Published 2006-05-02T00:00:00Z”/>

Jonathan Raber

The race for the top spot in the California Collegiate Athletic Association baseball standings looks like it is going to be a photo finish. With the conference championships next week, there are seven teams still looking to sneak into first place.

Chico State is one of the seven, but after sitting on top of the standings for the majority of the season, the Wildcats split their four-game weekend road series against Cal State San Bernardino, dropping Chico State to fourth place.

At 33-18 overall and 17-12 in conference, the Wildcats are currently behind first place Cal State L.A., Cal State Dominguez Hills and UC San Diego.

Chico State split its doubleheader Friday with the Coyotes, winning 11-4 before getting shut out 6-0.

Behind one of the best all-around efforts of the season in game one, Chico State combined superb pitching from starter Nick Bryant with explosive hitting.

Bryant (7-2) pitched a complete game, allowing four runs on nine hits while striking out six. The Wildcats pounded out 17 hits, including home runs by Carl Fairburn, Jerin Harper, Daniel Code and Aaron Demuth.

But the offensive attack, which came so easy in the opener, disappeared as San Bernardino came back in the nightcap and completely immobilized its opponents’ bats.

Coyotes starter Douglas Brandt pitched a complete game, giving up six hits and no runs.

Chico State starter Billy Spottiswood (7-6) got touched up for five runs on six hits in only three innings of work.

The Wildcats weren’t able to take advantage of scoring opportunities, as the team stranded 10 men on base.

The teams headed back onto the field Saturday to finish the series with a doubleheader. Chico State’s bats were still asleep in an opening game 5-4 loss, but got kick started again in the 14-3 game two victory.

Game one was dominated by Coyotes’ pitching, as starter Michael Rocco silenced the Wildcats with a three-hit, 10-strikeout performance.

Chico State starter Ben Buker (4-3) kept his team in the game, pitching 6 1-3 innings and allowing only three runs on eight hits.

Demuth hit a solo home run, while three others had RBIs to supply the Wildcats offensive output.

The Wildcats finally got their groove back in the series finale, jumping on the Coyotes once again with the long ball. Christopher Sweeney hit two home runs, while Fairburn, Harper, Demuth and Robby Scott each hit one. The Wildcats have hit 12 home runs in the past four games.

Chico State finishes up its regular season this weekend at Cal State Stanislaus for a four-game series.

The CCAA conference championship is scheduled for May 11-13. The first team to clinch a playoff spot that has an eligible field will host the championship.

Jonathan Raber can be reached at

<a href= “mailto:[email protected]”>[email protected]</a>