CCAA Championship Tournament Schedule
May 8-10 • Nettleton Stadium

Chico State has been selected to host the 2003 California Collegiate Athletic Association Baseball Championship Tournament May 8-10 at Nettleton Stadium. The Wildcats have hosted the tournament every year since its inception in 1999.

Tournament Participants
1. Sonoma State
2. UC Davis
3. Chico State
4. Cal State Stanislaus

Tournament History:

2002 CCAA Championship Tournament

2001 CCAA Championship Tournament

2000 CCAA Championship Tournament

1999 CCAA Championship Tournament

Tournament schedule:
Thursday, May 8
3 p.m. - Sonoma State 2, Cal State Stanislaus 1
7 p.m. - UC Davis 14, Chico State 1

Friday, May 9
11 a.m. - Chico State 9, Cal State Stanislaus 2 (Stanislaus eliminated)
3 p.m. - Sonoma State 17, UC Davis 4
7 p.m. - Chico 6, Davis 4 (Davis eliminated)

Saturday, May 10
12 p.m. - Sonoma State 4, Chico 3

Results:
Tournament Stats

Sonoma State wins CCAA Tournament title
Game 6 boxscore

(May 10) CHICO – For the third time in five years, the Sonoma State baseball team has won the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Tournament.

Adam Rachlin singled home Tournament MVP Brandon Burgess in the bottom of the ninth to give the Seawolves a 4-3 victory over Chico State Saturday afternoon at Nettleton Stadium. Armando Ornelas’ two-run homer in the eighth tied the game 3-3 and set up Rachlin’s heroics.

Sonoma State also won CCAA Tournament titles in 1999 and 2001. The Seawolves, ranked No. 4 in the nation and No. 1 in the Western Region entering this weekend’s play, has now won 16 of its last 17 games to improve to 44-13-1. They’ll take part in the four-team Western Regional next weekend, the winner of which advances to the NCAA Division II World Series in Montgomery, Alabama.

Chico State, on the other hand, saw its season come to an end barring a surprising invitation to the Western Regional. The Wildcats fell to 36-18.

Chico State led for much of the game behind the pitching of Clark Johnson and Trevor Weedon’s clutch hitting. Johnson, Chico State’s closer and one of the nation’s leaders in saves, started for just the fourth time this season. He was outstanding for seven-plus innings and had the Wildcats leading 3-1 entering the eighth.

Weedon, Chico State’s lone freshman starter, hit an infield single to plate John Paluck to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Chico State’s John Moylan made it 2-0 with a towering fourth-inning home run.

Sonoma State finally got to Johnson in the sixth when Rachlin reached on an error and later came around to score on Effren Trejo’s base hit to make it 2-1.

However, the Wildcats answered back in the top of the eighth with an insurance run. Weedon’s two-out single plated Moylan to make it 3-1. But Ornelas took the wind out of Chico State’s sails in the bottom-half of the frame. With Brian Stream on first after a leadoff single, he smashed Johnson’s one-out offering over the wall in right-center field to knot the score 3-3.

After the Wildcats went down in order in the top of the ninth, no Seawolves went down in the bottom half of the inning. Burgess led off the inning against Chico State reliever Nic Amanno with a single to right. Pinch hitter Brad Shannon moved him to second with a base hit, and Gil Barry’s bunt single moved him to third. Rachlin followed with the Seawolves’ fourth consecutive single to clinch the title.

Landon Buck (2-2) got the win in relief for Sonoma State. He allowed one earned run on three hits in two and two-thirds innings. Amanno (7-3) took the loss for Chico State.

Sonoma State starter Noah Sweeters scattered eight hits and two walks over six-plus innings for Sonoma State. Johnson allowed seven hits and three runs, two of them earned, in seven-plus frames.

Brian Stream, Burgess, and Barry finished with two hits apiece for Sonoma State. John Moylan went 3-for-4 for the Wildcats, while Jonathan Shepard, John Paluck, and Weedon each banged out two hits.

Regional selections will be announced Sunday afternoon.

CCAA Baseball Championship
All-Tournament Team
P - Ryan McClelland, Sonoma State
P - Dave McKae, UC Davis
C - Brad Shannon, Sonoma State
1B - David Butterworth, UC Davis
2B - Brian Stream, Sonoma State
3B - Gil Barry, Sonoma State
SS - Scott Thomson, Chico State
OF - Brandon Burgess, Sonoma State
OF - Steve Newson, Chico State
OF - Jeff Walker, Chico State
DH - Armando Ornelas, Sonoma State
At-Large Effern Trejo, Sonoma State

Most Valuable Player: Brandon Burgess, Sonoma State

Chico moves on to face Sonoma State
Game 5 boxscore

(May 9) The Chico State baseball team is halfway there. Needing to win four straight games to win the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Tournament, the Wildcats won two Friday to earn a chance to play Sonoma State Saturday at noon for the championship. The Wildcats must beat the Seawolves twice to earn the title.

