1999 CCAA Championship Tournament

Wildcats to Host CCAA Baseball Championship
Chico State has been selected as the host of the inaugural California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Baseball Tournament. The event will be held at Nettleton Stadium, May 6-8.

This is a chance to watch the top four teams in the CCAA battle it out for statewide bragging rights. We hope you'll come out and support these teams who have worked so hard this season to be considered among the best in the conference. This is also a great opportunity to get another look at the Wildcats as they work toward a third-straight trip to the Division II College World Series in Montgomery Alabama.

Participants
Chico State (28-12) #1
UC Riverside (21-15) #2
Sonoma State (21-15) #3
UC Davis (21-18) #4

Game times:
Thursday, May 6 •
Game 1 - Sonoma State 7, UC Riverside 4
Game 2 - UC Davis 3, Chico State 5

Friday, May 7 •
Game 3 - UC Riverside 15, UC Davis 4 - UC Davis eliminated
Game 4 - Sonoma State 13, Chico State 4
Game 5 - UC Riverside 5 Chico State 6 - UC Riverside eliminated

Saturday, May 8 •
Game 6 - Sonoma State 9, Chico State 12
Game 7 - Sonoma State 13, Chico State 8

Game 6 & 7
SONOMA STATE COMES BACK TO WIN ITS FIRST CCAA BASEBALL TITLE

CHICO, Calif. -- Sonoma State rallied from three-run deficits three times and scored five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to defeat Chico State, 13-8 in the title game of the inaugural California Collegiate Athletic Association Baseball Championship Tournament at Nettleton Stadium in Chico.

The Cossacks, who lost a 12-9 decision to Chico earlier in the day, improved to 38-24 overall and await the NCAA Championship selection pairings to be announced Sunday. The Wildcats, the top team in the West Region coming into the tournament, dropped to 43-17 and will also await the pairings.

Heavy wind blowing out to left field aided in proficient offense throughout the day as the two teams combined for 42 runs and 52 hits, including six home runs, in both games.

Chico State scoried three times in the top of the first in the title game on a Luke Neel RBI single that scored Doug Thomas, and Luis Sanchez' monstrous two-run home run to left-center field. Sonoma answered with three in its half of the first on back-to-back homers by tournament most outstanding player Derek Bell and Jose Cerda. Bell, a second team All-CCAA pick, hit 12-for-16 (.750) and reached base safely in his first 15 plate appearances of the tournament.

The Wildcats came back with three runs in the third to take a 6-3 lead. The two squads played back and forth for the next three innings, and Sonoma State knotted the game at 8-8 on Chris Howard's two-run single to left-center in the seventh inning. The Cossacks completed the comeback in the eighth, thanks to Bell's heroics. The junior from Bakersfield hit the first of five straight singles that led to the five runs. Joe Chutuk drove two home with a single to right.

The offensive outburst was enough for reliever Jesse Bussard, who came on in the fifth inning and pitched brilliantly, yielding just two earned runs and six hits, zero walks and striking out three in four and a third innings. Bussard picked up his second win of the season with the effort.

Chico State won the first game with late-inning heroics after relinquishing a 9-4 lead. After Sonoma State battled back to tie the score at 9-9 on a Chutuk solo home run in the sixth, Chico tallied the decisive runs in the eighth with Shanin Veronie's two-run double being the big blow. Relief pitcher Brian Grover earned his third save of the tournament.

GAME ONE
Sonoma State 013 041 000 - 9 16 2
Chico State 009 000 03x - 12 14 0

Rogers, Bircher (3), ê Bell (4), Martine (9) and Cerda. Josephson, Adame (5), Carbajal (6), Grover (9) and Glynn. W - Carbajal (5-1). L - Rogers (2-2). S - Grover (7). E - SSU: Sandoval, D. Bell. 2B - SSU: Sandoval, Pham, Sanchez; CSUC - Glynn 2, Veronie.

HR - SSU: D. Bell, Vogel, Chutuk. T: 3:34.

GAME TWO
Chico State 303 001 100 - 8 16 2
Sonoma State 300 102 25x - 13 16 1

Freitas, Derryman (4), Grover (7), Cly (8) and Merritt, Glynn. Nackord, Rogers (2), Bircher (5), Bussard (5) and Moritz. W - Bussard (2-0). L - Cly (9-4). E - CSUC: Thomas, Neel; SSU: D. Bell. 2B - CSUC: Vinh, Sanchez, Veronie 2, Merritt; SSU: Pham. HR - CSUC: Sanchez; SSU: D. Bell, Cerda. T: 3:30. A: 965.

