Most baseball coaches spend a lot of time laying awake at night thinking about their lineup. Chico State leadoff hitter Sonny Cortez is helping Head Coach Dave Taylor get a bit more sleep this season. Taylor is certainly not worried about who is going to hit leadoff.
Cortez is hitting .429 through 12 games as the Wildcats' leadoff hitter and reaching base at a .538 clip. The junior transfer from El Camino Community College was even better this weekend as the Wildcats swept a three-game series at Holy Names University, outscoring the Hawks 35-0 in the process.
The Wildcat of the Week had three straight two-hit games, batting .667 (6-for-9) with a double, four runs scored, an RBI, a sacrifice bunt, and two stolen bases. He also walked twice for an on-base percentage of .727.
The center fielder had both of the Wildcats' hits and scored two runs in their series-opening 3-0 win Friday. In Saturday's first game, an 18-0 win, Santos singled and scored in the first, hit an RBI single in the second, drew a walk in the fourth, and laid down a sacrifice bunt in the sixth. In the Wildcats' 14-0 win in the nightcap, Cortez went 2-for-4 with a stolen base (his seventh of the year) and scored his team-leading 14th run.
It's safe to assume that Taylor will be writing Cortez on top of the lineup card this weekend when the Wildcats open conference play by hosting Cal State Monterey Bay for a four-game series beginning Friday at 2 p.m.
