CCAA Baseball Tournament preview

May 10, 2016

Tourney Time
The first year of divisional play in baseball resulted in two tight races for CCAA Tournament berths, with several teams not determined until the final weekend…the final seeds:

#1   Cal Poly Pomona
#2   Cal State East Bay
#3   Cal State Monterey Bay
#4   UC San Diego
#5   Cal State San Bernardino
#6   Chico State

The top three teams in each division advanced to the Tournament, to be held at Banner Island Ballpark in Stockton from May 11-14…for the first time, the Tournament will feature six teams, after 17 years (since 1999) of a four-team field…rather than first-round games match the first-place team in one division against the third-place team in the other division, while the two second-place teams will also square off…the only tie among the participating teams was between Cal State East Bay and Cal State Monterey Bay for first place in the North Division; the Pioneers won the tie-breaker and earned the #2 seed thanks to their 3-1 record against the Otters…the schedule for the first two days:

Wed., May 11
Game 1: #6 Chico State vs. #1 Cal Poly Pomona, 11:00 a.m.
Game 2: #5 Cal State San Bernardino vs. #2 Cal State East Bay, 3:00 p.m.
Game 3: #4 UC San Diego vs. #3 Cal State Monterey Bay, 7:00 p.m.

Thu., May 12
Game 4: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 11:00 a.m.
Game 5: Winner Game 1 vs. Loser Game 3, 3:00 p.m.
Game 6: Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3, 7:00 p.m.

The remainder of the Tournament schedule is determined by the outcomes of May 12 and beyond, and there are three possible brackets…the Tournament winner will claim the CCAA’s automatic qualification for the NCAA Division II Baseball Championship.

Out of our league
CCAA teams posted a 75-39 (.658) record against non-CCAA teams…the CCAA is 43-29 (.597) against the Pac West…the team-by-team breakdown:

	All games			vs. Pac West		vs. GNAC
	W	L	PCT	W	L	W	L
Cal State Monterey Bay	8	0	1.000	8	0	0	0
UC San Diego	8	1	.889	3	1	0	0
Chico State	10	2	.833	7	2	0	0
Cal State East Bay	9	2	.818	7	0	2	2
Stanislaus State	8	2	.800	3	2	0	0
Cal Poly Pomona	7	2	.778	4	2	0	0
Cal State San Marcos	8	4	.667	2	2	0	0
San Francisco State	7	4	.636	6	4	0	0
Cal State Dominguez Hills	6	5	.545	0	3	0	1
Sonoma State	2	5	.286	2	4	0	0
Cal State San Bernardino	1	4	.200	0	4	0	0
Cal State LA	1	8	.111	1	5	0	0

In the polls
A summary of the CCAA’s placement in the various polls:

	NCBWA 5/20/2016		Collegiate Baseball 5/9/2016	D2 Baseball News 5/3/2016		NCAA 5/4/2016
Team	Regional	National	National	National	Regional	Regional
UC San Diego	8	—	—	27
Cal State Monterey Bay	5	—	—	22	3	3
Chico State	7	—	—		5	5
Cal Poly Pomona	3	21	25	14	4	4
Cal State East Bay	4	ARV	—	—	8	8

North vs. South
There were 36 series and 108 games scheduled between north and south teams in 2016…seven games were canceled due to inclement weather…with interdivisional play complete, the North held a 53-48 (.525) edge, and a 17-16-3 record in series…the details:

North	vs. South	Pct.	Series (W-L-T)
CHI	11-7	.611	3-3-0
EB	10-7	.588	5-1-0
MB	9-8	.529	2-3-1
SON	9-8	.529	3-2-1
SF	7-9	.438	2-4-0
STAN	7-9	.438	2-3-1
Totals	53-48	.525	17-16-3

South	vs. North	Pct.	Series (W-L-T)
POM	11-6	.647	4-1-1
DH	10-8	.556	4-2-0
SB	9-8	.529	3-2-1
SD	8-9	.471	2-3-1
SM	7-9	.438	2-4-0
LA	3-13	.188	1-5-0
Totals	48-53	.475	16-17-3

Weekly honors
Chico State’s Hunter Hayworth hurled a six-hit shutout as the Wildcats clinched a CCAA Post-Season Tournament berth with a 6-0 win at Stanislaus State last Saturday…the sophomore from Hollister stuck out six and walked just two in seven innings of work to win the Pitcher of the Week award.

The CCAA Player of the Week is Cal State East Bay’s Rudy Navarro…a senior from Corcoran, Navarro led the Pioneers offensively in a 3-1 series victory over Cal State Monterey Bay to clinch a tie for first place for the Pioneers in the CCAA North standings and the program's first-ever post-season berth…in five games, Navarro hit .500 (9-for-18) with a double, two walks, and two RBI with three multi-hit games, including a three-for-three performance in the series finale victory.