Chico State, now 36-17, earned that opportunity with a 6-4 victory against UC Davis Friday night. Earlier in the day, the Wildcats beat Cal State Stanislaus 9-2.

UC Davis, 32-22, was eliminated from the tournament with the loss, but is still widely expected to earn a spot in next weekend’s four-team Western Regional thanks to a No. 2 regional ranking entering the tournament.

Chico State, on the other hand, entered the weekend ranked No. 5 in the region and in desperate need of a good showing. However, UC Davis hammered the Wildcats 14-1 in Thursday’s opening round. Friday, Chico State exacted some revenge against the Aggies.

Brian Kroll pitched eight-plus effective innings to earn the win, and Clark Johnson got the final two outs for his 11th save of the season. Jeff Walker, Ryan Wulfert, and John Paluck banged out two hits apiece, and Jeff Walker drove in two runs to pace the Chico Sate offense.

The Wildcats broke a 2-2 tie with two runs in the seventh. Pinch hitter Jonathan Shepard singled home Brett Polan to make it 3-2, and Shepard came around to score on Wulfert’s RBI-single. Chico State tacked on two more insurance runs in the eighth on Walker’s two-run single. Those runs would prove to be vital.

Bidding for a complete-game, Kroll ran into ninth-inning trouble, allowing a two-run single to Matt Kamigawachi. Chico State closer Clark Johnson came in and got the final two outs to seal Chico State’s victory, however.

Kamigawachi finished the game with three hits, while David Butterworth and Dustin Soderman collected two apiece. However, the Aggies stranded 10 runners on the night.

Chico State opened the scoring in the second inning when Paluck singled and later scored on Scott Thomson’s double. UC Davis responded in the fourth inning to take a 2-1 lead, however. Soderman led off with a single and later scored on Kroll’s throwing error. Ryan Coultas plated Tyler LaTorre with a ground ball later in the inning.

Chico State tied the game in the sixth. Wulfert walked leading off the inning, moved to second when Steve Newson was hit by a pitch, and moved to third on Brandon Vorhees’ bunt single. He scored on Paluck’s double-play grounder.

Sonoma State advances to championship game
Game 4 boxscore

(May 9) CHICO – Gil Barry went 4-for-4 with four RBI to lead Sonoma State to a California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Tournament record-tying 17 runs in a 17-4 win against UC Davis Friday afternoon at Nettleton Stadium. It was the most runs the Seawolves have scored all season and the most runs the Aggies have surrendered.

With just one win Saturday, against Friday night’s UC Davis-Chico State winner, the Seawolves will win their third CCAA title in five years. Friday night’s winner will have to beat Sonoma State twice to claim the crown. The first game Saturday is scheduled to begin at noon. If Sonoma State loses, the second game will start approximately 45 minutes after the first.

Sonoma State, ranked No. 4 in the nation and No. 1 in the Western Region entering the weekend, has now won 15 of its last 16 games to improve to 43-13-1. UC Davis fell to 32-21 with the loss.

While Barry’s offensive output was noteworthy, it was far from the only one. Brian Stream went 3-for-6 with two doubles and a pair of RBI. Effren Trejo finished 3-for-6. Brandon Burgess went 3-for-5 and scored three runs. In all, 11 different Seawolves notched at least one hit.

Meanwhile, Seawolves starter Darren Sack threw seven strong innings to collect the win and improve to 9-2.

UC Davis’ Trevor Thornton (7-4) took the loss. He was battered for 10 runs, five of them earned, on nine hits in just over two innings of work. Jeff Vignau then allowed seven runs, all of them earned, on 13 hits in five-plus innings of work. The UC Davis defense was also very shaky, committing four errors.

David Butterworth hammered his ninth home run of the season to pace the UC Davis offense, which managed 14 hits, but hit into four double plays.

Chico stays alive; Stanislaus eliminated
Game 3 boxscore

(May 9) CHICO – The Chico State Wildcats avoided elimination from the 2003 California Collegiate Athletic Association Baseball Championship Tournament with a 9-2 win over Cal State Stanislaus in the early game today at Nettleton Stadium.

With the win, Chico (35-17) stays alive to play at 7 p.m. tonight against the loser of the Sonoma State/UC Davis game coming up next. Stanislaus (27-27-1) is eliminated from the tournament after also losing to Sonoma State, 2-1, in the opening game yesterday.

Chico took advantage of two Stanislaus errors in the third inning to core five unearned runs and build a 6-0 lead in the game. Ryan Adams highlighted the inning with his third home run of the year, a first-pitch blast to left field.

