chico State is now 13-1 this season with Robby Scott bats seventh...The Wildcats are now 4-0 in extra innings this season...Chico State is now 26-5 all-time in West Regional competition...Christopher Sweeney has two-or-more hits in nine of his last 16 games...Carl Fairburn extended his hitting streak to nine games with a bunt single.

05/14/06
Wildcats No. 2 seed in West Regional this weekend in Oregon
With an automatic bid in its back pocket and knowing, due to graduation ceremonies this weekend, that there was no possibility of hosting, the Chico State baseball team awaited the pairings and site selection of the upcoming regional. It was announced late Sunday night that Western Oregon will host the 2006 NCAA Division II West Region Baseball Championship this Thursday through Sunday (May 18-21) at Volcanoes Stadium in Keizer.

The Wolves held on to the No. 1 seed in the West, and will face No. 6 Colorado State-Pueblo on Thursday at 7 p.m. No. 2 seed Chico State will square off against No. 5 Fort Hays State in the opening game at noon, while No. 3 Mesa State will play No. 4 Cal State LA at 3:30.

The double-elimination tournament will continue with the same time slots on Friday and Saturday, with the championship contest set for Sunday.

The Wildcats are making their ninth regional appearance in the last 11 seasons and have earned the West Region title and a trip to the Division II College World Series six times (2005, 2004, 2002, 1999, 1998, 1997).

2006 CCAA Baseball Championship Tournament Click logo for official site

05/13/06
Wildcats sweep through tournament to win third CCAA Championship title
LOS ANGELES – Carl Fairburn walked on to the Chico State baseball team last spring. He walked off the field Saturday as the Most Valuable Player of the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Tournament. Fairburn hit a three-run homer to help lead the Wildcats beat Cal State Dominguez Hills 10-4 and claim their second conference title in three years. He finished the tournament 5-for-12 with three doubles, a home run, and seven RBI in three games.

With the championship tournament title, the Wildcats automatically qualify for the NCAA Championship Tournament West Regional scheduled for May 18-21. It will be their ninth trip to the tournament in the past 11 years. The regional tournament site and six participating teams will be announced Sunday. The winner of the West Regional will advance to the Division II College World Series.

Chico State opened the season 17-3, but followed by winning just 16 of its next 32 games, suddenly leaving the postseason in doubt. The Wildcats won their final three conference games to earn the fourth and final spot in the conference championship tournament, however, and have been playing some of their best baseball of the season over the past two weeks. Thanks to six straight wins, they are 39-19. Cal State Dominguez Hills dipped to 33-18 with the loss.

“There were a few times when it could have all gone south on us,” said Wildcats Head Coach Lindsay Meggs. “But I’ve said from the beginning that if we get in this thing we can win it. We have the right guys. It was just a matter of them playing like they are capable of.”

The Wildcats opened the scoring with a run in the second inning. Robby Scott’s infield single got things started, and after he stole second base, he came around to score on Chad Williams’ base hit.

Chico State opened up the lead with three more runs in the third. Daniel Code’s one-out double got things started. After Christopher Sweeney drew a walk, Aaron Demuth doubled to left field to plate Code. Scott’s grounder plated Sweeney, and Demuth scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-0.

Code’s two-out single in the fourth led to another run. He stole second and Sweeney singled him home for a 5-0 lead. Fairburn broke it open in the fifth. He stepped to the plate with two runners on and two out and stroked a three-run homer to left field to make it 8-0.

Meanwhile, Chico State starter Billy Spottiswood did not allow a hit until the bottom of the fifth. He surrendered single runs in the fifth, sixth, and seventh, but earned the win to improve to 9-5. Steven Johns came on to get the Wildcats out of a jam in the seventh. Elliott Tyson pitched the final two innings, allowing only a solo home run to Biggs High School product Mateo Marquez in the eighth.

The Wildcats continued to tack on runs in the meantime. Scott led off the sixth with a walk and came around to score on Luna’s double. In the ninth, Weedon smashed a solo home run to left field. That drive marked the fifth time in six games the Wildcats scored at least 10 runs. They’ve won six in a row.

Fairburn has been a big part of those wins. But he wasn’t even part of the Wildcats’ plans before late last summer. A transfer from Porterville Junior College, he walked out to Nettleton Stadium and told Wildcats Assistant Coach Mike McCormick that he was hoping to play for the Wildcats. He later met with Meggs.

“Coach Meggs told me that he didn’t have any scholarship money available but that I could come try out,” said Fairburn. “I didn’t care about that. I just wanted the opportunity to play for a winning program and he gave me that opportunity.”

Fairburn earned some starts early in the season, but found himself buried on the bench for a few weeks.

“It was frustrating,” said Fairburn. “I talked to Coach Meggs and he told me that this is not an easy place to play. It’s a grind and there’s a lot of pressure. Some guys can handle it and some guys can’t.”

Fairburn proved that he can handle the pressure. He played some of his best baseball of the season this weekend.

“Him winning the MVP is a real credit to his work-ethic,” said Meggs. “He’s a self-made player. He’s a guy that a month or two ago you could get out a lot of different ways. That was not the case this weekend. He’s made himself into a very good player and he’s only going to get better.”

Five Wildcats joined Fairburn on the All-Tournament team. Weedon, Sweeney, Luna, Code, and Spottiswood were chosen, along with Cal State Dominguez Hills’ Houston Hernandez, Kyle Stanley, Fred Medina, Chris Hunter, and Chris Borchers.

NOTES – The Wildcats have now won three conference championship tournament titles since it began in 1999. That matches Sonoma’s three tournament titles. Cal State San Bernardino and UC San Diego have won the other two titles...Chico State is now 12-2-1 at Cal State L.A. under Meggs...Fairburn has hit safely in 15 of his last 16 games.

05/12/06
Wildcats advance to CCAA Championship game with 7-5 win over UC San Diego
LOS ANGELES – Ben Buker thinks of himself as an ace. More and more people are starting to agree with him, including his coach. Buker earned his third win in his last four starts as the Chico State baseball team held off UC San Diego 7-5 in the winners’ bracket game of the CCAA Championship Tournament Friday at Reeder Field on the campus of Cal State L.A.. They advanced to championship Saturday with the win.

The Wildcats, who have now won five straight to improve to 38-19, will face Cal State Dominguez Hills in the championship game on Saturday at noon. Dominguez Hills, which lost to Chico State on Thursday, eliminated both Cal State L.A. and UC San Diego with victories on Friday. UC San Diego fell to 35-23 with the loss.

The Wildcats will earn their third California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Tournament title and the CCAA’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with a win. If they lose, the same two teams will meet approximately 30 minutes after the first game with the tournament title on the line.

Buker surrendered just two earned runs and struck out five in seven innings of work to improve to 6-3 on the season. He pitched the Wildcats to a 2-1 lead through six and had two down in the seventh before Matt Cantele hit a ball that Chico State Head Coach Lindsay Meggs described as “off his shoe top,” over the wall in right-center to give UC San Diego a 3-2 advantage.

But Trevor Weedon led off the bottom-half of the inning with a double to spark a five-run rally that gave Chico State the lead for good. After Weedon moved to third on Chad Williams’ bunt, Carl Fairburn tied the game by driving a ball to the wall in right-center for his third double in the last two days. Jerin Harper was then intentionally walked to set up the possibility of a double play. Daniel Code’s grounder was misplayed by Tritons shortstop Josh Tanner, however, and Fairburn scored from second. Christopher Sweeney capped the inning with a two-run triple, and the Wildcats led 7-3.

“When Trevor hit that leadoff double I could breathe again all of the sudden. My heart slowed down a little bit and I knew we would be all right,” said Buker. “All it takes for this team is to pop the lid off and see how many runs come in.”

That big inning gave Buker his third win in his last four starts. He’s allowed just five earned runs and struck out 28 in 27-plus innings during that streak. That is the kind of pitching both he and Lindsay Meggs expected when Buker was named the team’s No. 1 starter after transferring to Chico State prior to last season. But Buker struggled to meet those expectations and also battled injury en route to a 2-1 record and 4.98 ERA in just eight starts. Buker was the team’s No. 4 pitcher this season until earning the start Friday, and again did not pitch like he wanted to early on. Over his first 10 appearances this season, he was just 3-2 with a 5.64 ERA.

The last four weeks have been very different though. Buker is finally pitching like he and Meggs expected him to from the start.

“It’s taken me and Buke a year and a half to figure each other out. That’s probably more my fault than his,” said Meggs. “He wants to be the guy out there and he wants to be a leader. He wants responsibility. We’re finally giving him that opportunity and he’s taken it and run with it. He’s doing a great job.”

Buker, ever-confident, has always known he has the ability to pitch like he has over the past four weeks.

“I’ve been preparing myself more and more for the postseason because I knew I would get the opportunity,” said Buker. “I know I’m not a No. 4 pitcher, so to go from No. 1 last year to No. 4 this year was tough to swallow. But I know I have what it takes inside and I’m finally proving that to the people who count.”

Buker definitely proved as much to UC San Diego, which touched him for four runs in four-plus innings in last year’s CCAA Championship Tournament finale and then three runs in four-plus innings earlier this season. Friday, he struck out four batters in the first four innings and limited the Tritons to one unearned run on five hits in the first six innings.

Meanwhile, the Wildcats struck for two runs in the first to take the early lead. Sweeney’s hard ground ball was booted by UC San Diego second baseman Garrett Imeson with two outs and Harper and Code came around to score. Harper started the rally by drawing a walk and Code followed with a base hit through the left side.

It was 2-1 when Cantele golfed a low fastball out of the park, and suddenly the Tritons led. Chico State had dropped five of its last six games against UC San Diego and it seemed that trend would continue. It was impressive to many, including Meggs, when it did not.

“It would have been easy to get down after a guy hits the ball off his shoe tops and out of the yard to give them the lead,” said Meggs. “I was proud of the way we bounced right back, starting with Trevor and a great at-bat by Carl Fairburn.”

Relievers Elliott Tyson, Steven Johns, and Marcus Martinez got three outs in the eighth and Martinez worked out of a big jam in the ninth to salt the game away. Martinez, who had allowed just one run in 20-plus innings all season, gave up two runs and allowed the winning run to step to the plate before he got Tim Mort to fly out to end the game.

“It feels really good to beat these guys because they’re such a tough team,” said Buker. “We’ve now proved we can win two tough ball games when it counts. The pressure has been on the last two days and we’re coming together. It’s a great feeling.”

The feeling will be even better if the Wildcats can win their second CCAA title in three years today.

NOTES – Chico State is now 11-2-1 at Cal State L.A. under Meggs...Fairburn has hit safely in 14 of his last 15 games....Chad Williams went 0-for-4 to end his 12-game hitting streak....Code threw out John Roth attempting to stretch a hit into a double in the sixth. It was his team-leading sixth outfield assist of the season...Sweeney, 2-for-4 Friday, has eight multi-hit games in his last 14...A team coming from the losers’ bracket has won four of the seven CCAA Championship Tournaments by sweeping a doubleheader on the final day, including UC San Diego last season.

05/11/06
Wildcats pound top-seeded Dominguez Hills in opening round of CCAA Tournament
LOS ANGELES – The Chico State baseball team fans grew to love early this season seems to be back just in time. The Wildcats opened the CCAA Championship Tournament at Cal State L.A. with a 13-3 win against top-seeded Cal State Dominguez Hills Thursday at Reeder Field. It was Chico State’s fourth-straight win. They had not won four straight since winning 14 in a row early this season.

The Wildcats will now face UC San Diego at 3 p.m on Friday. San Diego defeated Cal State L.A. 8-4 in Thursday’s second game. If they win the 3 o’clock game, they will play at noon Saturday for the CCAA title. If they lose, they’ll play in an elimination game at 7 p.m. Friday.

Wins might be easy to come by if Chico State’s offense keeps rolling along like it has over the past four games. Thanks to 13 runs on 14 hits Thursday, the Wildcats have now scored 49 runs on 51 hits over the past four games. Chad Williams and Carl Fairburn set the tone for the offense from the top of the order. They were both 3-for-3 in their first three at-bats. Williams scored three runs and Fairburn doubled twice, drove in two runs, and scored a pair of runs. Daniel Code, Christopher Sweeney, Jesus Luna, and Trevor Weedon also drove in two runs apiece.

“We got the leadoff guy on today. It’s as simple as that,” said Chico State Head Coach Lindsay Meggs, who saw his team improve to 37-19. “When you do that you put pressure on the defense. Plus their guy didn’t look comfortable out of the stretch and we took advantage.”

Cal State Dominguez Hills, which won the conference’s regular-season title to earn the tournament's top seed, fell to 31-17. Toros starter Jason Garcia was hammered for 10 runs, nine of them earned, in three innings of work. He fell to 5-3 with the loss.

Nick Bryant earned the win for the Wildcats to improve to 8-2. He’s 5-0 in his last eight starts. Bryant surrendered just one earned run and struck out four in six innings of work. His third strikeout moved him past Ivan Hernandez into second place on the school’s career strikeout list. Chico State relievers Reid Horton and Jason Gillard did not allow a hit or run over the final three innings.

The pitching staff made the big lead built by the top of the order stand up. Williams and Fairburn hit back-to-back singles to lead off the game and came around to score and stake the Wildcats to a 2-0 lead. In the second frame, Williams’ bunt single was thrown down the first-base line by Garcia to plate Weedon and Luna to start a four-run inning. Williams came around to score on Fairburn’s double and Jerin Harper later scored on a wild pitch.

Williams led off the fourth with a base hit and scored on Fairburn’s double to spark another four-run inning. Code, Sweeney, and Luna also drove in runs in the inning. Weedon singled home two more runs in the sixth and Luna doubled home the game’s final run in the eighth.

