|
Wildcats wrap up season Saturday against Academy of Art
Rachel Failla (L) and Bec Johnson lead the Wildcats against Academy of Art Saturday at University Softball Field.
4/24/2009 12:25:45 PM
CHICO, Calif. – The Chico State softball team planned to cap off the 2009 season with a pair of weekend doubleheaders…but with a last-minute cancellation of Sunday’s scheduled twinbill against Notre Dame de Namur, the Wildcats will now play their final two games of the year Saturday against the Academy of Art Urban Knights at University Softball Field.
The Wildcats (18-35 overall, 6-26 in CCAA play) look to wrap up the 2009 campaign on a positive note after dropping three of four last weekend to San Francisco State. Saturday will mark the second time Chico State has faced Academy of Art; the Wildcats nipped the Urban Knights 2-1 Feb. 1 in the season opener for both schools.
A handful of ’Cats players have a chance to post career-best numbers Saturday – Gwen Cox, currently ranked fifth on Chico State’s career stolen base list, needs just one more swipe to break the Wildcats’ season single mark that has stood since 1995. Bec Johnson needs just one more stolen base for her third straight 10-steal season, and if she’s successful, the ’Cats will boast four players (Johnson, Cox, Jesse Minch and Charlotte Honciano) with at least 10 stolen bases on the year. Jessica McDermott needs four more K’s to become just the fifth Chico State pitcher since 1984 to strike out 100 batters in a season…and if righthander Lauren Walker can go the distance in her final start of the season Saturday, she’ll top her 2008 total of 13 complete games.
Academy of Art University, playing their inaugural season as a provisional member of the Pacific West Conference, is 14-28 on the season. The Urban Knights, which at one point in the season dropped 14 of 15 games, are playing their best ball of the year coming into Saturday’s doubleheader with the Wildcats – Academy of Art has won four of its last five games including a doubleheader sweep of Patten University earlier this week.
Game one of Saturday’s Chico State-Academy of Art twinbill will begin at noon.
Softball at Humboldt State (DH)
3.15.10 | 9:00 a.m.
Softball vs Sonoma State (DH)
3.19.10 | 1:00 p.m.
Softball vs Sonoma State (DH)
3.20.10 | 12:00 p.m.
.jpg)
Wildcats of the Week
|
Men's Golf
Sylvester Gama carded three consecutive sub-par rounds and finished alone in second place at 7-under par at the Coyote Classic last Monday and Tuesday. Gama, competing as an individual, finished six strokes clear of third place in a standout performance that was bettered only by Cal State San Bernardino's Gene Webster, Jr.
Gama went 2-under in the opening round on the par-70 course at Arrowhead Country Club. He went 1-under in the afternoon. And on Tuesday, Gama's 66 was bettered only by Webster and matched his teammate Kyle Souza for the third lowest round of the tournament.
A 6-foot senior from Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara CC), Gama has now gone under par in eight of his 16 rounds of the 2009-10 season. His stroke average of 72.1 is second on the Wildcats as are his three top-five finishes.
Those efforts have made him easily the team's most improved player thus far this season. His stroke average was 75.3 last season and he had just one top-10 finish - an eighth-place finish at the CCAA Championships.
|
|
Women's Track
There’s something about the annual Chico Multi that always brings out the best in heptathlete Kelly Clancey. For the second straight year, the junior from Modesto earned an NCAA Championships provisional bid in the heptathlon during the two-day Chico Multi, collecting 4,743 total points over the seven events, easily surpassing the 4,400 points needed to secure the provisional bid.
Clancey was the dominant athlete in the 12-person field, taking first place in four of the seven hepthatlon events. She took top honors in the high jump (5 feet, 3.25 inches), long jump (17 feet, 9.5 inches), 100-meter hurdles (15.42 seconds) and the 800-meter run (2 minutes, 20.25 second), while finishing second in the 200-meter dash (26.34 seconds), fourth in the shot put and sixth in the javelin throw.
