2023 CCAA Softball Tournament
The brackets are set for the always highly-competitive CCAA Softball Tournament. Five of the six teams are regionally ranked this year, and one regionally-ranked CCAA squad did not even make the six-team field.
 
The four-day tournament (May 3-6) will be held at the Toro Diamond on the campus of Cal State Dominguez Hills. The tournament will feature two single-elimination games on Wednesday, with the winners advancing to join the top two teams in a four-team, double-elimination tournament starting on Thursday, May 4. Click here to see the full bracket and schedule
 
Live Coverage
Every game of the 2023 CCAA Softball Championships will be available to stream through CCAAnetwork.com. Coverage can be found at the website or through the CCAA Network app on Roku, Amazon Firestick, Apple TV, and more. All the games will also be free to follow through Live Stats.
 
Tournament History
Sonoma State is the two-time defending CCAA Tournament Champions. The Seawolves' offense was incredible during their 2022 championship run, setting records in almost every category. Sonoma State scored 44 runs in the tournament, topping the previous record of 30. They also set the record for runs in a game (16) and RBI in a tournament (30). Sonoma State is 8-0 in its last two championships and has not lost a CCAA Tournament game since 2016.
 
Last year's championship gave Sonoma State the program's fourth title and tied them with Cal Poly Humboldt for the most in conference history. Among the teams in the tournament, Cal State Monterey Bay has two tournament titles, and Chico has one. Cal State San Marcos, Cal State Dominguez Hills, and Cal State San Bernardino are all looking for their first CCAA banner.
 
#3 Cal State San Marcos vs. #6 Chico State - Wednesday, May 3 at Noon
In a matchup of last year's top two seeds, Cal State San Marcos and Chico State will play seven innings (and maybe more) to see who will move on and who will go home. The Cougars won the season series 3-1 in San Marcos on Feb. 24-25.
 
Cal State San Marcos (27-18 overall) earned the No. 3 seed after going 20-12 with a .625 winning percentage during the regular season. The Cougars have won six of their last seven games coming into the tournament and have not allowed more than three runs in any game during that stretch. Cal State San Marcos' .277 batting average and 20 home runs rank third in the conference. The Cougars also rank fourth in ERA (2.37) and second in opponent batting average (.230).
 
Paige Donnelly leads the team with a .367 batting average, eight home runs, and 34 RBI. She has 27 walks to just 11 strikeouts. Mackenzie Guiliano (.343), Bianca Gutierrez (.322), and Madison Waymire (.306) are also hitting over .300 for the Cougars. Savannah Coyle's 1.76 ERA (sixth CCAA) leads the pitching staff. She is one of three pitchers for CSUSM to record over 70 innings (Zoe Ballen & Jayline Sloss).
 
Chico State (23-24, 16-18 CCAA) earned the final bid to the CCAA Tournament during the last game of the regular season. The Wildcats needed two wins on Saturday and took care of business against another team (Cal State East Bay) fighting for its playoff life. Chico outscored its opponent 17-6 in the doubleheader to lock up the No. 6 seed. This is the seventh consecutive CCAA playoff berth for Chico. The Wildcats are sixth in the conference with a 2.63 ERA and ninth with a .253 team batting average. They rank third with 67 stolen bases and fourth with 11 triples. This season, Chico State is plus-5 in run differential, having surrendered 149 runs and scoring 154. The pitching staff struck out the second-most batters (253) in the conference.
 
Freshman Amelie Valdez leads the team with a 2.22 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. She was a two-time CCAA Pitcher of the Week and recorded four shutouts. Mari Takeda Bajan saved four games, and Katelyn Oldwin leads the team with 108 strikeouts and 121.1 innings. Taylor Berens and Anastacia Alba are tied for the team-lead with a .331 batting average. Grace Stover paces the team with 62 total bases, 14 extra base hits and 28 runs scored. Mia Santos has started just half the games but leads the team with 13 stolen bases and is fifth in runs.
 
#4 Cal State Dominguez Hills vs. #5 Cal State Monterey Bay - Wednesday, May 3 at 2:30 p.m.
One of these teams will be going home after their game on Wednesday. The Toros and Otters will match up in the week's first showdown of regionally ranked teams. Cal State Dominguez Hills was No. 4 in the NCAA's first listing poll of the season (Apr. 24), and CSUMB was in the last spot at No. 10. The two teams met Apr. 14-15 in Carson and split their four-game series. The teams each scored seven runs in the series, and all four games were decided by one run.
 