The Wildcats opened the scoring in the first when Jon Shepard hit a one-out triple to right center and came in to score on a balk, Jeff Walker drove in catcher Trevor Weedon, who led off the inning with a hit through the left side, for the Wildcats' solo run in the sixth.

Steve Newson capped off the Wildcat scoring in the seventh with a two-run homer to right field, his team-high tenth of the year. Newson was the only Chico State player with two hits in the game.

Stanislaus scored single runs in the fourth and seventh innings, thanks to RBI singles by Cody Crossman and Alan Dunn, respectively. Dunn and Jeffrey Bellotti each had two hits for the Warriors.

Chico starter Scott Lemone (W, 5-3), making his third start of the year, pitched seven strong innings. He gave up two runs, one earned, on four hits and struck out four. Matt Gaylord came on to pitch the final two innings, giving up two hits.

Stanislaus starter Scott Geissler (L, 7-8) was the victim of the unearned runs. He gave up seven runs, only two earned, on eight hits and walked and struck out two.

UC Davis hammers Chico State
Game 2 boxscore

(May 8) CHICO – The UC Davis baseball team handed Chico State its most lopsided loss since the 1990s with a 14-1 shellacking Thursday night in the second game of the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Tournament. Dave McKae and Jack Boyle limited the Wildcats to seven hits and five different Aggies had two or more hits to key the win.

The Aggies, who improved to 32-20, will face top-seeded Sonoma State Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. in the winners’ bracket game. Chico State, 34-17, will face Cal State Stanislaus at 11 a.m. in an elimination game. The Wildcats have now lost five-of-six CCAA Championship Tournament games since 2000.

Ninth-place hitter Kyle Irving paced the UC Davis offense with four hits, Robby Tulk and Andrew Reisinger notched three hits apiece, and Matt Kamigawachi and Mark Wells banged out two hits apiece for UC Davis.

The Aggies were facing Chico State ace Ivan Hernandez (7-3), who shut out the Aggies while striking out 12 earlier this season. The story was very different Thursday, however.

UC Davis touched Hernandez for five runs, four of them earned, on six hits and four walks in just over three innings of work. They then bashed Chico State relief pitcher Nic Amanno for five runs and five hits.

Steve Newson and Ryan Adams mustered two hits apiece for the Wildcats, but McKae (5-4) was masterful. He gave up just one run and six hits in eight innings of work, striking out seven and walking none. The Wildcats didn’t manage a hit against McKae until Adams’ double to lead off the fifth. They didn’t plate a run until the eighth when Scott Thomson reached on an infield single and came around to score on Newson’s bad-hop single.

Meanwhile, the UC Davis offense was nearly unstoppable from the very beginning. Leadoff hitter Robby Tulk started the evening off with a walk and later came around to score. UC Davis made it 3-0 with a pair of runs in the third. Ryan Coultas, who tripled, and David Butterworth, who walked, each scored on Hernandez wild pitches.

The Aggies added two more runs in the fourth on RBIs by Tulk and Kamigawachi, and broke it open with a five-run fifth. A two-run single by Butterworth and Reisinger’s two-run double were the key hits in the frame that ended with UC Davis leading 10-0.

Kamigawachi knocked in another run in the seventh and Irving and pinch hitter Ross Warner each knocked in a run in the eighth to wrap up the Aggies’ scoring.

UC Davis has now won four of five games against Chico State this season.

Sonoma's Shannon comes through in a pinch
Game 1 boxscore

(May 8) CHICO – Scott Taylor had dominated the entire game. But he hadn’t faced Brad Shannon yet.

Shannon came off the bench and bashed a two-run double in the bottom of the ninth inning to end Taylor’s shutout bid and give top-seeded Sonoma State a 2-1 victory in the opening game of the 2003 California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Tournament Thursday.

Cal State Stanislaus (27-26-1), the No. 4 seed, held a 1-0 lead entering the ninth thanks to Taylor’s (L, 7-4) dominance and Justin Reyes’ RBI-single in the sixth. Sonoma State (42-13-1), ranked No. 1 in the Western Region and No. 4 in the nation, lived up to its reputation in the ninth. Seawolves starter Ryan McClelland (W 7-1) kept Sonoma State in the game by limiting the Warriors to just one run on 10 hits, three walks, and despite a pair of errors.

With one out in the ninth, Effren Trejo singled through the right side to start the rally. Brandon Burgess and Dennis Peters followed with bloop singles to load the bases. Shannon then came in as a pinch hitter and smashed Taylor’s first offering to the warning track in left-center field.

Peters was the only Seawolves hitter to notch two hits.

Reyes banged out three hits to lead Stanislaus and Scott Neal tallied a pair of singles, but the Warriors stranded 12 runners.

Sonoma State will play the winner of Thursday night’s Chico State-UC Davis contest Friday at 3 p.m. Stanislaus will take on Thursday night’s loser at 11 a.m.