Clancey, already well ahead of last season's schedule in which she scored a 4,400 in the Chico Multi and went on to post a career-best 4,811 at the CCAA Championships and advance to the NCAA Championships, will try to better her provisional mark March 24-25 at the California Multi, hosted by UC Berkeley.
|
3.14.10 | Softball
ARCATA – Chico State true freshman pitcher Kacie McCarthy is soaking it all in during her first collegiate season. Point in fact – she watched Humboldt State starter Gracie Perez fire a no-hitter in the Lumberjacks’ 4-0 victory in Sunday’s first game and then went out and twirled a complete-game two-hitter as the Wildcats won the nightcap 1-0. McCarthy allowed only leadoff singles in the fourth and sixth, walked three, and struck out five while improving to 5-6 on the season.
Close | Full Story
3.10.10 | Softball
CHICO – With just a pair of non-conference games over the past couple of weeks, the Chico State softball team is itching to get back between the chalk lines. The Wildcats will definitely get their wish and then some, playing a minimum of 13 games scheduled over the next 15 days, including a four-game series this Sunday and Monday in Arcata against California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) rival Humboldt State.
Close | Full Story
3.5.10 | Softball
CHICO – Since joining the Chico State softball team a little over a year ago, Jessica McDermott has been the Wildcats’ original hard luck pitcher. In 2009, the sophomore from San Diego lost eight games in which she gave up just two runs or less…and this season she’s already experienced her share of ups and downs. But Friday at University Softball Field, McDermott was not to be denied, twirling a four-hit shutout and striking out a career-high 10 batters – including the final three to end the game – to give the Wildcats a 1-0 victory over Oregon Tech and salvaging a split of their doubleheader with the Hustlin’ Owls. Earlier in the day, Oregon Tech bested the ’Cats by a final of 7-2.
Close | Full Story
3.4.10 | Softball
CHICO – Some say momentum is overrated; a cliché sports term that downplays what actually makes a team a winner. But one thing that can’t be debated is that the Chico State softball team is currently riding a three game winning streak, highlighted by an exciting 11-inning, 3-2 series-ending victory last Sunday against Cal State Dominguez Hills. The Wildcats look to build on the momentum built up in the Toros series this Friday with a non-conference doubleheader against Oregon Tech. The first game of the twinbill is scheduled to start at noon at University Softball Field.
Close | Full Story
3.1.10 | Softball
CHICO – Several members of the Chico State softball team turned in outstanding performances over the weekend, leading to the Wildcats winning three out of four against Cal State Dominguez Hills at University Softball Field. But two ’Cats in particular – third baseman Bec Johnson and lefty reliever Caitlin Byrne – played major roles in the team’s success, and Monday they were honored as the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Softball Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for the period of Feb. 22-28.
Close | Full Story
2.28.10 | Softball
CHICO – The resurgance of the Chico State softball team has already yielded some pretty impressive results – just 14 games into the 2010 campaign, the Wildcats have matched last season’s number of home victories and conference wins, and are two games above the .500 mark thanks to Sunday’s doubleheader sweep of Cal State Dominguez Hills at University Softball Field. The ’Cats piled up a dozen hits to handily win the opener 9-1, then came from behind twice in the nightcap, finally topping the Toros 3-2 in 11 innings.
Close | Full Story
2.27.10 | Softball
CHICO – Freshman Caitlin Byrne had to wait patiently to make her Chico State pitching debut, and after sitting on the sidelines for the team’s first 10 games of the season, the San Diego native finally got the call in the Wildcats’ home-opening doubleheader against Cal State Dominguez Hills. The San Diego native did not disappoint, tossing a combined four-and-a-third innings of shutout ball and picking up the victory as Chico State beat the visiting Toros 7-5 in the nightcap at University Softball Field. In the first game of the twinbill, Cal State Dominguez Hills survived a seventh inning Wildcat rally to win 3-2.
Close | Full Story
|