The Litter Box

It took a substantial amount of restraint to keep from using words like “bloodbath” in my coverage of the Chico State baseball team’s four-game sweep of the Cal State Monterey Bay Otters this weekend. I don’t really get to have an opinion in game stories (or, as sports editor Dave Davies calls them if he’s feeling sassy, “gamers”), but this is my blog, and I can do whatever I want, and right now I want to say that a bloodbath is exactly what it was.

It wasn’t loads of fun to watch — although it was significantly more fun than listening to the other media around me gripe about it — aside from the pitching, which has at least solidified in the rotation. Kyle Gibson was again strong in the fourth starter spot, and Kyle Woodruff got in a couple quality innings. Good for him, good for the Wildcats.

Meanwhile, those poor Otters were so busy running and doing calisthenics after the game that I got No Commented by the freakin’ training staff. The last time that happened was when Western Oregon came into town and got throttled, too.
But, for the third time this year, the Wildcats set a record of some sort, with Cody Dee hitting for the cycle (they’ve also broken the record for most doubles in a game, and Andrew Pluta tossed a one-hitter against Western Oregon, hence the postgame talk-block). So I’ve got that goin’ for me, which is nice.

In related news (and also the game story that resulted in my face peeling as I type), the softball team took three of four from the second-place team in the CCAA, Cal State Dominguez Hills. It was the first time all year the Wildcats had swept a doubleheader, and Jamie Brown was a happy woman.
“OK, now I’m happy,” she said right after the game. Really. You can see my notes if you want.
Her happiness was warranted, because the Wildcat offense came up with clutch hit after clutch hit. Lauren Walker, Chico State’s No. 2 freshman pitcher, was said to have tears in her eyes, I guess, because the poor girl finally got some run support.

Wow. Two “Caddyshack” references in the same entry.

I’m pretty glad to have gotten a chance to see a bunch of this team’s games in the past couple of weeks because now I have some context from all those box scores. It’s a very decent lineup, I think. Chelsea Lundberg, of course, is a bona fide middle-of-the-order bat, and I really like Gwen Cox and Megan Bera in front of her. It’s kind of hard to see how Chico State could be the worst offense in the CCAA.

Posted by Travis Souders at 08:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I’m playing catch-up a little bit with this blog, so no links for you. You’ll just have to take me at my word.

In stark opposition to my recent rash of being SO BUSY (note the all-caps there that signify dramatization) in past weeks that my blog updates have taken a hit, this week is, in one sense of the word, spring break, and I can’t really worry too much about filling this thing up. I don’t get the week off work, by any means, but I do get a break from classes, and I very much so need to not be spending that time doing work-related stuff.

So, while I’m at work, it seems like an appropriate time to recap some of the Chico State happenings of this past week. Maybe I would have taken care of this earlier, but our paper’s redesign and the prospect of green beer got in the way.

I like beer.

I have some breathing room now, though, so quick hits on Wildcat paraphernalia:

— For the first time in three years, the West was not won. By Chico State, anyway. The women’s basketball team bowed out of the West Regional in a loss to Alaska Anchorage, which in terms of seeding was an upset. I don’t buy it completely, though. This was the No. 9 team in the country that had a 3 seed in the regional because 1) Seattle Pacific had an undefeated season and was unanimously the No. 1 seed and 2) Chico State outright won its conference and had been playing very hot basketball.

Unfortunately, the loss to AK-Anch didn’t really prove which team was better. Maybe if Audriana Spencer, Chico State’s best player, was playing, it might have. Or if Jade Smith-Williams hadn’t fouled out with 15 minutes left to play, it might have. I still have a feeling the Seawolves were the better squad, though, given that they’d played Seattle Pacific tough in their regular-season meetings and then beat them by six in the regional final — that actually is an upset.

By the way, Old Cranky Guy that called on Tuesday to ream us for not getting that regional final in our paper: If you haven’t noticed, our paper has shrunk significantly. This doesn’t help the fact that we are a local paper; a game between SEATTLE Pacific and ALASKA Anchorage is not exactly local. But, because I somewhat like old people — they usually smell like cheap bar soap and tobacco smoke — and I identify with crankiness today, I will appease you here, as my blog is not as time-sensitive as our daily paper. Alaska Anchorage won that game 50-44.