Fairburn, for one, expected the Wildcats to be playing well at this point in the season despite the fact they won just 16-of-32 prior to their current winning streak.

“The whole season coach Meggs has talked about the year being a marathon and not a sprint,” said Fairburn. “Lots of things happen during the course of the season. Lots of things change. What matters is the postseason. This time of year has been the focus of our entire year.”

Thursday’s victory was probably enough to secure Chico State a spot in the NCAA Championship Tournament West Regional. The Wildcats entered the weekend as the region’s No. 2 team behind Western Oregon University. They are hoping to be playing for their seventh regional title in the last 10 years. It seems the marathon is far from over.

NOTES – Chico State is now 10-2-1 at Reeder field on the campus of Cal State L.A. under Meggs...Code’s 56 RBI are tied for the seventh most in Chico State single-season history with Orin Hirschkorn...Fairburn has hit safely in 13 of his last 14 games...Williams is batting .396 during his current 12-game hitting streak...After managing just three hits in his prior 32 at-bats, Luna went 3-for-4.

05/10/06
Four Wildcats receive 2006 CCAA baseball honors

WALNUT CREEK - Chico State pitchers, starter Nick Bryant and reliever Marcus Martinez have both been named to the All-CCAA First Team for the 2006 season. Third baseman Jerin Harper received Second Team honors and outfielder Daniel Code was awarded Honorable Mention.

Bryant leads the CCAA with a 2.53 ERA and opponents are hitting a conference-low .235 against him. He is currently ranked third in innings pitched (92.1) and fourth in strikeouts (74). His 14 appearances ties him for the lead and his seven victories ties for sixth among all pitchers.

Martinez leads the conference with 12 saves in 17 appearances. He boasts a miniscule ERA of 0.44, but due to the numbers of innings he has pitched (20.1) does not qualify for the CCAA statistics. His 21 strikeouts in 20 inning would also figure among the top three pitchers in the league.

Harper is tied for first in the CCAA as the toughest to strike out at 0.17 per game and leads the league in hit by a pitch at 21. He is among the top 10 in on-base percentage (.450, 7th), runs scored (43, 7th), and hits (9th, 64). His .354 batting average is 17th best among all players.

Code leads the CCAA with 54 RBI and is fifth in hits (67), doubles (16), and total bases (109). His 43 runs scored tie him with Harper for seventh and he is third on the hit by pitch list (17). His six hits verses Central Missouri is the most by any CCAA player this season.

Cal State Dominguez Hills’ first baseman Jason Klug is the 2006 California Collegiate Athletic Association Baseball Most Valuable Player of the Year, teammate Chris Borchers is the CCAA Most Valuable Pitcher of the Year, Toro head coach George Wing is the CCAA Coach of the Year and UC San Diego second baseman Garrett Imeson is the Freshman of the Year.

05/09/06
Wildcats take over No. 2 spot in latest West Region Poll
After taking three-of-four from Cal State Stanislaus last weekend, the Chico State baseman team jumped up a spot to No. 2 in the latest regional poll.

The final west region poll in on May 15 will in part determine the six teams that qualify for post-season play.  The conference tournament winners from the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) will have automatic berths.  Those two conferences are holding their tournaments this weekend.  The next four highest teams in the poll will also qualify.

Chico State faces Dominguez Hills in the first game of the CCAA tournament on Thursday at 3:00. Host Cal State L.A. takes on UC San Diego at 7:00.

NCAA Division II west region poll - May 10, 2006

1.  Western Oregon 38-14
2.  Chico State  36-19
3.  Cal State L.A. 32-12 
4.  Mesa State 35-17
5.  Fort Hays State 43-13
6.  Cal State Dominguez Hills 31-16
7.  UC San Diego 34-22
8.  Colorado State-Pueblo 32-20
9.  Regis University 30-26
10.  Cal State San Bernardino 23-22  

05/09/06
Aaron Demuth named CCAA Player of the Week
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - Chico State first baseman Aaron Demuth has been named the Wilson California Collegiate Athletic Association Baseball Player of the Week for the week of  May 1-7.

Demuth, a junior from Vacaville, powered the Wildcats to an important 3-to-1 CCAA series win at Cal State Stanislaus during the final weekend of the regular season (Apr. 28-30) that clinched Chico’s eighth straight CCAA postseason appearance.

He hit .438 (7 for 16) with 3 home runs, 6 runs scored and 8 runs batted in.  He posted a 1.000 slugging percentage and a .526 on-base average over the four-game series.

Down a game in the series, Chico received a huge lift from Demuth, whose decisive 3-run home run in the eighth inning broke open a tight contest eventually ending in a 12-6 game two victory.  Demuth’s 3-run home run in game three keyed a 10-run fifth inning the Wildcats parlayed into a 13-3 rout.  The round-tripper was Demuth’s team-leading 10th on the season and marked the fifth consecutive contest in which he had homered. 

05/09/06
Three Top 25 teams competing in CCAA Championship Tournament
LOS ANGELES - Three of the four teams competing in this weekend's CCAA Conference Championships are ranked in the top 25 nationally, according to the latest Collegiate Baseball poll.

Cal State L.A., which will host the tournament starting Thursday, is the highest ranked CCAA team at No. 20, followed at No. 21 by Cal State Dominguez Hills.  Chico State is ranked No. 24 in the country while UC San Diego is unranked, but received votes in the poll.

The winner of this weekend's double-elimination tournament receives an automatic bid to next weekend's NCAA Tournament.  

2006 CCAA Baseball Championships (Hosted by Cal State L.A. at Reeder Field)
Thursday, May 11
Game 1 (3 p.m.): #1 seed Cal State Dominguez Hills (31-16) vs. #4 seed Chico State (36-19)
Game 2 (7 p.m.): #2 seed UC San Diego (34-22) vs. #3 seed Cal State L.A. (32-12-1)

Friday, May 12
Game 3 (11 a.m.): Loser of game 1 vs. loser of game 2 (elimination game)
Game 4 (3 p.m.): Winner of game 1 vs. winner of game 2
Game 5 (7 p.m.): Winner of game 3 vs. loser of game 4 (elimination game)

Saturday, May 13
Game 6 (Noon): Winner of game 4 vs. winner of game 5
Game 7, if necessary, will be played approx. 45 minutes after the conclusion of game 6

05/07/06
Wildcats end regular season in encouraging style
Chico State hurler Ben Buker struck out 11 and the Wildcat offense put 11 runs on the board on 11 hits to finish off the regular season with an 11-0 shutout of Cal State Stanislaus. The Chico State baseball team qualified for its eighth CCAA Baseball Tournament with a doubleheader sweep of the Warriors on Saturday and won the series, 3-1, with the shutout on Sunday.

The Wildcats end the regular season with a 36-19 record, 20-13 in the CCAA. Stanislaus ends it season at 31-24, 18-17 in conference play.

Buker improved to 5-3, giving up just four hits in the seven innings of work. Reid Horton gave up one hit in the eighth and closer Marcus Martinez allowed two hits in the ninth to combine for the shutout.

Carl Fairburn opened the scoring with a solo home run in the top of the first inning, his sixth of the season, and Christopher Sweeney drove in another run for a early 2-0 lead. The Wildcats added an unearned run in the third and Robby Scott singled in two runs in the fifth for a 5-0 advantage.

In the sixth, the Wildcats took advantage of two errors to score four runs on two hits. Daniel Code doubled to pick up the inning’s only RBI. Six Stanislaus errors accounted for five unearned runs in the contest.

Jerin Harper capped off the scoring with his seventh home run of the season, a two-out, two-run shot.

Next up for the Wildcats is the 2006 CCAA Baseball Championship Tournament hosted by Cal State L.A., May 11-13. No. 4 seed Chico State takes on No. 1 seed Cal State Dominguez Hills on Thursday at 3:00. No. 2 seed UC San Diego will play the host No. 3 seed Cal State L.A. at 7:00.

05/06/06
Wildcats earn berth in CCAA Tournament with doubleheader sweep of Stanislaus
TURLOCK, Calif. - With a doubleheader sweep of Cal State Stanislaus on Saturday, the Chico State baseball team earned the fourth-and-final berth in the upcoming 2006 CCAA Baseball Championship Tournament. The Wildcats won both games decisively, 12-6 and 13-3 to advance to their eighth straight postseason tournament.   

The Wildcats are the only CCAA team to have played in each of the seven previous CCAA Championship Tournaments, dating back to its inception in 1999. This year’s tournament carries a bigger payoff than in the past: The winner will receive an automatic berth in the West Regional.

The CCAA Baseball Championship Tournament will be hosted by Cal State L.A., May 11-13. Chico State, the No. 4 seed takes on No. 1 Cal State Dominguez Hills in the opening game at 3:00on Thursday, May 11.  Cal State L.A. plays UC San Diego in the 7:00 game. The seeding of that match-up will determined after tomorrow’s final regular-season games.

With all the marbles on the table, the Wildcats came through in a big way today. In the opening game, the 'Cats took advantage of two errors in the opening inning to take a 4-0 lead, highlighted by Daniel Code’s two-run single. Stanislaus wasted no time getting back in the game with three runs of its own in the bottom of the second, including a two-run homer by Tony Scognamiglio.

After a lone run in the sixth, the Wildcats tacked on four in the eighth thanks to a three-run homer by Aaron Demuth, his ninth of the season, and three more in the ninth on a three-run homer by Jerin Harper, his seventh this year.

The Warriors did manage to score three more in the ninth, but were unable to keep the rally rolling when reliever Reid Horton came on to get a quick double play to end the game.

Billy Spottiswood (W, 8-5) gave up three runs on ten hits and struck out four in his 5 1/3 innings of work. He left the game with a 5-3 lead and the bases loaded in the sixth with one out. Elliott Tyson came on to record a strikeout and a fly ball to right to end the threat.

Haper went 5-for-6 in the game with three RBI and four runs scored. Code was 3-for-3, drove in four runs and scored twice.

In the second game it was the Warriors taking a 3-0 lead with a lone run scored on a passed ball in the second and a two-run homer by Scognamiglio, his second of the day, in the third.

The Wildcats looked to be in trouble, as Stanislaus starter Ryan McGrath (L, 4-4) allowed just one hit through the first four innings. But the Wildcats rallied for 10 runs in the fifth, taking advantage of three Stanislaus errors and sending 14 batters to the plate. Demuth blasted another three-run homer in the inning, his team high tenth of the year, and has now recorded six home runs in his last seven games.

Demuth, Christopher Sweeney, and Chad Williams each had a pair of hits in the game.

Garrett Rieck (W, 3-2) pitched the complete game, giving up three runs on eight hits in the seven innings. He struck out four and walked two. He faced just two batters over the minimum in the final four innings.

The two teams wrap up the four-game series tomorrow at noon.

05/05/06
Wildcats waste 5-1 lead in crucial CCAA contest
TURLOCK - With eight teams still battling for the four spots to participate in the 2006 CCAA Baseball Championship Tournament May 11-13, every game is crucial and this one really hurt. The Wildcats squandered a four-run lead in the bottom of the eighth inning as Cal State Stanislaus rallied for six runs to win 7-6 in Turlock on Friday.

The 24th- ranked Wildcats (33-19, 19-14) held a seemingly comfortable 5-1 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth, but the Warriors took advantage of two costly errors to take the lead.

Aaron Demuth homered, a two-run shot in the fifth, to give the ‘Cats the 5-1 lead. Jerin Harper had two hits and two RBI and Daniel Code and Trevor Weedon each finished the game with a pair of hits.

Cal State Stanislaus (31-21, 17-13) opened the scoring in the second inning when Tony Marx led off the frame with a solo home run off Wildcat starter Nick Bryant. Bryant gave up just the one run on four hits through six innings of work and struck out seven.

The Wildcats used six pitchers in the game with Jason Gillard (0-1) taking the loss for his first decision of the season.

Friday's baseball finals
CSUSB 4, CSULA 0 in 10 innings (Billy Ermert 3 run HR in top 10)
UCSD 5, CSUMB 4 (Matt Cantele walkoff solo HR in bottom 9)
CSUDH 17, CPP 6 (Toros become 1st team to clinch a spot in CCAA Tournament)
SFSU 8, SSU 6 (Sonoma now must win its last 3 and get help to get in the tourney)
CSUS 7, CSUC 6 (Stanislaus rallies from 5-1 deficit late in game)

Here's what it looks like heading into Saturday:
- between CSULA/CSUSB, CSUSB must win both to get in and it would also eliminate CSULA; a split or CSULA sweep puts CSULA in and CSUSB out

- between Chico State/Cal State Stanislaus, whichever team wins 2 of the last 3 games in that series is in; the other is out

- Sonoma is eliminated on Saturday with any win by UCSD or any SSU loss to SFSU

- UCSD is in with 1 win in the remaining 3 games

05/03/06
Baseball team No. 3 in latest regional rankings
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The Chico State baseball team is ranked No. 3 in the latest Western Region rankings announced Wednesday. Six of the region's teams will compete in the Western Regional of the 2006 NCAA Division II Baseball Championship Tournament May 18-21.

The winners of the CCAA and RMAC Conference Championship Tournaments will receive automatic bids to the regional. They will be joined by the four remaining teams ranked highest in the final regional rankings.

Chico State dropped from No. 2 to No. 3 after splitting a four-game series at Cal State San Bernardino over the weekend. Western Oregon University remained No. 1, followed by No. 2 Cal State L.A., No. 3 Chico State, No. 4 Mesa State, No. 5 Fort Hays State, No. 6 UC San Diego, No. 7 Colorado State-Pueblo, No. 8 Cal State Dominguez Hills, No. 9 Regis, and No. 10 Cal State Stanislaus.

