CHICO, Calif. – Western Oregon’s Ben Shivers and Jared Neyers did their best pitching with their backs against the wall to lift the Wolves to a 5-3 victory over host Chico State Friday afternoon at Nettleton Stadium. Western Oregon had lost 14 straight and 26 of 27 against the Wildcats in Chico.
Shivers (1-0) allowed eight hits and walked three in seven innings of work to earn the win as 26th-ranked Western Oregon improved to 4-3. Neyers scattered four hits and a walk over the final two innings to collect his second save of the season.
Chico State, ranked No. 14 in the nation, fell to 3-1 with its first loss of the season. The Wildcats stranded 11 runners, including eight in scoring position. They were 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position, and only 1-for-7 in that situation with two outs.
Kyle Woodruff (1-1) took the loss for Chico State. The senior allowed four runs, three of them earned, in 5.1 innings of work. He gave up six hits and a walk, and struck out three.
Jordan Brandt gave up on unearned run on three walks in 1.2 innings, and Drew Dowl pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth.
Tyler Moore went 3-for-4 to lead Western Oregon’s offense. Tyson Nelson was 1-for-3 with a pair of RBI. Cesar Lopez was 2-for-2 and scored twice.
Bret Ringer and Phil Boscarino went 3-for-4 to lead the Wildcats. Josh Meagher was 2-for-5.
The teams will wrap up their four-game series with a doubleheader Saturday at 11 a.m.
Ringer’s two-run double off the left-field wall staked Chico State to a 2-0 lead, but the Wildcats did not score again until the ninth.
The Wolves tied the game in the second on Nelson’s two-run single, and then took a 3-2 lead in the third when Dylan Bruck reached on a fielders’ choice, stole second base, moved to third on a ground ball, and scored on a passed ball.
Lopez gave Western Oregon an insurance run in the fifth when he singled and eventually scored on Travis Fox’s squeeze bunt.
Western Oregon’s lead grew to 5-2 in the seventh. Lopez drew a walk, and then moved to second when Boscarino dropped the throw after Bruck’s ground ball to third. Fox was intentionally walked to load the bases, and then pinch hitter Drew Humphrey drew a walk to plate Lopez and make it 5-2.
Chico State made it interesting in the ninth. Boscarino singled leading off the inning and then pinch hitter Kevin Seaver drew a one-out walk to bring the tying run to the plate. Jimmy Dodos grounded into a fielders’ choice for the second out, but then Meagher doubled home Boscarino. Pinch hitter Dylan Gaughen flied out to center field with runners on second and third to end the game, however.
Box Score
Chico State Wildcats
#14 Western Oregon at #26 Chico State
Feb 08, 2008 at Chico, Calif. (Nettleton Stadium)
Western Oregon 5 (4-3)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
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Bruck,Dylan cf........... 4 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
Fox,Travis lf............ 4 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 3
Lewis,Ryan rf............ 5 0 1 0 0 1 2 0 0
Jones,Tony c............. 3 0 1 0 0 2 3 1 0
Humphrey, Drew ph....... 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
Mieras,Taylor c......... 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Renander,Eric 3b......... 4 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 3
Moore,Tyler dp........... 4 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 1
Mascolo,JJ 2b............ 3 0 1 0 1 0 3 4 1
Nelson,Tyson 1b.......... 3 0 1 2 1 0 12 2 2
Lopez,Cesar ss........... 2 2 2 0 1 0 4 5 0
Shivers,Ben p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Neyens,Jared p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals................... 33 5 9 4 6 4 27 14 10
Chico State 3 (3-1)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
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FARMER, Shane cf......... 3 0 0 0 1 1 4 0 2
VICTOR, Nick ph......... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
BURKE, Joey lf........... 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 4
SEAVER, Kevin ph........ 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
DeCOITO, Travis pr...... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DODOS, Jimmy rf.......... 4 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0
MEAGHER, Josh dp......... 5 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0
LIEDEL, Nick pr......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
RINGER, Bret 3b.......... 4 0 3 2 0 0 0 2 0
SENTERS, Jeff pr/3b..... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
GAUGHEN, Dylan ph....... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
BITKER, Matt 1b.......... 4 0 0 0 0 1 7 1 2
DINGMAN, Nick pr/1b..... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
DEE, Cody c.............. 3 0 2 0 1 0 5 1 0
EVELAND, Kyle ss......... 4 0 1 0 0 1 4 2 1
BOSCARINO, Phil 2b....... 4 1 3 0 0 1 3 3 0
WOODRUFF, Kyle p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0
BRANDT, Jordan p........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DOWL, Drew p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Totals................... 37 3 12 3 4 5 27 14 11
Score by Innings R H E
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Western Oregon...... 021 010 100 - 5 9 0
Chico State......... 200 000 001 - 3 12 1
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E - BOSCARINO(1). DP - WOU 2; Chico 1. LOB - WOU 10; Chico 11. 2B -
Moore(2); Mascolo(1); MEAGHER(2); RINGER(1); BOSCARINO(1). 3B - Lewis(1).
HBP - Renander; Moore. SH - Lopez(2). SB - Bruck 2(5).
Western Oregon IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP
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Shivers,Ben......... 7.0 8 2 2 3 4 28 31 -
Neyens,Jared........ 2.0 4 1 1 1 1 9 10 -
Chico State IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP
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WOODRUFF, Kyle...... 5.1 6 4 3 1 3 21 24 -
BRANDT, Jordan...... 1.2 0 1 0 3 1 5 8 -
DOWL, Drew.......... 2.0 3 0 0 2 0 7 10 -
Win - Shivers (1-0). Loss - WOODRUFF (1-1). Save - Neyens (2).
WP - Shivers(1); WOODRUFF(1). HBP - by WOODRUFF (Renander); by WOODRUFF (Moore).
PB - Jones(1); DEE(2). Inherited runners/scored: BRANDT 2/0. Pitches/strikes: None.
Umpires - HP: Dan Boutwell 1B: Eric Martinez 2B: Kenneith Durham
Start: 3:00 Time: 2:52 Attendance: 297
Weather: Partly cloudy