— Golfers, men and women alike, faring much better than the start of the spring season. Good for them. This men’s squad intrigues me just about as much as any golf team can, which isn’t anything against the program, but the sport in general. I’m always impressed by people doing things I can’t do, so golf is kind of a two-fold respect-earner from me: I don’t have the patience to play it, and so I can’t. Regardless of my feelings about it, the Wildcats are a competitive bunch, even without top player Art Golden III (which is the kind of name you would expect to see looking at a golf leaderboard).

— I like Phoenix, mostly because I did some of my growing up there. I usually feel pretty good that something positive will happen if Phoenix is involved with my life in some way. You need to go to Phoenix (or Scottsdale, which is even better) and go night swimming during the height of monsoon season, then try and get inside as fast as you can before your feet become covered in crickets (you won’t get inside fast enough, just a warning).
My main point was that Arizona is dear to me.

The Wildcat baseball team can identify with that, I would hope, after a four-game sweep of Grand Canyon, the former CCAA doormat that still plays like it. Chico State combined for 33 runs over the series on 52 hits, while Cody Dee and Shane Farmer started to heat up (Arizona heat pun not intended).

Dee has been very good this season, but then again, so has the Chico State offense in general. I don’t feel like my last post about the Wildcats’ pitching was necessarily negative, but any time you try to analyze pitching, somehow someone always gets their feelings hurt. So it’s just easier for now to say that Chico State is hitting the ball well.
Sidenote: The air in Phoenix is significantly thinner and drier than it is here in Chico. We’ll see if the hot bats continue against Cal State Monterey Bay starting Thursday.

Another sidenote: Assuming none of them get rained out, I have been tentatively scheduled to jump in for a couple innings of Mike Baca’s broadcasts Thursday night and Saturday afternoon.

Posted by Travis Souders at 05:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Closing out games has been difficult for the Chico State baseball team lately, something the Wildcats hope will change Friday as they begin a series in Phoenix against Grand Canyon. It should be a good chance for Chico State to figure some late-game issues out in a nonconference setting.

The road trip to Turlock was especially tough, with Cal State Stanislaus getting three wins in four games, all in the Warriors’ final at-bats of those wins.

So far, Chico State has had some bullpen problems (aside from Kyle Gibson, who looks like he’s going to edge out Dylan Gaughen for the closer spot if he hasn’t already). Wildcat relievers together have a 4.32 ERA, and that comes with some fluctuations.

For one, Kyle Woodruff’s job as a starter might be in jeopardy from what we’ve seen. The right-hander has struggled so far with a 7.43 ERA, and his last two starts have been atrocious (4 2/3 innings, six hits, four earned against the Warriors on March 9; four innings, 11 hits, nine earned a week earlier against San Francisco State). Who knows why the Wildcats’ most veteran pitcher is off track? He’s not really walking guys. He just seems ... hittable.

The most confounding thing of all is when you compare his numbers to those of Chico State's best pitcher thus far, Pete Mickartz. These numbers are so similar it's hard to figure how Mickartz is 5-1 with a 1.96 ERA in six starts, while Woodruff is 0-1 (it's not difference in run support, evidenced by the fact that Woodruff hasn't taken a loss since Feb. 8). Woodruff has walked just four batters to Mickartz' six. The extra-base hits are comparable (14 off Woodruff, 10 off Mickartz). The wild pitches are the same, and Mickartz has actually hit more batters. What it likely signifies — and the 31-21 strikeout margin in favor of Mickartz will support this — is that while Mickartz might be getting into the same kind of trouble Woodruff is, he's getting himself out of it. Coach Dave Taylor said Woodruff's biggest factor is confidence; maybe we're seeing that idea manifest here.

Regardless, if not for the bullpen efforts of Gibson and Joel Garcia, the numbers get uglier after the starters come out. Without those guys, the bullpen ERA jumps to 7.36.