Chico State will wrap up its regular season with a crucial four-game series at Cal State Stanislaus this weekend.

04/29/06
Wildcats drop to fourth place with Coyote split
SAN BERNARDINO - Christopher Sweeney led a six home run barrage with a pair as the Chico State baseball team took the series finale at Cal State San Bernardino Saturday to earn a doubleheader and series split. Chico State lost Saturday’s first game 5-4 before rebounding to win the second game 14-3.

The win in the final game of the series was crucial for the Wildcats, who began the weekend with a slim hold on first place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association standings but now stand in fourth place at 33-18 overall and 17-12 in the CCAA.  The four CCAA Championship Tournament participants will be decided by winning percentage. Cal State L.A. holds a slim lead in first place at 18-11-1 (.617). Cal State Dominguez Hills is currently in second place at 16-10 (.615). UC San Diego, 19-13 (.594), is in third place.

The Wildcats are just 16-15 since a 17-3 start, but they can wrap up a spot in the postseason by sweeping their series at Cal State Stanislaus this weekend. A simple series victory would likely also do the trick. However, the Warriors are also fighting for a spot in the tournament. They are 18-14 (.563) in the CCAA, tied with Cal State San Bernardino for fifth place. Seventh-place Sonoma State is also alive in the postseason race with a 15-13 (.536) conference mark.

In Saturday’s opener, Aaron Demuth hit a two-run homer and the game was tied 4-4 heading into the bottom of the seventh. San Bernardino starting pitcher Michael Rocco and closer Rylan Hanks proved to be too good, however. Rocco allowed just three hits and struck out 10 to improve to 6-2. Hanks pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his ninth save.

Ben Buker (4-3) took the loss for Chico State.

The Coyotes pitching staff was not so stingy in the second game. The Wildcats scored 14 runs on 16 hits, including nine extra-base hits. Jerin Harper went 3-for-3 and was twice hit by pitches. He homered, doubled, drove in three runs, and also scored three times. Sweeney went 3-for-4 with a pair of home runs and four RBI. Robby Scott hit a three-run homer. Carl Fairburn and Demuth also homered and drove in three runs apiece.

Elliott Tyson (4-0) earned the win in relief of Garrett Rieck. Marcus Martinez got the Wildcats’ last eight outs to earn his 12th save of the season.

04/28/06
Wildcats drop to second place after split with Coyotes
SAN BERNARDINO - Behind a complete-game victory by Nick Bryant, the Chico State baseball team had little trouble with Cal State San Bernardino in the opening game of a four-game CCAA series, beating the Coyotes 11-4. But the Wildcats were shutout in the nightcap, 7-0, mustering just six hits in the seven-inning contest.

The split drops Chico State (32-17, 16-11 CCAA) into second place in the conference standings. Cal State L.A. (27-10, 16-10 CCAA) takes over the top spot after beating Sonoma State today. San Bernardino (21-17, 17-13 CCAA) is currently in fourth place, just behind Cal State Stanislaus (29-10, 17-12 CCAA), which beat Cal Poly Pomona today.

Fiscalini Field has the reputation of being a “launching pad” for home runs because of its tight dimensions and Friday was a typical day, yielding seven homers in game one and three more in the nightcap.

In game one, Bryant (W, 7-2) allowed nine hits, struck out six and walked four for his second complete game of the season. He gave up a two-out homer in the bottom of the first inning, then shut down the Coyotes over the next five innings before giving up solo home runs in the seventh and eighth innings, and a final run in the ninth.

The Wildcats broke the game open in the fifth, scoring seven runs off starter Jeff Olson (L, 1-1). Carl Fairburn produced two runs with a double while Daniel Code brought in three with a homer, his eighth of the year, and Aaron Demuth sent Olson to the showers with a solo blast, his fifth this season, to make it 8-1

In addition to Code’s and Demuth’s homers, Jerin Harper hit his fifth and Fariburn hit his fourth of the year. Of the Wildcats’ 17 hits, Chad Williams had three and Fairburn, Harper, Code, Christopher Sweeney, Demuth, Jorge Arazia, and Trevor Weedon each had two hits.

In the late game, San Bernardino kept the long ball coming with three more home runs, a two-run shot in the second and a another two-run homer and a solo home run in the third to give the Coyotes a quick 5-0 lead.

The Coyotes added knocked started Billy Spottiswood (L, 2-5) out of the game in the fourth inning, after giving up six runs, five earned, on six hits in three innings of work. Ryan Harbaugh pitched the final three innings, giving up one unearned run on four hits.

San Bernardino lefty Douglas Brandt (W, 6-2) allowed just six hits, while striking out seven and walking three.

The Wildcats had their opportunities but stranded 10 runners in the game. Sweeney had two hits for the Wildcats, including the team’s only extra base hit in game two, a double.

The same two teams will meet again Saturday at Fiscalini for a noon doubleheader.

04/26/06
Baseball remains No. 2 in West region
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The Chico State baseball team, currently 31-16 and ranked No. 17 in the nation, remained at No. 2 in the second Western Region baseball poll released by the NCAA Wednesday. Western Oregon University, 31-13, remained No. 1.

Six teams from the region will qualify for the NCAA Championship Tournament West Regional May 18-21. The winner of the regional tournament earns a berth in the Division II College World Series.

The lack of movement by Chico State and Western Oregon at the top of the poll did not mirror the bottom. Mesa State (31-14) jumped from the sixth spot to No. 3. UC San Diego (26-21) slipped from third to No. 4. Fort Hays State (35-13) moved up three spots to No. 5. Cal State L.A. (24-10-1) fell two spots to No. 6. Regis of Colorado (29-19) moved into the rankings thanks to a 17-16 record against Division II teams with records above .500. Cal State Dominguez Hills (23-16) is currently ranked ninth, and Colorado State-Pueblo (27-17) is 10^th. Cal State Stanislaus, No. 7 last week, dropped out of the rankings.

04/23/06
Wildcat-Seawolf series ends in a tie
ROHNERT PARK - The wild ride that has become the 2006 Chico State baseball season continued with a split of sorts at Sonoma State Sunday. The Wildcats won the opener 5-1. It was a continuation of Saturday’s halted game at Chico State. They then dropped a 12-9 affair in which they erased a 9-0 deficit with a nine-run seventh only to eventually lose, and then rode starting pitcher Ben Buker’s arm to a 2-0 victory in the series finale.

The Wildcats, now 31-16 overall and 15-10 in the CCAA, started the weekend with a very slim lead atop the conference standings, dropped to fourth after Friday’s loss, and then moved all the way back up to first with Sunday’s effort. Sonoma State, now 23-16-1 overall and 14-10 in CCAA action, started the weekend in third place, moved into first with Friday’s victory, and then dropped back into third after Sunday’s action. Just a game and a half separate the first seven spots in the CCAA. The four CCAA Championship Tournament selections will be determined by winning percentage, so following Chico State (.600) are Cal State L.A. (.596), Sonoma State (.583), Cal State Stanislaus (.571), Cal State San Bernardino (.571), Cal State Dominguez Hills (.545), and UC San Diego (.536).

Jason Gillard and Buker were perhaps the biggest keys to Sunday’s victories. Gillard took the ball to begin the final three innings of the halted game and twirled a gem, allowing just one walk and striking out three in three scoreless innings to earn his first save of the year. In Sunday’s final game, Buker did not allow a hit through five innings and fired a complete-game, one-hit shutout. He struck out seven and walked five to improve to 4-2 on the season.

Daniel Code delivered the big hit in Chico State’s 2-0 victory in the nightcap with a two-run single in the third. Jerin Harper also capped a strong weekend with a 2-for-2 effort. Oscar Mendoza delivered Sonoma State’s only hit with none out in the sixth.

In Sunday’s 12-9 loss to the Seawolves, Chico State trailed 9-0 before rallying for nine runs in the seventh on seven hits and three walks to tie it 9-9. The Seawolves answered with two runs in the bottom half of the inning and another in the eighth to win going away, however.

Paige Dumont (2-0) allowed one run in the final two-plus innings to earn the win. Reid Horton (2-2) was responsible for both runs in the bottom of the seventh and took the loss. Robby Scott went 3-for-4 to lead Chico State’s offense. Daniel Code, Chad Williams, and Mark Gentry notched two hits apiece.

First-place Chico State is set to face fourth-place Cal State San Bernardino for a four-game series in Southern California this weekend, while third-place Sonoma State travels to take on second-place Cal State L.A.        

04/22/06
Game halted in the sixth inning due to rain
CHICO - Rain has played havoc on the Chico State baseball team all season. Thus it was fitting that Saturday’s regular-season home finale against Sonoma State was halted due to rain. The Wildcats led 5-1 with a runner on second and one out in the bottom of the sixth when the umpires called the game. The game will be completed Sunday in Rohnert Park at 11 a.m.

Chico State (29-15, 13-9 CCAA) and Sonoma State (22-14-1, 13-8 CCAA) were already scheduled to play a doubleheader in Rohnert Park Sunday, so Saturday’s game will now be completed prior to that doubleheader.

Chico State pounded Sonoma State starter Alberto Rolon for five runs on seven hits and four walks in five-plus innings of work. Christopher Sweeney blasted a two-run homer and Carl Fairburn hit a solo shot over the wall in straightaway center field.

Jerin Harper opened the scoring with an RBI-single in the third. Sweeney followed with his sixth homer, and Aaron Demuth later doubled and scored on an error to make it 4-0 after three innings. Fairburn’s solo shot in the fourth inning, his third of the year, gave Chico State a 5-0 lead.

Sonoma State scored its only run off Chico State starter Billy Spottiswood in the sixth. Travis Babin led off the inning with a single and eventually scored on B.J. Collom’s grounder one-half inning before the game was halted.

Spottiswood surrendered just one run on three hits and a walk in six innings.

04/21/06
Disputed home run, lack of clutch hitting doom Wildcats
The Chico State baseball team pounded out 17 hits, but a botched home run call and a lack of clutch hitting were too much for the Wildcats to overcome in a 7-5 loss to Sonoma State in a battle for first place in the CCAA Friday night. Chico State, 29-15 overall and 13-9 in the CCAA, dropped from first to fourth in the conference standings with the loss. Sonoma State (22-14-1, 13-8) moved into first place.

Chico State led 1-0 in the third when Sonoma State's B.J. Collom came to the plate with two men on. Collom hit a long fly ball to right field that bounced off the warning track and skidding up and over the wall. Base umpire Gene Walker raised two fingers into the air, presumably signaling a ground-rule double, but after Sonoma State Head Coach John Goelz complained and Walker talked the player over with home plate umpire Jim Lenau, Walker changed his call and signaled a home run.

The Wildcats eventually came back to tie the game and had plenty of chances to assert control, but could not get the big hit when they needed it. That was especially true in the seventh inning. They trailed 6-4, but loaded the bases with singles by Chad Williams, Carl Fairburn, and Jerin Harper. Sonoma State reliever Christopher Herrera got himself out of the jam by striking out cleanup hitter Christopher Sweeney and Wildcats RBI-leader Daniel Code and then inducing a groundout off the bat of Joey Burke.

Over the game's final four innings, the Wildcats were just 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. They were 4-for-16 with runners in scoring position for the game as Sonoma State snapped a five-game losing streak at Nettleton Stadium.

Collom, meanwhile, finished 4-for-5 with three runs and four RBI for the Seawolves, who improved to 18-6 on the road. His RBI-single in the sixth gave the Seawolves the lead for good and he came around to score what proved to be the winning run on Tyler Whightman's double moments later.

Matt Bush (4-0) earned the win for Sonoma State. He gave up 11 hits and four runs, all of them earned, in six innings of work. Glen Wood got the final four outs for his first save of the season. Neal Logue (2-2) took the loss in relief for the Wildcats.

Williams, Fairburn, and Sweeney led the Wildcats with three hits apiece. Jesus Luna and Jorge Araiza were both 2-for-4.

The teams continue their four-game series at Nettleton Stadium Saturday at 1 p.m. and then wrap it up with a doubleheader at Sonoma State Sunday at noon.

04/19/06
Wildcats No. 2 in first regional poll of season
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The Chico State baseball team is ranked No. 2 in the West Region according to the first installment of the NCAA Division II regional polls released Wednesday. The top six teams in each of eight regions around the nation will earn a berth in the NCAA Championship Tournament.

Chico State, ranked No. 17 in the nation, is 29-14 overall, but just 16-11 versus in-region Division II opponents. Western Oregon (25-13), which took two-of-three games from the Wildcats last week, is currently the top team in the region. UC San Diego (24-18) is ranked third, followed by No. 4 Cal State L.A. (22-10-1), No. 5 Sonoma State (20-12), No. 6 Mesa State (28-13), No. 7 Cal State Stanislaus (26-15) , and No. 8 Fort Hays State of Kansas (34-10).

This season the number of championship tournament teams increases from 32 to 48, meaning six teams from each region will compete for a regional title instead of four. The increase in teams also means that some conference champions will automatically qualify for the regional. In the west, the champion of the California Collegiate Athletic Association, of which Chico State is a member. and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference will automatically advance to the regional. The Great Northwest Athletic Conference does not have an automatic qualifier.

Chico State has struggled of late, going just 12-11 since a 17-3 start. However, the Wildcats earned quality early-season wins against Nebraska-Omaha, currently ranked No. 1 in the Central Region, and Central Missouri State, ranked No. 2 in the Central Region. Chico State also beat West No. 6 Mesa State and took three-of-four in a series against West No. 4 Cal State L.A.