Cal State Dominguez Hills (30-16, 19-12) is led by its pair of aces in the circle. Alyssa Olague and Ashley Wies helped pitch the Toros to the national championship game last season, and they are back, looking to make another magical postseason run. Olague ranked second in the CCAA with a 1.31 ERA, and Wies was eighth at 1.93. The Toros ranked second in the conference with a 1.92 ERA and gave up a league-low eight home runs. The duo hopes to bring the Toros their first CCAA Tournament Championship on their home diamond.  
 
Jay Ross' .331 batting average and 26 runs scored led the Toros. The newcomer had a team-leading 10-game hitting streak. Raquel Jaime, the Most Outstanding Player in last year's NCAA Championship, reached base safely in 34 consecutive games while hitting .318 with a .474 on-base percentage. Kaylee Hull tied for the conference lead with 10 home runs. She was also sixth in RBI (30).
 
Cal State Monterey Bay (28-24, 19-17) is the No. 5 seed for the second straight season. They are looking for their first conference title since winning as the No. 1 seed in 2015. Last year at home, the Otters made a run to the title game, winning four games in the process.
 
Pitcher Cassie Gasper's 107 strikeouts in conference play were 26 more than second place. The senior finished third with a 1.44 ERA and second with a .203 opponent batting average. Overall, she struck out 161 in 176 innings and went 17-10 on the season. Kassidy Stetler threw 156 innings for the Otters. The sophomore posted a 2.74 ERA and 117 strikeouts.
 
No Otter is hitting .300, but six are hitting between .268 and .297. First baseman Alyssa Burt leads the pack with a .297 average, and her 14 doubles are tied with Ally Alcayaga (.294) for the team lead. Those 14 doubles have the duo tied for second in the conference. Oli Perez is tied for third in the CCAA with eight home runs, and her 30 RBI rank her sixth.
 
Top Seeds
Sonoma State and Cal State San Bernardino each earned first-round byes and get to avoid the single-elimination games after finishing first and second in the standings.
 
Sonoma State earned its first regular-season championship after going 23-8 in conference (34-11 overall). The Seawolves went from opening at No. 25 in the national rankings and climbed into the top 10. SSU put together a 12-game winning streak to open the year at 13-1, and it did not lose back-to-back games until the final two games of the regular season.
 
The Seawolves are the top team in the conference in batting average (.313) and earned run average. SSU pitchers have combined for a 1.55 ERA and a .222 opponent batting average. They have given up just nine home runs and 97 runs in 45 games. Charlie Johnson led the CCAA with a 0.98 ERA, pitching most of her 93.1 innings in relief. Bailee Reed leads the team with 13 wins and a 1.01 WHIP. She posted a 1.56 ERA over a team-best 98.2 innings. Nichole Sarra was the third Sonoma pitcher with an ERA below 2.00. The junior had a 1.87 ERA and four shutouts.
 
Anna Zoia-Buescher led the CCAA with a .486 batting average, 83 points higher than second place (.403). She registered 22 multi-hit games and an on-base streak of 29 straight games. The 2022 CCAA Tournament MVP Jordyn Martinez is a three-time All-CCAA selection as a catcher. She hit .333 this season with 10 doubles and 27 RBI. Giana Hays led the team with 33 RBI. Rylee Nichimoto (.343) and Skylar Linnane (.330) also posted batting averages above .300. Cassidy Romero led the team with five home runs and six triples.
 
Cal State San Bernardino went from being picked No. 8 in the preseason CCAA coaches poll to the No. 2 seed. The Yotes (31-18 overall) tied Sonoma State for the most wins in league play and finished the season winning 11 of its last 13 games. CSUSB ranks fourth in the CCAA in batting average (.276) and fifth in ERA (2.61).
 
Sophomore first baseman Tereise Tosi paced all student-athletes in conference play with eight home runs and 29 RBI. She hit .393 on the season with a .456 on-base percentage and a .673 slugging mark. Hayden Greene ranked ninth with a .346 batting average and seventh with 28 runs scored. Alexis Aguado leads the team with 20 stolen bases and is tied with Tosi for second with 27 runs scored.
 
Updates
Check the CCAA website throughout the tournament for updated results and matchups. All information can be found at GoCCAA.org/SBtourney.