However, even with them, this stat jumps off the page: Chico State has won just one game in which it didn’t have the lead after six innings. The Wildcats are 13-7 overall, with a 12-1 record when they’re up heading into the seventh. If they’re tied or trailing, though, it’s a 1-6 mark.

Interestingly enough about that sixth inning is that no other frame matches the production Chico State manages. The 27 total runs is its best-scoring inning; the next closest is the third at 25 and then the first and 21. Pretty easy to figure that it’s usually the 1-through-5 hitters coming up to hit in those innings, but still. It’s neat stuff.

Posted by Travis Souders at 05:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

If I were to fill out a bracket, I would pick No. 2 Chico State over its pairing partner, No. 7 Northwest Nazarene. Still, I’m not saying it will be a blowout by any means, nor am I guaranteeing the Wildcats will win.
Why? Here’s some things about the Crusaders you should know before you place any Division II bets of your own:

Upset threats.
And not just little ones. During the regular season, Northwest Nazarene was the closest any team got to knocking off West Region No. 1 Seattle Pacific, whom you might have heard hasn’t lost in 60 million years. Or this season. Regardless, a one-point loss on Feb. 2 was the slimmest margin the Falcons held over anybody, and it was matched by No. 3 Alaska Anchorage, the team that I keep hearing is the sexy pick in the region to bump off both Chico State and Seattle Pacific.
It’s worth noting that the Seawolves (sigh) also were close to dropping one to Northwest Nazarene, falling by two in January. So, in case you can’t tell yet, this Crusaders squad is a good team. But you already knew that. It’s the NCAA Division II Tournament.

A host of posts.
A trio of large women make up the heartbeat of this team, with Jennifer Williams (6-foot-2), Nichole Schutte (6 feet) and Kristin Hein (5-11) doing the bulk of the scoring and rebounding for the Crusaders. Sure, their numbers (12.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg; 11.5, 6.1; 9.7, 7.6, respectively) might come in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, which — save for SPU and Anchorage — is probably the weaker of the two conferences in the West Region (Don’t believe me? No. 8 St. Martin’s, of the GNAC, is the second-weakest team record-wise in the entire 64-team bracket, and the California Collegiate Athletic Association's Humboldt State was an at-large possibility to sneak in instead).
But if there’s one place the Wildcats are mismatched, it’s in size. We’ll have to see if a quicker tempo that uses the speed of Jade Smith-Williams and Natasha Smith is implemented to negate some of that half-court gigantism.

The Crusaders scored more points per game than any team in the region but was also the second-worst team in terms of defensive shooting percentage. Long story short: The Regional opener has the potential to be a shootout.

Now, the smooth segue to golf.

While I won’t ever call golf a team sport, even if team scores are kept, the Wildcat men showed that there is no “I” in “Wildcats’ men’s golf.” Oh, wait. OK, there’s no “me.” Well, you know what I mean.
What I’m getting at is that Lucas Delgado finished in a tie for second place with a great three rounds of golf, but his teammates didn’t fare so well in the Southern California Intercollegiate in San Juan Capistrano. Chico State finished seventh.
It’s been a fairly rough go in the spring for the Wildcats after a very solid fall that saw Chico State finish every tournament at fifth place or better.

Posted by Travis Souders at 07:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So, the "reportedly" I put in my last entry looms pretty large right about now.

The Enterprise-Record's sister paper, The San Bernardino County Sun, apparently jumped the gun last night in declaring Audi Spencer's left ACL torn. Though Spencer is still on crutches and her knee is definitely injured, the severity of that injury hasn't been confirmed, according to Chico State athletic director Anita Barker, who is in San Bernardino for the Wildcats' game today for the CCAA Championship Tournament.

Spencer has been evaluated by both Chico State's and Cal State San Bernardino's training staffs, but there has been no diagnosis -- especially for something as serious as an ACL tear. That diagnosis won't happen until Spencer gets back to Chico, if indeed her ACL is torn. Michelle Gardner of the Sun reported otherwise from as-of-yet-unnamed sources; here is the verbiage from her story:

"For Chico the win was overshadowed by the loss of leading scorer Audriana Spencer, who went down with a torn ACL with 3:56 left in the first half. She raced down court for a fast-break layup and came down awkwardly on her left knee."