The Wildcats open a crucial four-game series against West No. 5 Sonoma State Friday at Nettleton Stadium at 6 p.m. The series continues at Nettleton Stadium with a single game Saturday at 1 p.m., and then moves to Sonoma State Sunday for a doubleheader beginning at noon.

04/15/06
Meggs bests former player as 'Cats sweep Fresno Pacific
Fresno Pacific Head Coach Oscar Hirschkorn learned a lot from Chico State Head Coach Linday Meggs as a pitcher for the Wildcats in 1996 and 1997. Saturday, he learned a bit from Meggs as a coach. Meggs' Wildcats pulled out victories of 5-4 and 4-3 as the Wildcats swept a doubleheader from the Sunbirds at Nettleton Stadium. The games marked the first against a former player for Meggs.

Chico State, now 29-14, improved to 17-6 at Nettleton Stadium this season. Fresno Pacific fell to 14-20. The Wildcats will kick off a crucial California Collegiate Athletic Association series against Sonoma State with their final two home games of the regular season Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m. before playing their final 10 games of the regular season on the road.

In the opener, pinch hitter Casey Smyth singled to lead off the bottom of the ninth and pinch runner Chad Williams eventually scored on consecutive errors by Fresno Pacific second baseman Adam Alva. Alva bobbled Shane Cauley's grounder to give Chico State runners on first and second with one out. Burke then smashed a hard ground ball that skidded under the glove of Alva and allowed Williams to come around to score the game-winning run.

Elliott Tyson (3-0) earned the win in relief, allowing two hits and walking two in two-and-two-thirds scoreless innings. Michael Mendrin (3-5), on the mound for the ninth, took the loss for Fresno Pacific. Trevor Weedon and Jerin Harper notched two hits apiece to lead Chico State. Justin Crisp was 3-for-5, Elliot Salcedo was 2-for-2 with a pair of RBI, and Kyle Newton hit a two-run homer to pace Fresno Pacific.

Reid Horton, currently one of Chico State's hottest pitchers, earned the victory for Chico State, allowing just one earned run on six hits in five innings to improve to 2-1. In his last three outings, spanning 13-plus innings, Horton is 1-1 with a 2.03 ERA, 11 strikeouts, and just one walk. Ryan Harbaugh pitched a perfect eighth, and Marcus Martinez pitched the seventh for his 11th save.

Chico State trailed 1-0 through two innings, but Aaron Demuth blasted a three-run doubled to the wall in right center in the third to give the Wildcats a 4-1 lead. Jesus Luna's RBI grounder had tied the game 1-1 moments earlier.

Fresno Pacific tried to rally in the seventh against Martinez, but after Andy Locke walked to lead off the seventh, he was thrown out by Christopher Sweeney trying to go from first to third on Alva's sacrifice bunt to kill the rally.

Demuth finished 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles to lead Chico State's offense. For Fresno Pacific, Mike Pierce went 2-for-3 with an RBI and Salcedo also drove in a run.

04/13/06
Wildcats drop series to Western Oregon
MONMOUTH, Ore. - Jerin Harper belted a three run homer in the top of the ninth as the Chico State baseball team rallied for four runs in the inning, but it wasn’t enough as the Wildcats fell 8-7 to Western Oregon to lose the series. The teams split on Tuesday with Chico winning the opener 2-1 and Western Oregon winning the late game 7-1.

Chico State, currently ranked No. 13 in the nation and No. 2 in the West, drops to 27-14. WOU improves to 22-13 and the series win marks the first time the Wolves have taken a series from the Wildcats. Chico leads the all-time series 36-7.

Chico State scored two unearned runs in the top of first inning and held the 2-0 lead until WOU cut the lead in half with a run in the fourth. But Western Oregon added three runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth to take a 6-2 lead. Chico added a run in the seventh, but two more runs for the Wolves in the eighth sent the Wildcats into their final at-bat down 8-3.

Robby Scott led off the ninth with a single. After an out to right field, Joey Burke put runners on the corners with a hit of his own and Christopher Sweeney plated the first run of the inning with a sacrifice fly. Daniel Code kept the inning alive with a two-out single and Harper cleared the bases with his fourth home run of the season. Aaron Demuth reached first on an infield hit to put the tying run on base, but a fly ball to center ended the threat.

Starter Neal Logue (L, 2-1) took the loss, giving up four runs of six hits, walking three and striking out two.  Logue was one of five Wildcat pitchers used in the game.

On Wednesday, Chico’s Nick Bryant retired the first ten batters he faced and pitched seven solid innings for the 2-1 victory. He gave up one unearned run on three hits and struck out three. 

The Wildcats scored on a solo home run by Demuth in the second inning, his fourth of the season and put up an unearned run in the third. Burke led off the inning with a single, was sacrificed to second on Jesus Luna’s bunt and came in to score on a fielding error by the WOU shortstop.

In the 7-1 loss in the second game of Wednesday’s doubleheader, Chico State scored the first run of the game in the top of the fifth, but WOU answered back with six runs in the bottom of the frame, five unearned.

Billy Spottiswood (L, 6-4) pitched well through four innings, allowing just three runners to reach base.  But in the fifth he gave up three hits, hit a batter and made a fielding error on a bunt play before an out was recorded.

The Wildcats host Fresno Pacific on Saturday, April 15 at noon for a doubleheader.

04/10/06
Wildcats climb to top of CCAA standings
After taking three out of four from CSU Monterey Bay last week, the Wildcats (13-8 CCAA) took over sole position of first place in the CCAA standings. Entering last week, the Wildcats were a half game back of Sonoma, Stanislaus and San Bernardino. Sonoma State (12-8) and Stanislaus (14-10) split over the weekend and San Bernardino (12-8) did not play any CCAA games. UC San Diego also won three games this week and stand at 14-10.

The Wildcats, ranked No. 11 in the nation and No. 2 in the West, take a break from conference play this week with games at Western Oregon on Wednesday and Thursday. They host Fresno Pacific for a doubleheader in Nettleton Stadium on Saturday at noon.

Chico State has 12 CCAA games remaining on the schedule. The Wildcats host Sonoma State April 21-22 and then finish the series with a doubleheader in Rohnert Park on Sun. Apr. 23. The 'Cats are on the road for the final two series against San Bernardino (App. 28-30) and Stanislaus (May 5-7).

The top four teams will play in the CCAA Championship Tournament May 11-13 at a site to be determined.

04/07/06
Wildcats take the hit to sweep doubleheader and win CCAA series
CHICO - It didn’t come easy or without pain, but the Chico State Wildcats took advantage of two hit batsmen in the bottom of the final inning to load the bases and plate the winning run for a 4-3 victory in the second game of the doubleheader against CSU Monterey Bay. The Wildcats won the first game 12-1 and win the California Collegiate Athletic Association series with the Otters 3-1.

With the wins, the 11th-ranked Wildcats improve to 26-12 overall, 13-8 in CCAA play. Monterey Bay is now 11-28 overall, 4-20 in conference.

The games today looked similar to yesterday’s, as the Wildcats cruised through the first game only to see their bats dry up for the nightcap.

In the opener, the Wildcats belted out 17 hits, including a three-run homer by Christopher Sweeney in the third to give the ’Cats an early 4-0 lead. Chico State batted through the order in the fourth inning, tagging on four more runs on six hits.

Jorge Araiza, starting in just his fifth game this season was 2-for-5 in the game with his first homer of the year, a two-run shot in the seventh. Sweeney ended the game 3-for-5 with 5 RBI. Right fielder Jerin Harper was 4-for-5 and Shane Cauley, Daniel Code, Aaron Demuth, and James McCarthy each had two hits in the game.

Neal Logue (W, 2-0), making his third start of the year, pitched eight solid innings. Logue gave up one unearned run on five hits, struck out five and walked one and retired the side in order four times. Ryan Harbaugh came on in the ninth, striking out two of the three he faced.

Chico local Tyler Harvey (L, 3-5) took the loss for Monterey Bay, giving up seven runs on nine hits in 3.2 innings of work.

In the late game, Monterey Bay took a 2-0 lead in the fourth as the Wildcats struggled to put runners on base against starter Nick Dianda (L, 0-3), who went the distance for the Otters. 

Only one Chico State runner reached base through the first three innings, but the ‘Cats tied up the game in the bottom of the fourth when Joey Burke, who now has a eight-game hitting streak to his credit, and Harper led off the inning with back-to-back singles. Both came around to score on RBI singles by Sweeney and McCarthy.

With the game tied 2-2, Chico State was sat down in order in the fifth and sixth innings and it was Monterey Bay who struck in the top of the seventh, scoring the first run of the year off Wildcat closer Marcus Martinez (W, 2-0). The Otters did it in textbook style: Troy Sanchez led off the inning with a hit, was sacrificed to second, and scored on a two-out double by Daniel Gomez.

In the bottom of the inning, McCarthy reached base on a one-out hit and looked to be stranded there after a pop up to second base was recorded for the second out, but pinch-hitter Robby Scott walked and Cauley hit a hard ball up the middle to drive in pinch-runner Greg Finazzo for the tying run. Burke was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Chad Williams was then hit to walk in the winning run.

The Wildcats had seven hits in the game. McCarthy was the only Wildcat with two hits and finished the day 4-for-6 with two RBI and two runs scored.

Chico State hits the road next week for a three-game series with Western Oregon on Wednesday and Thursday.

04/06/06
Wildcats miss out on chance to move into first place
With two wins against last-place Cal State Monterey Bay, the Chico State baseball team would have moved into sole possession of first place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association Thursday at Nettleton Stadium. They were forced to settle with a split, however, as Budd Glock tossed a complete-game, five-hitter to lift the Otters to a 3-2 victory in the nightcap. Chico State won the first game 9-2.

The Wildcats, 24-12 overall and 11-8 in the CCAA, now trail conference leaders Sonoma State, Cal State Stanislaus, and Cal State San Bernardino by one-half game. Cal State Monterey Bay improved to 10-25 overall and 4-18 in the CCAA.

Nick Bryant, 5-2, allowed just one earned run and struck out seven in eight innings of work to lead the Wildcats to victory in the opener. Trevor Weedon went 2-for-4 with three RBI, Jerin Harper finished 2-for-5 with two RBI, and Joey Burke was 3-for-5 with three runs and an RBI to pace the Chico State offense. Jesus Luna finished 2-for-2 with a pair of runs, and RBI, a sacrifice bunt, and got hit by a pitch.

Norman Herbert (2-2) took the loss for the Otters. He allowed seven runs on six hits and three walks in five-plus innings of work. Gerry Rommel hit a solo home run and Daniel Gomez notched an RBI-single for Cal State Monterey Bay.

In the nightcap, Chico State starter Billy Spottiswood (6-3) absorbed his third loss in a row. He was touched for three runs, one of them earned, on seven hits in four-and-two-thirds innings. Glock improved to 3-1 with the win. He entered the game with just 10-plus innings of work under his belt, but tossed a gem, allowing only one extra-base hit.

The Otters jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third on Nick Zaballos' two-run single. Chico State tied it 2-2 in the fourth when Harper led off with a double, came around to score on Luna's single, and then Christopher Sweeney scored on shortstop Daniel Gomez's throwing error.

Monterey Bay took the lead for good in the fifth when Gabe Chase led off with a double and eventually just beat the throw on Rommel's sacrifice fly.

Chico State had its chances to tie or take the lead, but 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position over the final three frames. Daniel Code flew out to deep center field with the potential tying run on third base to end the game.

The series will end with a doubleheader Friday at noon.

04/05/06
Wildcats fall to Bethany 3-2
Bethany University's Jacob McKinley struck out Chad Williams with runners on second and third in the bottom of the ninth to earn a 3-2 complete-game victory over the Wildcats Wednesday afternoon at Nettleton Stadium. McKinley allowed just two runs on eight hits and struck out eight in his route-going performance. Chico State, meanwhile, stranded eight runners and went 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position.

Chico State, which has now dropped eight of its last 14 contests, fell to 23-11 with the loss. Reid Horton (1-1) took the loss. Bethany improved to 14-19. McCarthy improved to 5-5 with the win.

The Bruins scored twice in the fourth against Wildcats starter Horton and led from that point on. Brady Wilkes and David Raichart hit consecutive one-out singles and Raymond Montez singled through the right side to plate Wilkes. McKinley's sacrifice fly scored Raichart to make it 2-0.

That was all Horton would allow. He went seven-and-a-third innings, allowing just those two runs on six hits and no walks. He struck out eight.

Meanwhile, the Chico State offense was scuffling against McCarthy. Daniel Code hit into a double play with two runners on to end the first. Jesus Luna struck out with a runner on second to end the second. Jerin Harper grounded into a double play with runners at the corners to end the third. Robby Scott grounded with a runner on second to end the fourth. Trevor Weedon and Williams struck out with a runner on second in the fifth.

With two out in that fifth inning, however, Joey Burke singled home Luna to cut Bethany's lead to 2-1.

Again, Chico State had numerous chances to tie or take the lead, but could not come up with the clutch hit. Christopher Sweeney struck out with the tying run on second in the sixth, and after Carl Fairburn reached on an error, Harper got thrown out the plate trying to score on a double-steal. Then, with one out in the seventh, pinch-hitter James McCarthy grounded out to third with the possible trying run on third and Williams struck out to end the inning.

Raichart led off the ninth with a solo home run off Chico State reliever Jason Maes to stretch the lead to 3-1. The Wildcats were primed to tie or take the lead in the home-half of the ninth, however, after Sweeney and Fairburn started the inning with back-to-back singles. After Shane Cauley was called upon to pinch run for Sweeney, Scott bunted them over to second and third. Luna was then intentionally walked to load the bases with one out. All Mark Gentry could manage was an RBI-groundout, though, and Williams struck out to end the game.