All-Tournament Team: C - Jose Cerda, SSU; 1B - Jason Vogel, SSU; 2B - Kevin Perkins, UCR; SS - Michael Salazar, UCR; 3B - Derek Bell, SSU (MOP); OF - Bao-nhan Vinh, CSUC; OF - Joe Chutuk, SSU; OF - Jonnie Pham, SSU; P - Jeff Ogston, SSU; P - John-Eric Hernandez, CSUC; AL - Luis Sanchez, CSUC.

Game 5
CHICO STATE STAYS ALIVE IN CCAA BASEBALL TOURNAMENT

CHICO, Calif. -- CHICO STATE rebounded from a loss earlier in the day and benefited from four UC RIVERSIDE errors to take a 6-5 elimination-game victory at the California Collegiate Athletic Association Baseball Championship Tournament at Nettleton Stadium Friday night.

The Wildcats (42-16) stayed alive and earned a rematch with Sonoma State, which defeated Chico earlier in the day. The Highlanders (30-21) will await the NCAA Championship selection announcement on Sunday to see if their season continues.

The game was evenly played in every area, except fielding, as UCR committed crucial m istakes that led directly to three of the Wildcats' six runs. Riverside pitcher Mark Cartwright pitched admirably in eight and one-third innings of work, scattering 11 hits and three earned runs, while striking out five.

Chico State center fielder Doug Thomas led off the third inning by reaching on an error by UCR shortstop Michael Salazar. The next batter, Bao-nhan Vinh promptly deposited a Cartwright offering well over the left field wall to give the Wildcats a 2-0 lead. Vinh led the 'Cats with three hits and two RBI.

Chico went up 3-0 in the fourth inning on shortstop Carlos Fletes' solo home run, but the Highlanders cut the margin to 3-2 on a wild pitch in the fourth inning and Kevin Perkins' two-out RBI triple in the fifth. The turning point in the game came in the top of the seventh when Chico designated hitter Jason Cly drove a ball down the right field line that Adam Seuss misplayed, resulting in an inside-the-park home run.

Wildcat closer Brian Grover pitched four steady innings, giving up six hits and three earned runs and striking out four to earn his sixth save of the season. It was the second clutch appearance for Grover in as many days, as he came on and got Chico State out of a jam in the opening game against UC Davis on Thursday.

I can't say enough about Grover the last two nights, said Chico State coach Lindsay Meggs. He's answered the bell every time we've called. He throws nothing but strikes, but not over the plate.

UCR outhit Chico, 12-11, and was led by Perkins' three hits and three RBI, two of which came with two out in the ninth inning when he hit a wind-aided two-run homer to left off Grover.

The difference was they got two good balls up in the air and we got one, said UCR coach Jack Smitheran. Mark (Cartwright) did a pretty good job keeping us in the game, but the bottom line is we made some mistakes defensively and you can't do that in tournament play.

Chico State 002 100 102 - 6 11 0
UC Riverside 000 110 102 - 5 12 4

Derryman, Grover (6) and Merritt. Cartwright, Washburn (9) and Mosby. W - Derryman (8-1). L - Cartwright (6-2). S - Grover (6). 2B - CSUC - Sanchez 2, Fletes, UCR - Seuss, Salazar. 3B - UCR - Perkins, Pulido. HR - CSUC - Vinh (2), Cly (2); UCR - Fletes (2), Perkins (3). SB - UCR - Perkins. T: 2:36. A: 863

Game 4
SONOMA STATE ONE VICTORY AWAY FROM THE CCAA BASEBALL TITLE

CHICO, Calif. -- Sophomore pitcher Jeff Ogston fired eight and a third dominating innings for Sonoma State and first baseman Jason Vogel provided the offensive punch to lead the Cossacks to a 13-4 victory over host Chico State in the second round of the inaugural California Collegiate Athletic Association Baseball Championship Tournament on Friday.

The win improves SSU's record to 37-23 and brought the Cossacks to just one win from claiming the league crown in their first year in the CCAA. The Wildcats fell to 41-16 and play UC Riverside in the second elimination game of the tournament Friday at 7 p.m. UCR defeated UC Davis in an earlier elimination contest.

Ogston, a right-handed local product from Rohnert Park, baffled the Chico State lineup throughout the game to improve to 7-7 on the season. Taking command from the get-go, Ogston yielded just two hits to Chico State through the first eight frames before giving up two singles and a two-run home run to pinch hitter Derek Cordell, his first of the year, in the ninth inning. Ogston allowed five hits, three earned runs and struck out seven before giving way to relief.

He's pitched in tough luck all year long, but he's really a great competitor, coach John Goelz said. Today he hit his spots and did a great job.

Ogston had little trouble getting motivated for Chico State, the top team in the West Region and winners of three of five contests versus the Cossacks this season. (Chico) has been a thorn in our side for two years, but we knew winning was something we coul 'd do, Ogston said. Everyone went 100 percent and just got the job done.