The more I think about this, the angrier I get, because it makes the E-R look bad here in Chico. In San Bernardino, nobody cares about Chico State players, but when the story -- which we all assumed would have been factually correct, if not properly reported -- gets back here, it makes it look like it's our blunder because we're reporting the information we're given.

It may very well be absolutely true that Spencer did indeed tear her ACL, but as of right now, there has been no examination that would warrant that diagnosis, Barker said. I've made a call to the Sun to see where Gardner got her information; we'll see if I hear back today.

Posted by Travis Souders at 01:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I feel sick to my stomach.

I'm not trying to be cute or anything by saying this, because while the Chico State women's basketball team's win over Cal Poly Pomona advances the Wildcats to within one win of an automatic NCAA tournament bid, it cost them Audriana Spencer, who reportedly tore her ACL.

Let's forget for a second how profound Spencer's four-year impact has been on Chico State, and how damaging it is in terms of the basketball to come over the next few weeks.

Remember Senior Night at Acker Gym? Remember when Spencer was wiping the tears from her eyes with her jersey, wraught with emotion because of the what the program has meant to her — and vice versa — since she suited up more than 100 wins ago?

That's why it kills me to see something like this happen. Maybe it's that I worked with her on a fairly frequent basis this semester and saw how intense she was about Chico State basketball. I do acknowledge that the Wildcats will be in trouble without her playing, but I feel worse for Spencer, to be honest. She is the senior heart and soul of that team, and either her loss is going to hinder the Wildcats, or at best, she won't have a hand in helping them advance.

Not all the news can be good, I guess. That doesn't mean I have to like it.

Posted by Travis Souders at 08:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Unless MediaNews Group and the Chico Enterprise-Record are going to pony up and ship me to Seattle (Ha ha! HA! HA HAHAHA!), Tuesday was the last I’ll see of Chico State basketball until at least next winter. And I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a little weird and disappointing.

If you would have asked me three weeks ago, my answer might have been different, because there was something routine about covering the doubleheaders. I can work just fine in a habitat of habit, but I really would rather see some curveballs every now and then to shake up some of the monotony.

Adrenaline is nectar for my soul.

And lately, the Wildcats had provided soul-nectar. The women’s team threw in a few wrinkles — like, say, finishing up the so-far-second-best season in the program’s history in bludgeoning fashion, racking up accolades and providing a wealth of big home wins that led to an undefeated year at Acker Gym.
Shoot, even the national anthem got a shake-up, with Christine Vest doing a beautiful job against Cal State Dominguez Hills in the regular-season finale.

The men’s team even showed some dash, winning Puck Smith’s final game as a coach and keeping us reporting types on our toes trying to break his big news. The potential stress and subsequent conquering of it was so good that I could have burned down a cigarette right there on press row. It’s not to say that Smith’s announcement wasn’t poignant or to cheapen the significance of it, because he was one of the most respectful and professional interviews I had the pleasure of working with. But the thrill of the story, first and foremost, is what makes me like this as-of-now low-paying career choice of mine. It sounds cliché, but so does “We’ve got to play all 40 minutes,” and Smith proved that one true.

So now that I can (presumably) no longer have first-person perspective on Wildcat basketball, we’ll see how the women fare as they head into the end of the CCAA tournament and, they hope, deep into the NCAA bracket. If you’re in Chico, you can join Chico State upstairs at The Bear on Sunday starting at 6 p.m. for the selection show. If you have to ask what The Bear is, you’ll never know.

Comparing a probability (me being there on Sunday) to a relatively in-flux situation, what will we see in terms of Renee Goldoff and Cory Edwards getting into these games? Goldoff’s ankle is still sore, and Edwards said before Tuesday’s game that her back is killing her. The loss of those two could severely hamper Chico State when the West Regional rolls around, even if the Wildcats could survive the CCAA tourney with the rotation of Vest, Amanda Monteith and basically any other able body that can rebound. Edwards and Goldoff combine for 14.76 points and 11 rebounds on average, and that’s significant play being subtracted when you consider it’s coming from the post.