Head-to-head
Here’s how the six Tournament teams fared against each other during the regular season:

	vs. POM	vs. SD	vs. SB	vs. EB	vs. MB	vs. CHI	Totals
POM	—	1-3	4-0	3-0	2-1	2-1	12-5
SD	3-1	—	4-0	1-2	1-2	0-3	9-8
SB	0-4	0-4	—	1-2	1-1	2-1	4-12
EB	0-3	2-1	2-1	—	3-1	2-2	9-8
MB	1-2	2-1	1-1	1-3	—	2-2	7-9
CHI	1-2	3-0	1-2	2-2	2-2	—	9-8

In the Tournament
There have been four different champions in four years…Cal Poly Pomona is the defending champion, after winning its first crown in 2015…UC San Diego leads all teams with six titles, including four in a row from 2009-2012…the annual champions:

1999—Sonoma State
2000—Chico State
2001—Sonoma State
2002—Cal State San Bernardino
2003—Sonoma State
2004—Chico State
2005—UC San Diego
2006—Chico State
2007—Sonoma State
2008—Sonoma State
2009—UC San Diego
2010—UC San Diego
2011—UC San Diego
2012—UC San Diego
2013—Cal State LA
2014—UC San Diego
2015—Cal Poly Pomona

Head-to-head in the Tournament
Here’s the breakdown for all teams in the 2016 event against each other in the Tournament:

	vs. POM	vs. SD	vs. SB	vs. EB	vs. MB	vs. CHI	Totals
POM	—	3-4	0-1	0-0	0-0	2-4	5-9
SD	4-3	—	1-0	0-0	1-0	8-3	14-6
SB	1-0	0-1	—	0-0	0-0	2-5	3-6
EB	0-0	0-0	0-0	—	0-0	0-0	0-0
MB	0-0	0-1	0-0	0-0	—	1-0	1-1
CHI	4-2	3-8	5-2	0-0	0-1	—	12-13

All-time Tournament records
Chico State leads all teams with 15 Tournament appearances and is tied with Sonoma State with 26 all-time wins…UC San Diego has the best winning percentage (.632)…here’s the breakdown for all teams in the 2016 event that dates back 17 years:

Team	App	W-L	PCT	Titles
SD	11	24-14	.632	6: 2014, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2005
POM	6	11-10	.524	1: 2015
CHI	15	26-25	.510	3: 2006, 2004, 2000
SB	6	6-11	.353	1: 2002
MB	2	1-4	.200
EB	0	0-0	—

Quick looks

#1 Cal Poly Pomona (34-15 overall; 26-11, 1st South)
Seventh Tournament appearance and third straight…defending champion after going 3-0 last year, second straight year that the champion was undefeated (2014, UC San Diego)…won South Division by six games…was in first place the last six weeks of the regular season…best record (12-5) against the rest of the field…pitching, pitching and more pitching…the Broncos lead the league ERA (3.38) and are second in shutouts (8) behind Chico State (9)…CCAA Pitcher of the Year Michael Koval leads the CCAA in ERA (1.89) and is 8-2 with a WHIP of 1.00…he’s allowed 58 hits—54 singles and four doubles…other starters are Max Bethell (8-4, 2.74) and Peter Bayer (1-2, 5.44)…Ryan Alsworth is the closer (5-2, 2.40 ERA, 6 saves, 59 strikeouts, 56 1/3 innings)…staff leads CCAA in opponents’ batting average (.237); top individuals: Koval (.210), Alsworth (.206), Bethell (.215), Bayer (.204)…well balanced offense with .310 team batting average, power (29 homers), and speed (65 steals)…infielder Chris Stratton leads the CCAA in on-base percentage (.492); he hit .402 with 21 steals…two other .400 hitters: Daniel Pitts (.402) and Jason Padio (.400)…DH Caleb Romo leads the team in homers (7) while batting .352…Pitts (.617) and Romo (.615) are 1-2 in slugging percentage in the CCAA…Jared James tops the team with 34 RBIs with six homers, 40 runs, and a .309 average.

#2 Cal State East Bay (30-18 overall; 21-16, 1st-tie North)
First CCAA Tournament appearance…made steady climb toward first place starting in early April, going 15-7 over their last 22 games…hit .316 as a team to lead the league…averaged 6.5 runs per game despite hitting just 11 homers… Conference-low 176 strikeouts…CCAA Player of the Year Rudy Navarro leads the CCAA in batting (.419), adds 16 doubles, has an on-base percentage of .472, and leads the team with 38 RBIs…other top hitters include Raymond Jones (.361), Zack Perugi (.339), and Troy Resch (.327, 12 doubles, 3 homers, 34 RBIs)…Jacob Call (4-1, 3.15) and Alex Vesia (6-4, 2.70) are the top two starting pitchers…Derek Oetken has a 3-1 mark and 7 saves in just 16 appearances.