Sonoma State wasted little time asserting itself, scoring a run in the bottom of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead. The Cossacks then separated themselves from Chico when Jason Vogel hit a three-run homer, his team-leading 11th of the season, to center field off Wildcat starter Jason Cly, who ranked second in the CCAA in earned run average coming into the game (2.59).

I think that was really a big blow, Goelz said. Our history against Chico is we just haven't quite put them away because they're so good and so well coached. So that one swing of the bat gave us a cushion and probably relaxed everybody a little bit.

SSU wasn't finished, scoring single runs in each of the next two innings before exploding for seven runs in the eighth highlighted by Vogel's second three-run blast of the day in nearly the identical spot he hit his previous round-tripper. The Cossacks pounded out 19 hits, including seven for extra bases. Vogel, Jonnie Pham and Derek Bell each finished with three hits, with Vogel adding seven RBI and Bell scoring three times.

Chico State 000 000 002 4 8 1
Sonoma State 100 031 17x 13 19 1

Cly, Adame (7), Reckers (8), Freitas (8) and Glynn. Ogston, Weiss (9), Martine (9) and Cerda. W - Ogston (7-7). L - Cly (9-3). 2B - Sandoval (17), Pham (7), Chutuk (10), Hackney (12), Howard (18). HR - SSU - Vogel 2 (12); CSUC - Cordell (1). T: 3:00. A: 680.

Game 3
UC RIVERSIDE ELIMINATES UC DAVIS FROM CCAA BASEBALL TOURNEY

CHICO, Calif. -- UC RIVERSIDE tallied 13 runs on as many hits in the first three innings and coasted to a 15-4 triumph in the first elimination game of the inaugural CCAA Baseball Championship Tournament at Chico State's Nettleton Stadium Friday.

The win advances the Highlanders (30-20) to tonight's second elimination game against the loser of this afternoon's Chico State-Sonoma State contest. UC Davis dropped to 32-25 on the year.

UCR, the top hitting team in the CCAA, took advantage of a constant wind blowing out to finish the game with 20 hits. Four players had at least three hits, led by Jeff Stevens and Michae l Salazar with four apiece. Riverside led 2-1 after one inning when Kevin Perkins hit a solo home run and Matt Teahen followed with a two-run shot shortly thereafter to extend the advantage to 6-1.

The biggest difference for us today was the change in wind, said UCR coach Jack Smitheran. The wind was blowing in yesterday, and today it was obviously going out. We are an offensive ballclub, and getting some hits and runs early really helped.

The Highlanders continued the onslaught in the third inning, scoring seven runs on seven hits, all coming with two out. Two doubles and five singles boosted the margin to 13-1.

UC Davis, in perhaps its last game of the season, was led by left fielder Greg Gaunt's three hits, including a towering two-run blast over t ùhe left field wall in the fifth inning. That was the most damage the Aggies did to UCR starter Erik Grunwald, who scattered 10 hits and four earned runs while striking out seven in eight innings to pick up the win.

UC Riverside 247 010 100 - 15 20 0
UC Davis 100 020 010 - 4 10 0

Grunwald, Crowther (9) and Moseby. Holtkamp, Nelson (3), Rohlfing (4) and Sturgeon. W - Grunwald (6-4). L - Holtkamp (6-2). 2B - UCR -Seuss (24), Stevens (27), Teahen (13), Emmons (8), Ojeil (11); UCD - Zumstein (13), Overholt (13), Stretch (14), Heredia (6). HR - UCR - Perkins (2), Stevens (7), Teahen (4); UCD - Gaunt (8).

T: 2:29. A: 143.

Game 2
CHICO STATE TOPS UC DAVIS IN FIRST ROUND OF CCAA BASEBALL TOURNEY

CHICO, Calif. -- Junior John-Eric Hernandez pitched seven strong innings and Luis Sanchez provided the offensive spark to propel No. 12 CHICO STATE to a 5-3 victory over rival UC DAVIS in the first round of the inaugural CCAA Baseball Championship Tournament at Nettleton Stadium in Chico on Thursday.

The Wildcats improve to 41-15 overall and play Sonoma State, the winner of the earlier contest, Friday at 3 p.m. The Aggies fell to 32-24 and now take on UC Riverside in an elimination game at 11 a.m. Friday.

Chico jumped on CCAA Pitcher of the Year Justin Reid early, tallying three runs in the first two innings on four hits. Center fielder Doug Thomas, who finished with two hits, two runs and a stolen base on his 23rd birthday, singled and scored from first on right fielder Luk .e Neel's double. Neel then scored on on a Sanchez single and the Wildcats led 2-0. Chico catcher Casey Glynn hit a solo home run in the second inning to give the 'Cats a three-run advantage and set the tone for Hernandez, who then yielded just four hits and one earned run while striking out five in 7.1 innings.

