CHICO – Mother Nature was bound and determined not to let Chico State and Simpson University play at Nettleton Stadium this season. Tuesday’s doubleheader between the Wildcats and Red Hawks – a reschedule of the rained out season-opening series back in early February – has been cancelled due to wet weather. This time, however, the games will not be rescheduled.

Chico State and Simpson University played three-and-a-half innings in what was supposed to be the Wildcats season-opening game on February 4, but rain brought a halt to the contest and subsequently washed out the entire four game series. It was rescheduled for March 9, but Simpson would need that date to make up some postponed California Pacific Conference games, and the series was moved again to April 20, but now at this late date neither school has room in its remaining regular season schedule to fit in the rained out games. The Wildcats and Red Hawks will have to be content with a split of their two-game series March 23 at Redding’s Tiger Field.

Chico State will now turn its attention to Western Oregon University, who come to Nettleton Stadium this weekend. While it’s a non-conference series, the four games are critical for both team’s West Region rankings, as the Wildcats and Wolves battle for an NCAA Championship Tournament berth. The series begins with a single game Friday at 6:00 p.m., followed by a Saturday doubleheader at noon and a single game Sunday at noon.