#3 Cal State Monterey Bay (32-17 overall; 21-16, 1st-tie North)
Third Tournament appearance in four years…solid 18-11 record away from home…lots of offense…team slugging percentage of .433 topped the CCAA (2nd was Cal Poly Pomona at .431)…100 doubles, 10 triples, and 45 home runes…the homers total was 16 more than second-place Cal Poly Pomona…All-CCAA catcher Hayden Duer clubbed 11 and firstbaseman Kevin Davidson slammed 10 (to go with a CCAA-high 17 doubles); they are the only players in the league to reach double-figures so far this year…Bryan Bostjancic ignites the offense with his team-high .349 average and 12 steals in 14 tries…Gabe Katich (5-2, 2.27, 0.97 WHIP) leads the starting pitching staff…Kyle Narahara has eight saves, a 2.37 ERA, and 27 strikeouts in 19 innings.

#4 UC San Diego (30-19 overall; 20-17, 2nd South)
12th Tournament appearance…Tritons have won the event five times in the last seven years, including 2014, the last time the event was held at Banner Island Ballpark…team had a grip on second place in the South over the last six weeks of the season…second in the CCAA with a team ERA of 3.63…freshmen have borne the bulk of the load on the hill…Kyle Mora (4-0, 2.37), Tim Nelson (7-1, 3.77), Cameron Kurz (1-1, 3.79, 5 saves), Preston Mott (2-3, 3.49), Jonah DiPoto (2-2,, 3.58), Brent Bell (2-0, 3.75), and Kyle Lucke (3-2, 3.29) have all played significant roles…all-CCAA outfielder Jack Larsen is the team’s lone .300 hitter (.320) and tops the squad with 10 doubles, 4 homers and is tied for the lead with 32 runs…Tyler Plantier leads the Tritons with 34 RBIs…Tim White is hitting .393 in his last eight games with seven of his 13 RBIs.

#5 Cal State San Bernardino (22-27 overall; 17-20, 3rd South)
First Tournament appearance since 2012 (0-2)…last Tournament win was in 2002, when the Coyotes went 3-1 to win the event in Chico, knocking off UC Davis twice on the final day to win their only Tournament title…since then they’ve gone 0-8…only team in the field with a rookie head coach, Dave Martinez…split their last 10 games…4-4 against north teams in the field, but 0-8 against the two South teams…All-CCAA pitcher Tyler Wells has been the team’s workhorse on the mound: 4-6 with a 2.28 ERA and CCAA-leading 88 strikeouts in 86 2/3 innings pitched…in his 14 starts, he’s averaged a little over six innings…Don Sullivan is 5-5 with a 5.20 ERA in 14 games…team ERA is 6.01…Yotes average 4.67 runs per game and lost many games by wide margins, but managed to win close games, going 8-2 in one-run contests…Brian Lockey (.256, 30 RBIs) and Andrew Lopez (.248, 23 RBIs) are the prime run producers…Ryan Rich leads the team with his .308 average…tied with UC San Diego with a .970 team fielding percentage.

#6 Chico State (31-19 overall; 21-17, 3rd North)
16th CCAA Tournament appearance, a figure which leads all teams…26-25 record and titles in 2006, 2004, and 2000…next Tournament win will snap a tie with Sonoma State and make the Wildcats the leader in that department…maybe the top offensive team in the league, averaging 7.14 runs per game while hitting .314 and a CCAA-high .400 on-base percentage…scored in double-digits 12 times in 50 games…all-CCAA first baseman Ben Gamba leads the Conference with 58 RBIs and tops the squad with his .369 batting average, .505 slugging percentage, and 13 doubles…team ERA is slightly under 4.00 (3.96)…CCAA Newcomer of the Year Sonny Cortez does a little bit of everything, hitting .363 (.463 on-base) with a CCAA-leading 62 runs and 17 steals in 21 tries…other top hitters include Jerrett Maas (.340), Dillon Kelley (.335, 35 RBIs), and Cameron Santos (.324, 37 RBIs, 22 extra-base hits)…on the hill, Clayton Gelfand earned all-CCAA honors for his 8-5 log to go with a 2.45 ERA…Gelfand has had a hand in five of the team’s CCAA-high nine shutouts this year…Dalton Erb has a 6-3 mark and 3.68 ERA, and Hunter Haworth is 4-0 with a 4.08 ERA.