I went out there with the same mentality I have all year, Hernandez said. It sure helped that my teammates scored early, not many people do that against (Reid). It was a real confidence builder.

Reid, who led the league in ERA (2.18) and strikeouts (118) coming into the game and was 2-0 against the Wildcats during the regular season, gave up five earned runs on 11 hits and struck out seven in seven and two-thirds innings in dropping to 8-3 on the year.

This is the type of game we've Ì been preparing for all year, said Chico State coach Lindsay Meggs. You don't get too many opportunities against a guy like Reid, you really have to take advantage.

The Aggies cut the lead to 3-1 in the fourth inning on first baseman Carl Velleno's fourth home run of the season, a solo shot to right field. Chico regained a three-run lead in the seventh inning when Thomas singled, stole second and came home on Sanchez' double to left-center.

UCD wasn't finished however, and had an opportunity to take the lead before Chico State closer Brian Grover relieved Hernandez to put out the Aggie fire. A throwing error, an RBI double by pinch-hitter Chris Stretch and a hits batsman spelled the end of Hernandez' evening.

Grover then came on and coaxed Greg Gaunt into a fielder's choice to third that scored Stretch and made the score 4-3. Gaunt's chopper was headed for the left field corner before Shannon Veronie snared it and dove to third base for the second out. Grover then struck out Velleno to end the threat.

The Wildcats added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI single by Bao-nhan Vinh. A 4-6-3 Chico State doubleplay in the ninth inning ended the contest.

UC Davis 000 100 020 3 4 0
Chico State 210 000 11x 5 12 2

Reid, Nickelsen (8) and Sturgeon. Hernandez, Grover (8) and Glynn. W - Hernandez (6-4). L - Reid (8-3). S - Grover (5).

2B - Stretch (8), Neel (11), Sanchez (12). HR - Velleno (4), Glynn (5). SB - Thomas (16), Neel (10).
T - 2:30. A - 1012.

Game 1
COSSACKS RALLY TO WIN TOURNAMENT OPENER OVER UCR

CHICO, Calif. -- Shortstop Jason Hackney's sacrifice fly scored Chris Buckles with the decisive run as in the top of the eighth inning SONOMA STATE rallied from a three-run deficit to post a 7-4 win over No. 22 UC RIVERSIDE in the opening game of the Inaugural California Collegiate Baseball Championship Tournament at Nettleton Stadium in Chico.

The win improves SSU's overall record to 36-23 while UCR dropped to 29-20. The Cossacks play the winner of the Chico State-UC Davis game at 3 p.m. Friday and the Highlanders play in the loser's bracket at 11 a.m.

Going into the game, we knew it was going to be a dogfight, said Sonoma third baseman Derek Bell, who led the way with four hits, a run and an RBI. We knew it was going to be who won the game inning-by-inning. The first couple of innings (UCR) won the innings, and then we started getting back into the game a bit and we got some clutch hits at the right time.

Eight of the game's 11 total runs were unearned, as the teams committed four errors apiece. UCR starting pitcher Steve Madril was given a 3-0 lead after three innings. UCR, who was led by Matt Teahen's three hits, scored the game's first run on a two-out Teahen single that plated right fielder Adam Seuss after a error kept the inning alive.

The Highlanders tallied two more runs in the third on singles by Seuss, Jeff Stevens, Hackney's second error of the contest, and a Patrick Ojeil single.

Sonoma State began to chip away in the fourth on a two-out error by UCR second baseman Kevin Perkins that scored Buckles. The Cossacks took a 4-3 lead in the top of the sixth. Joe Chutuk led off the frame with a double down the right field line, Bell singled to advance Chutuk to third, and Buckles hit a two-run double. Another error by Perkins with two out scored Buckles.

We had to pitch well and play defense, said 26th-year UCR head coach Jack Smi ~theran. While Steve (Madril) wasn't as sharp as he has been in the past few weeks, he battled and pitched well enough to keep us in the game. He and Chad (Spiker) got the ground balls, and we didn't make the plays behind him.

Cossack reliever Bircher earned the victory in relief, yielding just one hit in three innings. Spiker took his first loss (5-1) of the season in relief. Starter Colin Hayes gave up eight hits and struck out five and UCR starter Madril allowed eight hits and struck out four.

Sonoma State 000 103 012 7 13 4
UC Riverside 102 001 000 4 9 4

Hayes, Bircher (7) and Cerda. Madril, Spiker (7), Washburn (9) and Mosby. W - Bircher (4-1), L - Spiker (5-1). 2B - Chutuk 2 (8), Buckles (6), Cerda (9), Perkins (14), Pulido (12). A-176.

Note: First meeting between two teams due to regular season rainout of four-game series at Sonoma State