Chico State opens a four-game home series against Cal State Monterey Bay with a doubleheader Thursday at 2 p.m.

Change in schedule for Monterey Bay series
Due to the forecast of rain for the weekend, the Chico State baseball four-game CCAA series with Monterey Bay has been moved up to a doubleheader tomorrow (Thursday) at 2:00 and a doubleheader on Friday at noon.

04/02/06
Baseball team spells relief G-I-L-L-A-R-D; Wildcats rally from five runs down to win in extra innings
Jason Gillard may be spending a little more time on the mound and a little less time in the dugout in the near future. The Chico State reliever tossed four-and-two-thirds innings of hitless relief as one of four relievers who combined to shut out Cal Poly Pomona for the final eight-plus innings of the Wildcats' 7-6 victory at Nettleton Stadium Sunday. Prior to Sunday's game, Gillard had pitched just twice all year.

Trevor Weedon also made a huge contribution off the bench with a two-out single in the 11th that loaded the bases and brought James McCarthy to the plate with a chance to win it. McCarthy worked the count full and then took Justin Carty's payoff pitch high and inside to force home the winning run.

Chico State improved to 23-10 overall and 10-7 in the CCAA with the win. The Wildcats, one of seven teams within a game of the conference lead, are now one-half game out of first place. Cal Poly Pomona, 13-9 overall and 11-8 in the CCAA, is also one-half game out of first.

Chico State trailed 6-1 after Cal Poly Pomona scored three times in the second and three more times in the third against Chico State starter Ben Buker. Gillard got the final out of the third and then set down the Broncos in order in the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh. That gave the struggling Chico State offense a chance to make a comeback, and in the sixth, the Wildcats delivered.

Jerin Harper, Carl Fairburn, and Mark Gentry all singled to start the inning. James McCarthy and Shane Cauley followed with RBI-singles, and then Gentry scored on a wild pitch to make it a 6-4 game. Joey Burke drove home another run with a grounder, and Christopher Sweeney drove in the tying run with a single through the left side.

Gillard was pulled with one out in the eighth inning and lefty Steven Johns got Jake Mandarin to ground out and then Elliot Tyson came on to record the final out of the innings. Tyson also pitched the ninth before giving way to Chico State closer Marcus Martinez (1-0), who tossed a scoreless 10th and 11th to earn his first victory of the season.

John Lee (0-4) took the loss for the Broncos despite allowing just one run in four-plus innings of work. Cal Poly Pomona starter Luis Carreras allowed six earned runs on 10 hits in five-and-two-thirds innings.

Kirk Gross bashed a two-run homer and Chris Janowicz belted a two-run single to pace the Cal Poly Pomona offense. Harper finished 4-for-6 and Fairburn went 3-for-6 to lead the Wildcats.

04/01/06
Wildcats win thriller, lose heartbreaker
The Chico State baseball team experienced a full spectrum of emotions in a doubleheader split against Cal Poly Pomona at Nettleton Stadium Saturday. The thrill of victory? Check. The Wildcats rallied for three runs in the bottom of the 12th inning of the first game to beat the Broncos 5-4. The agony of defeat? Check. Cal Poly Pomona shortstop Kevin Falls threw out Jerin Harper trying to score all the way from first base on Christopher Sweeney's double in the bottom of the seventh and the Broncos held on to win 4-3.

Chico State, which has won just five times in its last 12 games, is now 22-10 overall and 9-7 in California Collegiate Athletic Association action. The Wildcats trail conference leaders Pomona and Sonoma State by only one game, but they're currently in fifth place. UC San Diego and Cal State Stanislaus, both 11-8, have a half-game advantage over the Wildcats. Cal Poly Pomona, which has won 11 of its last 17 games after starting the season 2-12, improved to 13-8 overall and 11-7 in the CCAA.

John Daniels doubled home Kevin Falls and then came around to score on Robbie Carter's sacrifice fly to give the visiting Broncos a 4-2 lead heading into the bottom of the 12th inning of game one. Jesus Luna started the Wildcats' comeback with a leadoff walk, however, and Harper doubled to bring the winning run to the plate. Daniel Code tied the game with a triple to the wall in deep center field, and after the Broncos intentionally walked the next two batters to set up a force play, Robby Scott walked to force home the game-winning run.

Reliever Chris Rodriguez (2-2) earned the win for Chico State. Starter Nick Bryant was not involved in the decision but pitched well, allowing just two runs on six hits in seven-plus innings of work. Cal Poly Pomona's Luis Carreras (4-3) took the loss.

Jake Medrin went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer to pace the Broncos' offense. Anthony Esquer finished 3-for-4. Harper went 3-for-5 for the Wildcats and Code was 2-for-4 with three RBI.

The Broncos blew another lead in the nightcap, but this time battled back. They led 3-0 after the top-half of the first thanks to Medrin, Esquer, and Kirk Gross. Chico State answered back with Sweeney's two-run single to make it 3-2. Then in the fifth, Joey Burke scored on Falls' throwing error to knot the game at 3-3.

Gross quickly untied it with a solo homer to lead off the sixth that proved to be the game-winner. The Wildcats got a rally started in the seventh when Harper reached on an infield single to lead off the inning. With one out, Sweeney lined a double down the left field line, but Carter got to it quickly and made a perfect throw to Falls, who easily threw out Harper at the plate. Mark Gentry then grounded out to second to end the game.

Marc Evans earned the victory in relief for the Broncos. He got the last four outs in his first appearance of the season to improve to 1-0. Billy Spottiswood (6-2) took the loss for Chico State. He allowed four runs, three of them earned, on seven hits in five-plus innings of work.

The teams will wrap up their four-game series with a doubleheader beginning Sunday at 11 a.m.

03/27/06
Wildcats lose series to UC San Diego
LA JOLLA, Calif. - UC San Diego swept fourth-ranked Chico State in Monday's doubleheader to win the four game CCAA series 3-1. The Wildcats were handed their worst loss of the season, 15-4, in the opening game and later lost the nightcap, 4-1.

The Wildcats, currently ranked No, 1 in the West, fall to 21-9 overall and 8-6 in CCAA play. UCSD took over the top spot in the CCAA with a record of 10-6, 19-12 overall.

In the opener, Billy Spottiswood (L, 6-1) suffered his first loss of the season, giving up eight runs on 10 hits in 2.2 innings. Reliever Reid Horton gave up seven runs on eight hits in the remaining 5.1 innings.

UCSD was impressive at the plate, four players had multiple hits, including a 3-for-5, two home run, five RBI performance by Scott Clement. Matt Cantele was 3-for-4 with a solo home run.

For the Wildcats, Trevor Weedon went 2-for-2 with a two-out grand slam in the ninth inning to avoid the shutout.

In the late game, UCSD put up solo runs in the second, third, fifth, and sixth innings for the 4-1 win. Clement had another home run and finished the day 6-for-8 with three homers, two doubles and seven RBI.

Chico's only run came in the fourth when Chris Sweeney led off with a hit to the right side and was later driven in by Joey Burke's single through the left side.

Ben Buker (L, 3-2) took the loss, giving up three runs on six hits. He struck out two and walked two in his 4.2 innings of work. Sweeney had two of the Wildcats' six hits.

The Wildcats return to Nettleton Stadium, where they are 10-3 at home this season, to take on Cal Poly Pomona in a four-game series, Friday-Sunday.

03/26/06
Wildcats split with San Diego
LA JOLLA, CA - The Chico State baseball team had to settle for a split in a doubleheader at UC San Diego Sunday, but with the way Neal Logue pitched in the nightcap, it must have felt a little bit like a sweep. Chico State won the opener 4-2 and dropped the nightcap 5-1. However, Logue came on in relief during the loss and pitched four-plus scoreless innings.

The Wildcats, ranked No. 4 in the country and No. 1 in the West, stand at 21-7 overall and 8-4 in CCAA play. San Diego is 17-12 overall, 8-6 in conference.

Logue missed most of last season with a knee injury and has struggled to find a groove in the early going this year. Prior to Sunday, Logue had a 7.43 ERA in six appearances. But in four-and-a-third frames against the Tritons, he scattered five hits, walked two, and struck out three.

In the opener, Joey Burke, Daniel Code, Christopher Sweeney, and Mark Gentry drove in a run apiece to account for the Wildcats’ runs. Starting pitcher Nick Bryant (4-2) did not allow a run until the seventh inning to earn the victory. Elliott Tyson pitched two scoreless innings, and Marcus Martinez got out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth to collect his ninth save of the season.

In the nightcap, UC San Diego touched up Wildcat starter Garrett Rieck for five runs in the first two innings and held on to win behind Byron Grubman’s complete-game effort. Code and Aaron Demuth had two hits apiece for the Wildcats.

03/20/06
Wildcats hold on to top spot in regional poll, No. 4 in country
The Chico State Wildcats, currently ranked No. 4 in the nation, held on to the top spot in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association Division II West Region poll.

1. Chico State (20-6; three first-place votes) 30
2. Colorado State-Pueblo (20-4) 26
3. Fort Hays State (21-5) 25
4. UC San Diego (16-11) 20
5. Cal State L.A. (13-6) 18
6. Cal State Stanislaus (17-9) 15
7. Sonoma State (15-9) 11
8. Nebraska-Kearney (12-6) 10
9. Regis (16-12) 4
10. Western Oregon (10-9) 3

03/17/06
Sweeney swings 'Cats back into win column
CHICO - Christopher Sweeney homered and drove in four runs to spark a struggling Chico State offense to an 11-5 victory over visiting Master's College Saturday at Nettleton Stadium. Before Saturday, the Wildcats had not reached double-figures in runs in nine straight outings. Daniel Code went 3-for-3 with four runs scored, and James McCarthy was 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI.

Jerin Harper led off the sixth with a home run, and after Code singled, Sweeney hit a line-drive shot over the wall in left field to give the Wildcats a 9-5 cushion. Chico State reliever Ben Buker, who entered in the fifth, allowed just one run in five innings to collect the win and improve to 3-1.

Chico State, ranked No. 3 in the nation entering the weekend is now 20-6 overall after taking two-of-three games from the Mustangs this weekend. The Master's dipped to 8-17 overall. Starter Steven Chmiel allowed three runs in the first inning and fell to 1-1 with the loss.

The Master's scored four times in the first four innings against Wildcats starter Neal Logue. The Wildcats got a two-run single from Sweeney and an RBI grounder from McCarthy in the first, however, and never trailed after the opening frame.

Carl Fairburn hit a run-scoring single in the second, Jorge Araiza walked with the bases loaded in the third, and Casey Smyth was hit by a pitch with the bases juiced in the fourth to give the Wildcats a 6-4 lead. The Master's pulled to within 6-5 on Peter Krumeich's first home run on the season in the sixth, but Harper and Sweeney answered with round-trippers of their own in the bottom-half of the inning to break the game open.

Zane Jensen, Phil Seston, J.T. Adams, and Krumeich led the Mustangs with two hits apiece. Daniel Flores was 1-for-4 with a pair of RBI.

Chico State is back in action Sunday, March 26 at UC San Diego. The teams will play a doubleheader at 11 a.m. and another twinbill at 11 a.m. on the 27th.

3/17/06
Missed opportunities hurt Wildcats in loss to Master's College
CHICO - In a game riddled with errors and missed opportunities, The No. 3 Chico State baseball team came out on the short end of a 4-3 decision to The Master’s College today at Nettleton Stadium.

The Wildcats committed three errors, resulting in two unearned runs and left nine runners stranded on base, including seven in scoring position.

With the loss, Chico State falls to 19-6 overall. The Master’s College is now 8-16. The final game of the series begins tomorrow at noon.

The Mustangs scored in the top of the first when Wildcat starter Nick Bryant walked the number-two batter and gave up a run-scoring double to Phil Seston.

Chico’s offensive power came by way of the long ball with Aaron Demuth hitting a solo shot in the second inning, his third of the year, and Jerin Harper hit his second homer of the year to tie up the game 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth.

But it was The Master’s College that broke the tie, manufacturing an unearned run in the fifth on a RBI-single by J.T. Adams and scoring a solo run in the sixth on a Peter Krumeich double to take a 4-2 lead.

The Wildcats threatened in the seventh, but Greg Finazzo was thrown out at home trying to score on a wild pitch. They managed a final run in the eighth, thanks to a Mustang error, which prolonged the inning.

Bryant (L, 3-2) gave up four runs, two earned, in 5.1 innings of work. He struck out six and walked just one. Relievers Chris Rodriguez, Elliott Tyson, and Marcus Martinez allowed just one hit among them during the final 3.2 innings.Mark McElroy picked up the win, allowing two runs on four hits, while striking out five and walking none. Jeremiah Peters picked up his first save of the year, yielding just one hit over the final 1.2 innings.For the Mustangs, Krumeich was 3-for-4 and Adams and Robert Short had two hits apiece.

Joey Burke had two of the Wildcats six hits.

03/16/06
Spottiswood no-hits Master's in rain-shortened game
Billy Spottiswood did not allow a hit through five innings of work as the Chico State baseball team defeated The Master’s College 3-1 in a game called due to rain with the Wildcats coming to bat in the bottom of the fifth. Spottiswood, who improved to 6-0 on the season, walked two batters, one of whom came around to score in the third on a stolen base and two groundouts.

James McCarthy hit an RBI-grounder in the second and an RBI-single in the fourth for the Wildcats, and Brandon Rauch opened the scoring with an RBI-double in the second to account for all of Chico State’s runs.

Kevin Holt, who surrendered three runs, two of them earned, on three hits and a pair of walks, dipped to 2-3 with the loss. He struck out three batters.

