Chico State’s baseball team is as dominant as they come. With a conference record of 20-1 and an overall record of 27-5, the ’Cats are on course to eclipse their 2016 record with no problem.

One of the most impressive parts is the dominance the team has executed in their games. In the 27 wins the team has this year, only five of them have been single run victories. The team has never been shutout as it has been scoring at least a run in every game this year.

After an eighth place finish in 2015 and a third place finish in 2016, head coach Dave Taylor has the Chico State baseball team positioned in first place halfway through the season, despite losing approximately half it’s roster with 17 players.

The coaching staff recruited a variety of players, many of them being community college transfers. These players have helped the team immeasurably and are one of the main reasons why Chico State baseball is the top team in the nation.

Junior pitchers Cam Greenough and Jae Wagner are contributing early and often on the mound as infielder Casey Henderson helps the team on offense. Greenough, Wagner and Henderson has transferred into Chico State this year.

Credit has to go to Taylor and his staff who have done a tremendous job with their recruiting and continually improving the team even after large turnovers.

While the team has not have been at the top of the standings the last couple years, Taylor, who has been head coach of the baseball program for 11 years, has led the Wildcats to over 300 wins. The baseball team is currently ranked number one in the conference and is showing no signs of slowing down after their recent three-game sweep of Cal State San Marcos where they scored an impressive 37 runs over three games.

The Wildcats will be looking to secure the top spot in the California Collegiate Athletic Association post-season tournament over the next couple weeks and hope to bring an NCAA championship back to Chico State.

Marc Wilson can be reached at [email protected] or @theorion_sports on Twitter.