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Wildcats home to host Sonoma State Friday and Saturday
Bec Johnson and the Wildcats take on CCAA-leading Sonoma State this Friday and Saturday at University Softball Field.
3/18/2010 10:34:04 AM
CHICO – The Chico State softball team has made great strides this season in revitalizing a program that has struggled the past few years – nearly halfway into the 2010 campaign, the Wildcats are two games above .500 overall and more than holding their own against California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) opponents. This weekend should serve as a true test of exactly how far the ’Cats have progressed, as Chico State hosts conference leader Sonoma State in doubleheader action Friday and Saturday at University Softball Field.
The Wildcats enter their four-game series with the Seawolves 11-9 on the season, and occupying seventh place in the CCAA with an 8-8 conference mark. Chico State is in the mix for a CCAA Championship Tournament berth, sitting just one game behind San Francisco State, Cal State San Bernardino and Cal State Dominguez Hills for fourth place in the conference standings. The ’Cats return home after splitting a four-game set in Arcata against Humboldt State Sunday and Monday (coming within six outs of taking three of the four contests), kicking off a stretch that will see Chico State play at least 14 games over the next 15 days.
The ’Cats rank eighth in the CCAA with a .251 team batting average, scoring over three runs and six hits per contest. Charlotte Honciano is Chico State’s top hitter, batting .318 entering the weekend; she also tops the team in hits (21), stolen bases (6) and on-base percentage (.400). Sam Quadt is hitting at a .313 clip and is among the top five in the CCAA with six doubles on the year. Freshman righthander Kacie McCarthy leads the Wildcats’ pitching staff with five wins, six complete games, two shutouts and a 2.64 earned run average.
Sonoma State, ranked 21st in this week's National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) poll, is off to its best start in school history, sporting an 18-5 overall record and 13-3 mark in the CCAA. The Seawolves sit atop the conference standings, with a two game lead over second place Cal State Monterey Bay. Sonoma State, which just two years ago languished in the CCAA cellar, currently leads the conference in nine offensive categories, including batting average (.330), slugging percentage (.529), on base percentage (.399), runs scored (125), runs batted in (118), doubles (39), triples (6), home runs (24), and total bases (327). Junior outfielder LeeAnn Stroud is the CCAA’s top hitter, batting .481, while freshman righthander Samantha Lipperd is one of two pitchers in the conference with 10 wins on the season.
All-time, Sonoma State has won 72 of 121 meetings with Chico State. Last season the Seawolves won four of the six games played against the Wildcats.
Friday’s series-opening doubleheader is slated to begin at 1:00 p.m., with the first game of Saturday’s twinbill getting underway at noon at University Softball Field.
Softball vs Dominican University
2.4.12 | 10:00 a.m.
Softball vs Western Washington University
2.4.12 | 2:30 p.m.
Softball vs Humboldt State
2.4.12 | 4:45 p.m.
Softball vs Cal State San Marco
2.5.12 | 10:15 a.m.
Softball vs Metro State
2.5.12 | 12:30 p.m.
Softball at UC San Diego (DH)
2.10.12 | 1:00 p.m.
Softball at UC San Diego (DH)
2.11.12 | 10:00 a.m.
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Wildcats of the Week
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Men's Basketball
Amir Carraway capped a strong weekend with team highs of 16 points and seven rebounds in the Wildcats’ huge win against Humboldt State Saturday night to earn Wildcat of the Week honors for the second time this season.
The sophomore from Vallejo made two game-sealing free throws with 21 seconds left to finish the night 6-of-7 from the free throw line and pulled down key rebounds on two of the Lumberjacks’ last three possessions. He also set the screen on Jay Flores’ dagger 3-pointer with 40 seconds left.
Carraway finished with 10 points and four rebounds despite playing just 18 minutes due to foul trouble during the Wildcats’ loss to Sonoma State the night before.
The 6-foot-5 forward leads the team in rebounding at 5.5 per game and ranks second in scoring at 10.6 points per game a season after averaging just 1.4 points and one rebound in only 5.4 minutes a night. He’s now led the team in scoring five times and rebounding six this season.
Carraway and the Wildcats, among four teams tied for second in the California Collegiate Athletic Association standings, trail conference co-leaders Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State Dominguez Hills by just one game. They’ll welcome Cal Poly Pomona to town Friday night and San Francisco State Saturday.