Chico State improved to 19-5 with the non-conference victory. The Master’s fell to 7-16.

The three-game series is scheduled to continue Friday with a single game at 2 p.m., and wrap up Saturday with a single game at noon.

03/12/06
Sunday doubleheader rained out
The Chico State baseball doubleheader scheduled today against Cal State Dominguez Hills has been cancelled due to rain. The games will not be rescheduled.

03/11/06
Wildcats salvage split with Toros
CHICO - Chico State’s Robby Scott got his only hit of the day in extra innings to salvage a split of a California Collegiate Athletic Association doubleheader with Cal State Dominguez Hills today at Nettleton Stadium. A classic pitching dual in game one resulted in a 2-1 Dominguez victory, but the Wildcats came back to win the nightcap by the same score.

The Wildcats, ranked No. 3 in the nation and No. 1 in the West, stand at 18-5 overall, 7-3 in CCAA play. Cal State Dominguez Hills is now 10-12 overall, 4-6 in conference.

In the early game it turned out to be a pitching dual involving Chico’s Nick Bryant and Dominguez’s Chris Bouchers. Bouchers came on in the first inning in relief of starter Jason Garcia who pitched two-thirds of an inning before being taken out by a hard hit ball off his left knee.

Bouchers (W, 3-1) settled in quickly and gave up just one run on five hits. He struck out seven and walked just one. The Wildcats managed to put just one runner in scoring position during the final six innings.

Bryant (L, 3-1) was just as impressive, going the distance for the Wildcats. Bryant gave up an unearned run in the first before retiring the next 10 straight batters and allowed one more run in the sixth. He gave up five hits, struck out eight, and walked one in the losing effort.

Offensively, neither team tore the cover off the ball. The Wildcats outhit the Toros 6-5. Dominguez’s Fred Medina was the only Toro to have two hits in the game. He was 2-for-4 and scored the game-winning run, after leading off the sixth inning with a hit, when Kyle Stanley drove him in with a hit of his own.

For Chico, Mark Gentry was the only Wildcat with two hits. Jesus Luna scored the ‘Cats only run, leading off the third inning with a hit to the right side and scoring on Christopher Sweeney’s sacrifice fly.

In the nightcap, the Wildcats were looking to avoid a third-straight loss, but again the Dominguez pitchers had other ideas. The Wildcats were shut out for the first six innings by starter Ryan Owen, who allowed seven hits, struck out six and walked one.

In the seventh, Gentry led off the frame with a hit before reliever Dustin Gober (L, 1-1) was brought in for the Toros. Williams advanced Gentry to second and Luna drove him home with his second hit of the game for the 1-1 tie and to force extra innings.

In the eighth, Daniel Code led off the inning with a single through the left side and Jorge Arazia did his job, moving Code to second on a sacrifice bunt. Designated hitter Brandon Rauch walked and Scott, who was 0-for-7 on the day, belted the RBI walk-off single.

Wildcat starter Garrett Rieck pitched five and a third, giving up one unearned run on five hits, but it was Elliott Tyson (W, 2-0) who picked up the win. He pitched the final one and a third, allowing just two hits and striking out three.

The same two teams meet tomorrow for a doubleheader beginning at 11:00.

03/05/06
Baseball team falls to Cal State L.A. in series finale
LOS ANGELES – Former Chico State Pitching Coach Dave Taylor finally got a victory over his old team Sunday. Taylor’s Cal State L.A. Golden Eagles were 0-6 against Chico State over the past two seasons, including 0-3 this weekend, before beating the Wildcats 12-4 to wrap up a four-game series at Reeder Field on the campus of Cal State L.A.. Randall Akasaka hit a grand slam and R.J. Brown homered twice to lead the Golden Eagles’ 18-hit attack.

Cal State L.A., ranked No. 6 in the nation entering the weekend, is now 11-3 overall and 5-3 in the CCAA. Third-ranked Chico State dipped to 17-4 overall and 6-2 in the CCAA with just its second loss in the last 19 games.

Jerin Harper drew a bases-loaded walk and Daniel Code hit a two-run double in the fifth as the Wildcats took a 3-1 lead. But Akasaka hit his grand slam of Wildcats reliever Chris Rodriguez in the sixth and the Golden Eagles never surrendered the lead.

Rodriguez (1-2) took the loss. Wildcats starter Ben Buker was charged with two runs on six hits in five innings of work. Philip Springman (2-1) earned the win for Cal State L.A., and Arturo Reyes collected his second save.

Robby Scott, who finished 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored, was the only Chico State player with two hits. The Wildcats are back in action this weekend when they host Cal State Dominguez Hills for a four-game series beginning Friday at 6 p.m.

03/04/06
Code drives in winning runs in doubleheader sweep
LOS ANGELES - Daniel Code hit what proved to be the game-winning two-run single in the opener and then blasted a pair of two-run homers in the nightcap as the Chico State baseball team swept a doubleheader at Cal State L.A. with wins of 4-3 and 5-3 Saturday in Los Angeles. The Wildcats will go for the four-game series sweep Sunday at noon.

Chico State, ranked No. 3 in the nation entering the weekend, improved to 17-3 overall and 6-1 in the CCAA. The Wildcats have won 17 of their last 18 games. Cal State L.A., ranked No. 6 in the nation, fell to 10-3 overall and 4-3 in the CCAA.

Marcus Martinez saved both games for the Wildcats to bring his season total to eight in eight tries. That’s the ninth highest total in Chico State single-season history and the Wildcats are only a third of the way into the regular season.

Billy Spottiswood earned the victory in the nightcap, tossing six innings and allowing three runs on six hits to improve to 5-0. In the opener, starter Garrett Rieck was very strong, surrendering just two hits and one run while striking out six in five innings of work. Reliever Reid Horton (1-1) collected the win in relief.

Chico State trailed 3-0 entering the seventh inning of the opener. Aaron Demuth homered on the first pitch of the inning, though, and that seemed to spark the Wildcats offense. James McCarthy was hit by a pitch, Greg Finazzo singled, and Joey Burke walked to load the bases. Jerin Harper’s infield single drove in one run, and then Code’s two-run single gave Chico State the 4-3 lead it would not relinquish.

In the second game, Chad Williams led off the first with a double, scored on Jesus Luna’s sacrifice fly, and Code blasted a two-run shot later in the inning to stake the Wildcats to a 3-0 lead. Cal State L.A. knotted the score a 3-all in the third, but Code’s two-run homer in the fifth won it for the Wildcats. The two home runs brought his season total to seven. Harper and Robby Scott joined Code with two hits apiece.

03/03/06
Wildcats hand Cal State L.A. first loss of the year
LOS ANGELES - The Chico State baseball team handed Cal State L.A. its first loss of the season in the opening game of a four-game California Collegiate Athletic Association series today at Reeder Field.

Chico State (15-3, 4-1 CCAA) remains tied for second place in the CCAA with CSLA and Cal Poly Pomona, a half game behind Cal State Stanislaus. Cal State L.A., coached by former Chico State pitching coach Dave Taylor stands at 10-1, 4-1 in the CCAA.

Nick Bryant picked up his third win of the season, giving up four runs, one earned, on six hits. He struck out seven and walked two in his 6.2 innings of work. Marcus Martinez recorded his sixth save of the season with two strikeouts and a fly ball in his only inning.

The Golden Eagles got on the board first in the bottom of the third innings, thanks to a two-out, bases-loaded error in the outfield that cleared the bases.

In the fifth, Chico answered back with four runs of its own and never relinquished the lead. Jesus Luna, who had two hits in the game, drove in the Wildcats first run with a single to left field and Christopher Sweeney plated two more with a single of his own.

Chico added solo runs in sixth on a sacrifice fly by Greg Finazzo, and a throwing error by the Golden Eagles in the ninth.

The same two teams meet for a doubleheader tomorrow at noon, followed by the final game on Sunday at noon.

02/28/06
Wildcat Baseball team drops one spot to No. 3 in the nation
After taking three of four games from San Francisco State to open the CCAA season, the Chico State baseball team dropped one spot to No. 3 in the latest Collegiate Baseball Newspaper national rankings released Monday. This weekend, the Wildcats travel to face Cal State L.A., which jumped seven spots to No. 6 as one of only three teams in the nation without a loss at 10-0. The Golden Eagles, coached by former Chico State pitching coach Dave Taylor, swept a four-game series from Cal State Dominguez Hills over the weekend.

Georgia College & State jumped two spots to No. 1 and Abilene Christian is ranked No. 2. West Virginia State and West Alabama follow Chico State to round out the top five. Seventeenth-ranked Western Oregon (5-3), No. 27 Mesa State (8-6) and No. 30 Cal State Stanislaus (11-2) are the only other West Region teams ranked among the top 30. West Region teams Fort Hays State and Colorado State-Pueblo are listed among those teams receiving votes.

02/26/06
SF State snaps Wildcats' win streak with 9-1 victory
The San Francisco State baseball team stopped the longest winning streak in Chico State history at 20 games in 2002, and Sunday at Nettleton Stadium, the Gators snapped the third longest streak in Chico State history with a 9-1 victory. The Wildcats had won 14 in a row entering the matchup. Chico State, ranked No. 2 in the nation entering the weekend, dipped to 14-3 overall and 3-1 in the CCAA. San Francisco State improved to 4-7 overall and 1-3 in the CCAA.

Chico State had won 20 of its last 21 games against San Francisco State at Nettleton Stadium, but the Gators scored three runs in the first and then made it 7-0 on Jonathan Combs' second-inning grand slam before coasting to victory. San Francisco State starter Nick DeCampli (1-0) allowed just one run on five hits in six innings of work to earn the victory. Takane Suzuki tossed three scoreless innings in relief to earn his second save of the season.

Chico State trails conference leaders Cal State L.A. and Cal State Stanislaus by one game following the opening weekend of CCAA action. The Wildcats will take the road to face 13th-ranked Cal State L.A., guided by former Wildcats pitching coach Dave Taylor, in a highly anticipated four-game series next weekend.

San Francisco State jumped on Chico State starter Ben Buker (2-1) early Sunday. Jason Dean reached on a bunt single on the first pitch of the game and advanced to third on Buker's throwing error. Aaron Garcia then laced the second pitch of the game through the right side for an RBI single and moved to second when Carl Fairburn failed to field the ball cleanly. Matt Kavanaugh doubled home the game's second run, and after Combs sacrificed him over to third, he scored on D.J. Stacey's base hit.

Combs made it 7-0 when he hit what looked like a fairly routine fly ball to center field with two out and the bases loaded in the second, but a strong wind pushed the ball over the wall in right-center. Bryant Supnet was hit by a pitch, Phillip Girouard singled, and Matt Kavanaugh was intentionally walked to set the table.

The Gators added an unearned run in the fourth and padded their lead on Stacey's RBI-single in the sixth to make it 9-0. Chico State's lone run came in the sixth when Jesus Luna doubled to lead off the inning, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and then scored on a wild pitch.

The Wildcats had their chances to get back into the game, but stranded nine runners.

Stacey finished 4-for-5 and Kavanaugh was 2-for-3 with three runs scored and an RBI. Fairburn (2-for-5) was the only Chico State player with multiple hits.

02/25/06
Baseball team extends winning streak to 14 games
It's only February, but the 2006 version of the Chico State baseball team is on the verge of making history. The Wildcats swept a doubleheader from visiting San Francisco State Saturday, winning the first game 5-3 and the second 12-0, to stretch their winning streak to 14 games, the third longest in school history. The 2002 Wildcats set the standard by winning their first 20 games of the season. The 1997 squad, which won 15 in a row, is the only other team in school history to win as many in a row as this year's squad.

Pitching carried the day for the Wildcats Saturday, as it has for much of the early season. Billy Spottiswood allowed only an infield single in six innings of work in the nightcap to improve to 4-0 on the season. He struck out six, did not walk a batter, and lowered his ERA to 1.96. Relievers Chris Rodriguez, Steven Johns, and Marcus Martinez combined for two-and-two-thirds innings of scoreless relief. Johns (1-0) earned the win and Martinez collected his fifth save of the season.

Christopher Sweeney homered leading off the eighth inning to break a 3-3 deadlock in the first game. Jerin Harper and Greg Finazzo also drove in a run apiece. Chad Williams scored a pair of runs.

The Wildcats offense was limited to just four hits in seven innings by Gators starter Ben Horner, however. He was not involved in the decision. Instead, Jason Swick (0-2), who saw Sweeney hit his second offering over the left-field wall was saddled with the loss.

The Chico State bats awoke in the nightcap. Finazzo went 3-for-4 with three RBI and two runs, Carl Fairburn homered and drove in a pair of runs, Daniel Code with 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBI. James McCarthy went 3-for-3, Mark Gentry was 2-for-3, and Sweeney was 2-for-4.

The Wildcats will attempt to wrap up the series sweep Sunday in a single game at 11 a.m.

02/24/06
Bryant pitches Wildcats to victory in CCAA opener
Baseball team beats San Francisco State 8-2 for 12th straight win
Nick Bryant took a no-hitter into the sixth inning for his second straight start and the Chico State baseball team drew seven walks in an 8-2 victory over San Francisco State in the CCAA opener for both teams at Nettleton Stadium Friday afternoon. Chico State ran its winning streak to 12 in front of the 497 fans.

Bryant (2-0) matched his career high with eight strikeouts and did not walk a batter in seven-and-two-thirds innings. He gave up just five hits and allowed two runs. Chico State, ranked No. 2 in the nation, improved to 12-2 and 1-0 in the CCAA. San Francisco State dropped to 3-5 overall and 0-1 in the CCAA.