Other than that, it’s really just wait and see if Chico State can keep doing what it’s been doing with Audi Spencer and Jade Smith-Williams, both First-Team All-CCAA picks, leading the way. If both are hot, the Wildcats are a very tough team to contend with on the perimeter, regardless of what the interior is doing, because Smith-Williams is so adept at forcing the middle to collapse.

Posted by Travis Souders at 06:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I asked these questions before the women's game tonight, and I had promised to give you answers. Because I'm a man of my word, behold my responses to my own questions (how full of myself am I?) and limited HTML coding skills:

Q:
—Can the Wildcat women's basketball team beat the same team for the third straight time in a season, including a second straight matchup against Cal State Dominguez Hills?

A: The answer is, quite clearly, yes. Chico State has shown it can beat anybody, at least at home. The real question now is can the Wildcats beat good teams on the road? It won't have to play Cal State San Bernardino, at least not until the West Regional, but Sonoma State already has a win over Chico State away from Acker Gym.

Q:
—Will Renee Goldoff and Cory Edwards be healthy and ready to contribute? Their presences in the post will undoubtedly be missed come West Regional time if they're not available.

A: Well, they're not healthy. Goldoff said she can move around on the ankle and was held out as a precaution, but also admitted soreness after the Wildcats' shootaround. And Edwards, whose injury could be potentially more severe than just soreness — you don't mess around with the back — didn't even dress. The good news is that Chico State seemed to compensate against one of the bigger CCAA teams.

Q:
—And, perhaps most importantly, can I resist the urge to spend the rare cash in my wallet on hot dogs and nachos?

A: No, I couldn't. I bought a hot dog, and would have gotten a diet Pepsi, too, if I had an extra quarter.

Posted by Travis Souders at 10:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Game-time in one hour, nine minutes.
Very quickly, as I'm about to step out of the office and head to Acker Gym, I will give a quick thanks to and recommendation for Mike Baca and ESPN Radio, Sportsfan 101.7 FM and KPAY 1290.

Things I'll be watching for tonight, and questions without answers — until after the game:

—Can the Wildcat women's basketball team beat the same team for the third straight time in a season, including a second straight matchup against Cal State Dominguez Hills?

—Will Renee Goldoff and Cory Edwards be healthy and ready to contribute? Their presences in the post will undoubtedly be missed come West Regional time if they're not available.

—And, perhaps most importantly, can I resist the urge to spend the rare cash in my wallet on hot dogs and nachos?

Only time, my friends, will tell.

Posted by Travis Souders at 10:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Busy week in Chico State athletics, as we saw the Wildcats gain a coach and, two days later, lose a coach. We saw the women's basketball team earn the California Collegiate Athletic Association title, while we saw the men earn some respect.
It was a rough one for the men's golf team at the Poor Boy Invitational, as the Wildcats finished sixth in Bakersfield, and the softball team had split its play this week.
Meanwhile, nothing the No. 19 baseball team did was left alone by the weather, with its series late last week being shuffled around by rainouts and light malfunctions; its set with San Francisco State was a wind-aided home run-fest.
Don't let us forget, either, about the four-way invitational for track and field (even though it wasn't team-scored). Several Wildcats earned NCAA provisional qualifying marks.
And, this just in, the women's golf team is in fifth place out of 18 teams at the St. Edwards Invitational in Austin, Texas after one round.
Quite obviously, I didn't cover it all, and honestly I wish I could have. There's a lot to be intrigued about with many of these programs' storylines, particularly the baseball team and its apparent hustler offense. Remember that early-season "pitching and defense" stuff? All of a sudden the Wildcats are scoring 7.6 runs a game. The pitching has been good, to be sure, but other than the exceptional season start for Pete Mickartz, it hasn't been carry-the-club-on-its-own good. Chico State's winning with offense, and while it's not for the purists, it's hard to argue with the recent results.

Posted by Travis Souders at 03:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)