NCAA Championship Game Preview -- Chico State Up Next for Eagles
May 29, 2006

It appears that the Ashland University baseball team is about to be involved in a Wild, Wild West tale.

No Wyatt Earp or Doc Holliday in this story, just the Chico State Wildcats. That’s the team the Eagles play Tuesday night (May 30, 6:30 p.m. Central Time) at the NCAA Division II Baseball Championships in Montgomery, AL.

Both teams will enter the game 1-0 in Alabama. Ashland (47-15) got to this point with a 14-4 win on Sunday against Franklin Pierce. Chico State, located in Chico, CA, used a single by Christopher Sweeney in the bottom of the ninth inning Sunday night to shade Emporia State, 2-1.

The winner of Tuesday night’s game stays in the upper half of the bracket and won’t play again until Thursday. The loser on Tuesday faces an elimination game Wednesday afternoon.

It’s hard to figure out this year’s Chico State club. The Wildcats are 44-20. This is their third consecutive appearance at the Championships and their seventh in 10 seasons. However, a year ago Chico State was 0-2 at the tourney and Sunday’s win broke a five-game losing skid in Montgomery.

This year, the Wildcats opened the season by winning 17 of their first 20 games. They went 16-16 over the next 32, but have regrouped to win 11 of their last 12 games. The Wildcats were fourth during the regular season in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, yet they won the conference tournament. They were the second seed at the Western Regional where they won four of five games.

“It looks to me like they’re a very good defensive team,” said AU head coach John Schaly. “They’re not going to beat themselves. They get good pitching and they play defense.”

That was the formula the Wildcats used against Emporia State. Chico State had just five hits in the victory. Interestingly, the Wildcats didn’t start their No. 1 pitcher against the Hornets. That means the Eagles could end up facing junior Nick Bryant. The righthander is 8-2 with a 2.35 ERA. He’s 5-0 in his last nine starts and in his last four outings, he’s 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA. In that stretch, he has 23 strikeouts and three walks in 21 innings.

The Eagles could also get a look at Ben Buker, a senior righthander who’s 4-1 with a 1.56 ERA in his last five starts. Buker is 8-3 and got the win in relief on Sunday night.

Not going with your top starter in the opener is rarely done, but who’s to argue with Chico State coach Lindsay Meggs? The UCLA grad is 535-227-4. This is his 13th year. He’s led the Wildcats to national titles in 1997 and 1999 and in 2002, Chico advanced to the national title game before its season ended.

“They’re the only team here this year that was here last year,” reminded Schaly. “They have tradition and they have a couple of national championships.”

The Wildcats also have a couple of hot hitters. Outfielder Carl Fairburn, who doubled to start the ninth inning against Emporia State, was the most valuable player at the CCAA Tournament. He’s hit safely in 14 straight games and 21 of his last 22 games. The junior’s hit .341 during that stretch with 20 RBI. Fairburn’s hitting .322 for the season.

West Regional MVP Jerin Harper, a senior infielder, owns a .367 batting average. He has nine homers, 18 doubles and 38 RBI. Outfielder Daniel Code is hitting .351 with eight homers, 21 doubles and a team-best 61 RBI. In the postseason the righthanded hitting junior is hitting .419. Code also has six assists.

It seems as if the Wildcats have gotten stronger as the season’s progressed. In their first 47 games, the ‘Cats had 29 homers. They’ve belted 29 roundtrippers in their last 16 games.

Ashland and Chico State have never met on the diamond.