Bryant's early dominance allowed the Wildcats to build a 3-0 lead. Carl Fairburn drew a bases-loaded walk and James McCarthy scored on a wild pitch to stake Chico State to a 2-0 lead in the second. The Wildcats built the lead to 3-0 on Aaron Demuth's RBI-double in the fifth.

David Phillips led off the sixth with a base hit, San Francisco State's first of the game, and he eventually came around to score on Derek Simper's single up the middle. The Wildcats answered with three runs on the bottom half of the frame, however. Fairburn drew his second bases-loaded walk, Jerin Harper notched an RBI-grounder, and Daniel Code singled home a run to make it 6-1.

Phillips singled and came around to score on Phillip Girouard's sacrifice fly to draw the Gators to within 6-2, but Chico State salted the game away with a pair of runs in the bottom-half of the frame. Harper and Chris Sweeney banged out RBI-doubles.

Code and Sweeney tallied three hits apiece for Chico State. For Code, it was the sixth game of three or more hits. Harper and Fairburn drove in two runs apiece. Gentry's single in the second extended his hitting streak to eight games. Jesus Luna saw his nine-game streak come to an end, however.

Starting pitcher Kenneth Salyer (1-1) absorbed the loss for the Gators. He surrendered three runs on seven hits and five walks in five innings of work. Phillips led the Gators with a pair of hits.

The series resumes Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at noon.

02/21/06
Baseball team moves up to No. 2 in the nation
The Chico State baseball team moved up three spots to No. 2 in the nation according to the latest Collegiate Baseball Newspaper rankings released Monday. The Wildcats swept a four-game series from Oregon Tech over the weekend to stretch their winning streak to 11 games. They outscored the Hustlin’ Owls 29-8 in the process.

Chico State is now 11-2 overall. The Wildcats will play their CCAA home-opening series this weekend at home against San Francisco State. The teams are scheduled to play a single game Friday at 3 p.m., a doubleheader Saturday at noon, and a single game Sunday at noon.

Abilene Christian (10-1) jumped three spots to take over the top spot in the rankings. Cal State L.A., coached by former Chico State pitching coach Dave Taylor, moved all the way up to No. 13 this week thanks to a perfect 6-0 record. Seventeenth-ranked Western Oregon (2-2) is the only other West Region team ranked in the top 20.

02/19/06
Buker sews up series sweep for bat 'Cats
CHICO - Those weren't boos emanating from Nettleton Stadium Sunday afternoon, they were screams of B-u-u-u-u-u-ker. Starter Ben Buker allowed just two hits in seven shutout innings to lead the Chico State baseball team to a 9-0 victory and a series sweep of visiting Oregon Tech. The win was Chico State's 11th straight.

Buker (2-0) did not walk a batter and struck out five. He surrendered a one-out single in the fourth and a leadoff single in the fifth, but never allowed a Hustlin' Owl baserunner to advance to third base. Chris Rodriguez and Reid Horton pitched a flawless eighth and ninth, respectively, to secure the team's first shutout of the young season.

The fifth-ranked Wildcats improved to 11-2 overall. Oregon Tech fell to 0-4.

Jesus Luna finished 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles to extend his hitting streak to nine games for the Wildcats. Daniel Code was 3-for-5 with a pair of runs and a pair of RBI. Jerin Harper finished 2-for-3 with three runs scored and an RBI.

Luna got Chico State's offense going in the third with a leadoff double. After Harper walked, Code singled up the middle to drive home Luna. Christopher Sweeney singled home Code to extend his hitting streak to seven games, and Harper scored when Jarred Birrenkott hit into a double play to make it 3-0.

The Wildcats added three more runs in the fourth to break the game open. Again, Luna got things started with a double. He eventually scored on Harper's base hit to left field. Code then doubled home Harper and later came around to score on an errant throw to make it 6-0.

Chico State manufactured a run in the seventh, culminating in Mark Gentry's RBI-grounder that scored Chad Williams to make it 7-0. They capped the scoring with Aaron Demuth's pinch-hit RBI single and Williams' bases loaded hit-by-pitch.

Starter Kyle Kootz took the loss for Oregon Tech, allowing five runs, all of them earned, on 10 hits in three innings.

The Wildcats open California Collegiate Athletic Association play with a four-game series at home against San Francisco State this weekend. The series opener is scheduled for Friday at 3 p.m., followed by a doubleheader Saturday at noon and a single game Sunday at noon.

02/18/06
Wildcats win 10th straight with doubleheader sweep of Oregon Tech
CHICO - The Chico State baseball team continued its winning ways Saturday, running its winning streak to ten games by taking both ends of a doubleheader against Oregon Tech, 4-1 and 10-2, at Nettleton Stadium.

In the late game, starter Nick Bryant (W, 1-0) took a perfect game into the sixth inning, striking out five along the way, before giving up two runs on three hits in the sixth.

The Wildcats (10-2) got things going offensively in the fourth inning, rallying for five runs on four hits, including back-to-back solo home runs by Christopher Sweeney, his second of the year, and Daniel Code, his team-leading fourth.

Jared Birrenkott hit his first homer of the season, a two-run shot to in the fifth inning to give the Wildcats a 7-0 lead.

Ryan Simpson, as a pinch hitter for Brandon Rauch who was 3-for-3 in the game, produced a two-run single up the middle to score two more.

Oregon Tech (0-3) starter Ty Combs (L, 0-1) gave up five runs on six hits in three and two-thirds innings. He struck out four and walked three.

In the opener, the weather may have been in question, but the left arm of Wildcats starter Garrett Rieck (W, 2-1) certainly was not. He battled some sloppy play in the field, pitching out of some early jams to claim his second win of the season. Rieck pitched six innings allowing three hits, an unearned run, and striking out ten.

Reliever Marcus Martinez claimed his fourth save in four attempts, striking out two in a perfect three up, three down ninth.

Oregon Tech starter Anthony Baca was tagged with the loss for Oregon Tech (L, 0-1) allowing two runs, one earned, on six hits in seven innings. Baca battled tough but spent most of his afternoon from the stretch, allowing six walks.

The Wildcats were led at the plate by Jorge Araiza, who was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Araiza executed a perfect sacrifice bunt in the eighth inning to set up Carl Fairburn with runners at second and third. Fairburn wasted little time lining a rocket up the middle scoring Kurt Gottschling and Christopher Sweeny for the three-run lead.

Matt Thompson went 2-for-3 with a run to lead the Hustlin’ Owl offense.

The series finale kicks off at Nettleton Stadium Sunday at noon.

02/17/06
Meggs picks up 500th career victory in Wildcats home opener
CHICO - The Chico State baseball team showed why its ranked fifth in the nation in the Wildcats’ home opener Friday against a promising Oregon Tech squad. The Wildcats did all of their scoring damage in the first five innings and counted on solid bullpen production to seal the 6-5 win in their home opener.

Head Coach Lindsay Meggs claimed his 500th career win and eighth straight wins for the Wildcats (8-2) this season. Meggs is now 500-209-4 in his 13th year with the Wildcats.

Starting pitcher Billy Spottiswood (3-0) earned the win. After a shaky start he settled down to pitch six strong innings, allowing four hits, four walks, and two earned runs, both in the first inning.

Marcus Martinez closed the deal with the spotless one, two, three ninth giving him his fourth save in as many tries.

Cory Merritt took the loss for Oregon Tech (0-1), giving up six runs on eight hits in five innings of work. Centerfielder Dan Ordonez was the only Hustlin’ Owl with two hits in the game.

The Wildcats were led offensively by two-time CCAA Player of the Week Daniel Code who continued his hitting borage going 3-for-4 with a double and a RBI, upping his average to a staggering .541. Greg Finazzo’s eight-game hitting streak came to an end, marking Chico State’s first win with Finazzo failing to reach base safely.

Shortstop Jesus Luna took care of business on both ends, going 2-for-3 with a run scored and adding three sparkling putouts in the field. Designated hitter Aaron Demuth also had two hits, an RBI, and scored a run.

The series continues with a doubleheader tomorrow starting at noon and wraps up Sunday with a single game at noon.

02/16/06
Friday's baseball game moved up to 2 p.m.
Meggs looking for 500th victory
The Chico State baseball team's home opener against Oregon Tech Friday has been moved up one hour to a scheduled 2 p.m. start instead of 3 p.m. Saturday's doubleheader is still scheduled to be played at noon, followed by a single game at noon on Sunday. If Saturday's doubleheader cannot be played, two games will be played Sunday. Wildcats Head Coach Lindsay Meggs' next victory will be the 500th of his career.

02/15/06
Chico State expected to capture CCAA Championship
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - Two-time defending NCAA Division II West Region Baseball Champion Chico State is the favorite to win the 2006 California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship, based on a vote of the league head coaches.

The Wildcats return five pitchers and four position players from a squad that posted a 42-16-1 record a year ago.

The CCAA baseball season begins next weekend and continues through early May. The 36-game schedule features a four-game series between all 10 teams. Cal State Monterey Bay is playing its inaugural baseball season.

Following the regular season, the top four teams with the highest CCAA winning percentages advance to the CCAA Championship Tournament to determine the league championship. The three-day, double-elimination tournament will take place May 11-13 at a site to be determined.

CCAA Coaches' poll (points)
1. Chico State 79
2. Sonoma State 73
3. UC San Diego 58
4. Cal State L.A. 52
5. Cal Poly Pomona 51
6. Cal State San Bernardino 44
7. Cal State Stanislaus 35
8. Cal State Dominguez Hills 27
9. San Francisco State 24
10. CSU Monterey Bay 9

TOURNAMENT CHAMPION:
Chico State (6 votes), Sonoma State (3 votes), UC San Diego (1 vote)

02/14/06
Baseball team ranked No. 5 in the nation
Wildcats play home opener Friday
The Chico State baseball team jumped four spots to No. 5 in the latest Collegiate Baseball Newspaper national poll. The Wildcats, 7-2, defeated the University of Nebraska-Omaha, then top-ranked Central Missouri State, and then 15th-ranked Mesa State over the weekend in Las Vegas to run their winning streak to seven games.

The Wildcats host Oregon Tech in their home opener Friday at 3 p.m. That’s the first of a four-game series. A doubleheader is scheduled to start at noon Saturday, and the series will wrap up with a single game Sunday at noon.

Central Oklahoma (1-0) took over the top spot in the nation. Catawba and Georgia College & State currently share the No. 2 spot, followed by No. 4 Abilene Christian and the Wildcats. Other CCAA teams joining the Wildcats in the rankings are 23rd-ranked Cal State L.A. (5-0) and 29th-ranked Sonoma State (6-1). Western Oregon, which has not yet played a game, is the highest ranked West Region team besides the Wildcats at No. 10.

Central Missouri State fell eight spots to No. 9 after losing to the Wildcats over the weekend. With their three losses over the weekend, Mesa State dropped out of the rankings.

02/13/06
Daniel Code named CCAA Player of the Week
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. -- Chico State outfielder Daniel Code has been named the Wilson California Collegiate Athletic Association Baseball Player of the Week for the week of February 6-12.

Code, a junior from Vacaville, earned the award for the second straight week after leading the Wildcats to three wins in Las Vegas last week, including a come-from-behind 13-12 triumph over No. 1 -ranked Central Missouri State (Feb. 11).  

Code opened the week with an RBI and a double in a 5-3 win over Nebraska-Omaha (Feb. 10).  The following day, he went 6-for-6 with a double, home run, three runs scored and six RBI against top-ranked CMSU.  His RBI single in the eighth inning sparked a Wildcat rally from a 12-8 deficit, capped by Code’s game-winning three-run homer in the ninth inning.

Code finished the week with a double, run and RBI in a 12-5 win over Mesa State (Feb. 12).  For the week, Code hit .571 (8 for 14), posted a slugging percentage of 1.000, and tallied three doubles, a home run, five runs scored and eight RBI as the Wildcats improved to 7-2 on the season.   

02/12/06
Wildcats beat 15th ranked Mesa State 12-5
LAS VEGAS - The 9th-ranked Chico State baseball team continued to roll with a 12-5 victory against West Region rival Mesa State Saturday in the final game of its trip to Las Vegas. The Wildcats scored nine times in the fifth inning to put away the game against 15th-ranked Mesa State, improve to 7-2 overall, and stretch their winning streak to seven games.

Thanks to three errors, three hit batsmen, a balk, and two walks, the Wildcats needed just four hits to score nine times in the fifth and turn a 3-2 advantage into a 12-2 laugher. Mesa State was looking to avenge a 7-6 loss to the Wildcats in the regional semifinals last season, but the pitching staff and defense never gave the Mavericks a chance. The staff walked eight hitters, plunked five more, and watched its defense commit five errors behind it.

Wildcats starter Billy Spottiswood (2-0) earned the win. He went five innings, surrendering just three hits and a pair of runs while striking out two. Ben Buker and Jason Maes combined to toss the last four innings.

Mesa State led 2-1 early on, but Carl Fairburn came through with what was perhaps the biggest hit of the day, a two-out, two-run single in the fourth, to give the Wildcats the lead for good.

Catcher Mark Gentry went 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored for Chico State, which plays its home opener Friday at 3 p.m. against Oregon Tech. Jorge Araiza knocked in two runs without the benefit of a hit. Daniel Code finished 1-for-3 with a double and two runs scored.

The victory was Chico State's second in two days against highly-ranked competition. The Wildcats knocked off top-ranked Central Missouri State 13-12 Saturday.

02/11/06
Code red hot; hits 3-run homer in ninth to cap 6-for-6 day as Wildcats beat top-ranked Central Missouri State
LAS VEGAS – Daniel Code’s 3-run homer in the top of the ninth proved to be the game-winner as the Chico State baseball team won an early-season showdown of two of the nation’s top-10 teams in a 13-12 victory over top-ranked Central Missouri State Saturday afternoon in Las Vegas.