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Women's Basketball
For much of the season, redshirt freshman Caressa Williams has been sitting at the end of the Chico State women’s basketball team bench, seeing very little on-court action. But the former Paradise High School star continued to work hard on her game, and the extra effort has paid off in recent weeks with significantly more playing time. After a string of short but impressive relief roles, Williams delivered a breakout performance Saturday against Humboldt State, posting career highs in scoring and rebounding in the Wildcats’ 90-67 thumping of Humboldt State. Her strongest effort to date makes Williams the latest Wildcat of the Week.
Williams shot over 58 percent (7-of-12), averaging just under 10 points and five rebounds in Chico State’s two weekend contests. She began the weekend with a solid outing Friday against Sonoma State, contributing five points, two rebounds, one assist and two steals in 16 minutes of action. Saturday, though, she was a major part of the Wildcat reserves combining to score 51 in the team’s convincing 23-point win over Humboldt. Williams played 24 minutes, scoring 14 points and hauling in seven rebounds – both career highs – connecting on five of her seven field goal attempts. She also chipped in with an assist and a steal in addition to shining on the defensive end.
Williams’ productive weekend saw her season scoring average more than double, rising from 1.6 to 3.6 points per game. Overall, she is shooting 50 percent from the field and is averaging two rebounds a contest.
Chico State is back in action this weekend, hosting Cal Poly Pomona Friday and San Francisco State Saturday at Acker Gym. Both games are scheduled to tipoff at 5:30 p.m.
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2.3.12 | Softball
CHICO – With 12 seniors on the roster and coming off back-to-back NCAA Championship Tournament appearances, the Chico State softball team has high expectations for itself as the 2012 season unfolds this Saturday and Sunday in Turlock at the Mizuno Best of the West Invitational. The Wildcats aren’t the only ones anticipating big things – the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) has designated Chico State as the No. 15 team in the country, according to the organization’s Division II preseason poll announced Wednesday.
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1.18.12 | Softball
WALNUT CREEK – The 10 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) softball head coaches hit it right on the head a year ago when they picked Chico State to finish third in the conference in the CCAA’s preseason coaches’ poll. The Wildcats are hoping they are just as accurate for the upcoming 2012 season – Angel Shamblin’s squad has been picked to finish second in the latest CCAA preseason poll, released Wednesday.
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12.22.11 | Softball
CHICO – When you have 11 players leaving your program at once, you’re almost forced to undergo an immediate youth movement. Such is the case with the Chico State softball team, which will lose nearly two-thirds of its roster following the 2012 season. Head Coach Angel Shamblin has already infused the Wildcats with some outstanding young talent for the 2013 season and beyond, with high school standouts Desiree' Gonzalez, Brittanie LaMotte, Devyn Quevedo and Brooke Langeloh the latest batch of recruits to sign their National Letter of Intent to play at Chico State.
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12.13.11 | Softball
CHICO – With no less than 11 seniors on the current roster, the Chico State softball team will have more than a few holes to fill following the upcoming 2012 season. In the spirit of the holidays, Wildcat Head Coach Angel Shamblin has aggressively gone out shopping for new talent, and has wrapped up what she thinks are three winners, as high school standouts Cheyenne Sandoval, Allison Cook and Amanda Cordeiro have signed their National Letter of Intent to join Chico State in 2013.
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12.8.11 | General
While the leaves have been falling in the City of Trees, the citiy's University, Chico State, has been rising toward the top of the list of the nation’s best NCAA Division II athletic programs. The Wildcats finished the fall ranked second in the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup fall standings, released Thursday.
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10.14.11 | Softball
CHICO – The season doesn’t start until February, but the Chico State softball team is not sitting idly by during the fall months. Head Coach Angel Shamblin’s 2012 squad has begun workouts in earnest and will play its first games of the fall Saturday at a tournament in Roseville, but earlier this month the Wildcats briefly put their bats and gloves aside to give back to the community by participating in the annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s in Chico’s Bidwell Park.
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9.21.11 | General
LONG BEACH — Chico State President Paul J. Zingg and Director of Athletics Anita Barker were presented with the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Commissioner’s Cup at the conference’s Presidents/Chancellors Group meetings Wednesday in Long Beach. The Wildcats won the award last spring for their achievements during the 2010-11 academic year.
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