The Wildcats led for much of the game, but the Wildcats faced a 12-10 deficit as Joey Burke stepped to the plate to lead off the ninth. He was hit by a pitch and Jesus Luna singled to put bring the go-ahead run to the plate. One out later, Code represented that go-ahead run, and despite sporting five hits in five previous plate appearances against the Mules, they elected to pitch to him. He made the pay with a 3-run homer to cap a 6-for-6, six RBI performances.

Marcus Martinez surrendered a double to lead off the bottom half of the inning, but retired the next three barters in order to earn his second save in as many days. Elliot Tyson (1-0) earned the win.

Christopher Sweeney keyed a five-run first inning for the Wildcats with a three-run homer. Chico State improved to 6-2 with its fourth straight win. Central Missouri State is 2-2.

Chico State will wrap up its three-day trip to Las Vegas with a pair of games against West Region rival Mesa State Sunday. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.

02/10/06
Wildcats lucky in Vegas
LAS VEGAS - The Wildcats (5-2) face Central Missouri, who they beat in the 1998 College World Series, tomorrow and Mesa State, who the Wildcats have beaten three times in regional play, on Sunday.

Nebrask-Omaha scored in the top of the first when leadoff hitter Chad Leon, who led off the game with a single, scored on a passed ball.

The Wildcats answered back with a run in the bottom of the frame off an RBI double by CCAA Player of the Week Daniel Code.

Chico took the lead in the bottom of the third, scoring two runs on a double by Chris Sweeney and a single by Robby Scott. Joey Burke reached on a double in the fourth and came around to score to give the Wildcats a 4-1 lead.

Jesus Luna picked up the final Wildcat RBI in the sixth inning driving in Greg Finazzo, who led off the inning with a single to right. Luna and Scott each had two hits in the game.

Garrett Rieck (W, 1-1) picked up his first victory of the year giving up one unearned run on two hits. He struck out two and walked three. Marcus Martinez picked up his first save of the season in his first appearance as a Wildcat. In his one inning of work he struck out the first two batters he faced, gave up a hit, and then recorded a called strike three for the final out of the game.

02/06/06
Daniel Code named CCAA Player of the Week
WALNUT CREEK - Chico State outfielder Daniel Code has been named the Wilson California Collegiate Athletic Association Baseball Player of the Week for the week of February 1-5.

Code, a junior from Vacaville, led the Wildcats to a 4-2 record at Hawaii Pacific (Feb. 1-3) to open the 2006 season.

He hit .474 (9 for 19) with 3 doubles, 2 home runs, 6 runs scored and 11 runs batted in over the six contests.  Additionally, Code was hit by a pitch three times and registered a .947 slugging percentage and a .522 on-base average.

Code’s 4-for-5 performance that included 2 doubles, a homer, 3 runs scored and 6 RBI powered the Wildcats to a 21-7 triumph in the second game of a twin bill on Feb. 3.  The following day, Code drove in 4 more runs on a double and homer to lift Chico to a 7-3 win.

02/03/06
Wildcat take two more from Hawaii Pacific to win series
HONOLULU, HI -The Chico State baseball team wrapped up a six-game series with Hawaii Pacific University with two wins on Friday, 7-3 and 9-1. The Wildcats, who dropped the first two games of the series, came back to win the final four contests.

In the early game, Chico State (4-2) got on the board first in the fourth inning on Carl Fairburn’s RBI double that drove in Jerin Harper, who reached on an error. HPU tied it in the bottom of the frame before the Wildcats went ahead for good in the top of the fifth on a three-run homer by designated hitter Daniel Code, his second home run of the series. Shortstop Jesus Luna hit a solo home run to left center in the sixth and the Wildcats put up two more runs in the seventh.

Spottiswood (W, 1-0), who took the mound for the first time, gave up one run on nine hits and striking out three. HPU out hit the Wildcats 12-8 in the game, but couldn’t come up with the big hits when needed.

In the late game, Wildcat hurler Chris Rodriguez (W, 1-1) allowed one run on seven hits in five-plus innings of work. Elliott Tyson came on in the sixth innings with runners on first and second and no outs. He retired all six batters he faced, including a called third strike to end the game.

The Wildcats scored in five of the seven innings. Code sacrificed a run in in the first inning and two unearned runs in the second padded the lead. Left fielder Joey Burke put a run on the board in the fourth with a RBI-single and centerfielder Greg Finazzo plated two more in the fifth with a two-run single to center.

The final three runs of the game came in the top of the seventh thanks to an RBI single by Chad Williams and sacrifice flies by Finazzo and catcher Lorin Nakagawa.

The Wildcats return home for a few days before heading to Las Vegas to take on some perennially tough Division II competition.

02/02/06
Wildcat baseball team earns first two wins of the season
HONOLULU, HI - The Chico State baseball team exploded for 30 runs on 30 hits in a doubleheader sweep of host Hawaii Pacific Thursday for their first two wins of the season. Chico State took the opener 9-2 and then won the nightcap 21-7 to improve to 2-2 on the season.

The Wildcats, ranked sixth in the nation entering the season, managed only 10 hits and three runs while being swept in their season-opening doubleheader Thursday. But the offense came alive Friday. Jerin Harper, Carl Fairburn, and Mark Gentry knocked in two runs apiece to spark the offense in Game One.

Starting pitcher Ben Buker held Hawaii Pacific scoreless for five innings, meanwhile, as the Wildcats built a 9-0 advantage. He earned the win by allowing just two runs and striking out five in six innings of work.

The Wildcats needed even less time to build a huge lead in the nightcap. The Wildcats scored five times in the first, once in the second, and six times in the third to build a 12-0 lead and led 18-2 after they batted in the fifth.

Daniel Code went 4-for-5 with six RBI and three runs, including a three-run homer. Aaron Demuth also homered and finished 2-for-4 with three RBI. Jesus Luna and James McCarthy also knocked in three runs apiece.

On the mound, Neal Logue earned the win in his first ever start for the Wildcats. Chico State will wrap up its six-game set with Hawaii Pacific today with a doubleheader beginning at 6 p.m. PST.

02/01/06
Wildcats open season with losses in Hawaii
HONOLULU - The 2006 Chico State baseball team, ranked No. 6 in the preseason poll, opened its season with two losses to Hawaii Pacific University, 3-1 and 5-2, today in Hawaii. The games were the first of a six-game series slated with the Sea Warriors.

In the opener, HPU struck first in the bottom of the second, as Michael Kealoha's doubled in the game’s first run.  The Wildcats tied it in the fifth when designated hitter Jared Birrenkott opened the frame with a single to center and ended up at second due to an error by the centerfielder. He advanced to third on a single by first baseman Daniel Code and scored on a ground ball.

In the sixth, back-to-back bases loaded walks by two Wildcat relievers proved to be the difference, putting the Sea Warriors up for good. 

Nick Bryant got the start in the opening game, giving up one run on four hits while striking out four and walking three. Chris Rodriguez took the loss after surrendering one run on one hit in one and one-third inning. Ramirez went the distance for HPU, tossing a five-hitter and giving up just one unearned run. 

In game two, errors were the problem for the Wildcats, which resulted in three unearned runs. HPU again took the early lead in the bottom of the first inning on a sacrifice fly.  The Wildcats however, struck for two runs in the third inning on a two-run single by Birrenkott to plate Burke, who led off the inning with a single and Jerin Harper who was hit by a pitch. 

Trailing 2-1 in the sixth, Hawaii’s sacrifice fly tied it at 2-2, and a perfectly executed squeeze bunt gave the Sea Warriors the lead again.  HPU took advantage of erratic Wildcat pitching, including two walks and two hit batters, to add two insurance runs.

Garrett Rieck took the loss, giving up four runs, two earned, on one hit. Reick struck out four and walked two. Matt Burson picked up the win for HSU with two scoreless innings in relief.

Centerfielder Joey Burke was the bright spot in the Wildcat lineup in game two, going 3-for-3 at the plate and scoring one run.

Play continues Thursday and Friday with douleheaders each day beginning at 6:00 (PST). Game can be heard on the internet throught the HPU website.

02/01/06
Hawaii games can be heard on the internet
Chico State's baseball games at Hawaii Pacific University, Feb. 1-3, can be heard on the internet through HPU's broadcast link. Broadcasts will begin at 6:00 (PST) each day.

01/31/06
Wildcats to open 2006 season at Hawaii Pacific Wednesday
The 2006 Chico State baseball team opens the season at Hawaii Pacific University Wednesday with a doubleheader at 7 p.m. local time. The preseason No. 6 Wildcats return nine players from last year's squad that finished 42-16-1 and claimed the Western Regional title for the sixth time in the last nine seasons. The teams will play another doubleheader on Thursday before wrapping up the six-game series with a twinbill Friday.

Hawaii Pacific will be playing its first game under first-year Head Coach Garrett Yukumoto. The Sea Warriors, who will also be seeing their first action of the season, finished 21-19 last year. They put together a combined 4-9 mark against Chico State's CCAA foes Sonoma State, Cal State Dominguez Hills, and Cal State L.A.

Chico State is scheduled to play its first 10 games on the road before opening its home slate on Feb. 17 against Oregon Tech. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.

11/22/05
Highly touted pitching prospect Evan Fields commits to Chico State
Evan Fields, a highly regarded left-handed pitcher from Cabrillo High School in Lompoc, has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend Chico State beginning in the fall of 2006. Fields, 6-foot-2, struck out 77 batters and allowed just 20 hits in 43.2 innings as a junior last season.

“Evan is a great get for us,” said Chico State Head Coach Lindsay Meggs. “Freshman or not, I believe he will help us right away. Beyond that, we see Evan as a potential number one starter in the future. We're excited to have him."

According to Baseball Resource Scouting Service, which ranked Fields the No. 18 prospect in Southern California and No. 31 in California, Meggs has every reason to be happy. Baseball American tabbed Fields one of its top 120 prospects in the nation.

06/11/05
Wildcats career saves leader Burger signs with Chico Outlaws
Former Chico State closer Nick Burger has proved himself in the world of collegiate baseball. He ranks second in Division II history with 29 career saves. Now he has a chance to prove himself in the world of professional baseball. Friday, Chico Outlaws Manager Mark Parent announced that Burger will be joining the team for their seven-game road trip in Arizona.

According to the Chico Enterprise-Record, Parent was impressed with a workout Burger and Wildcat teammate Robert Anaya had recently, and in an attempt to shore up a pitching staff that is seventh of eight Golden Baseball League teams in ERA (6.03) heading into Friday's game at Surprise, Parent felt Burger could help right away.

"We looked at his numbers, he walked 10 guys all year and he's got a lot of bulldog in him," said Parent. "He's been in a lot of tough situations."

Parent said Burger likely will not be thrown into a closing role right away, but might find himself in a "set-up role, an inning here and there. He's used to going an inning or two and he's capable of going more. He might come out here and throw well enough to get a start, you never know."

Burger, an Honorable Mention All-America right-hander in 2005, finished with 15 saves, tied for the second most in school history, fanning 30 batters in just over 28 innings pitched with an ERA of 2.86. He was a Second Team All-America selection in 2004.

06/09/05
Ramos named First Team All-American
Krise, Burger Honorable Mention
Chico State third baseman Joseph Ramos has been named First Team All-American by the Rawlings/American Baseball Coaches Association. Ramos led the Wildcats with a .380 batting average and 15 doubles. He also provided stellar defense between third and first base, boasting a .973 fielding percentage. Chico State hurlers Kris Krise and Nick Burger, meanwhile, were named Honorable Mention All-Americans by the Baseball Writers of America.

"I'm really happy to see that the coaches recognized Joe's ability," said Chico State Head Coach Lindsay Meggs. "I can't tell you how many coaches came up to me and told me how impressed they were by the improvements he's made."

Despite playing in a Chico State uniform for just two years, Ramos leaves a lasting mark on the record books. He joins Bao-nhan Vinh as the only player in school history to notch 80 hits or more in consecutive seasons. He ranks sixth in career hits with 164. His career batting average of .363 is seventh best ever. He also ranks among Chico State's career top 10 in runs scored (102), doubles (33), total bases (221), hit-by-pitches (22), and sacrifice flies (7). He's also the program's First Team All-American selection since 1999 and the seventh ever.

Burger, a Second Team All-American selection as a junior last season, actually put up better numbers this year. He finished with 15 saves, tied for the second most in school history, and sports an ERA of 2.86.He struck out 30 batters in 28-plus innings. He wraps up his career with a Chico State record 29 saves, the second most in NCAA Division II history.

Krise, chosen in the 12th round of the Major League Baseball Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers Tuesday, put together a phenomenal season despite a finger injury. He finished the year 9-2 with a 2.04 ERA.

06/08/05
Krise, Gonzalez chosen in MLB Draft
Kris Krise and Greg Gonzalez, both key components to the Chico State baseball team's run to the 2005 Division II College World Series, have been chosen in the Major League Baseball Draft. Krise, a 6-foot-5 right-handed pitcher, was chosen by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 12th round. Gonzalez, a speedy center fielder, was chosen in the 28th round by the New York Mets.

For Krise, getting drafted is nothing new. He was drafted in the 43rd round by the Diamondbacks out of high school and in the 30th round by the Royals following his community college days. This season at Chico State, Krise went 9-2 with a 2.04 ERA despite a finger injury that lasted for much of the season and limited the pitches he could throw.

Gonzalez swiped a team-high 27 bases and hit .374 for the Wildcats. His defensive capabilities were also very attractive to the Mets.