CHICO, Calif. – Robert Mills sat on the Chico State bench waiting for his chance all day. When that chance finally came he drilled a walk-off two-run single to right-center field to complete the Wildcats’ sweep of Grand Canyon. If he went home and sat on his couch, put his feet up, and soaked in the satisfaction, he finished the day 2-for-2.
Mills came through with the third straight pinch hit for Chico State in a four-run seventh that game the Wildcats an 8-7 win in Saturday’s nightcap. The Wildcats hammered Grand Canyon 15-1 in the opener. Chico State improved to 27-19 with the win. Grand Canyon fell to 13-28.
In Dave Taylor’s three seasons at the helm, Chico State is now 46-7 in regular season non-California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) games, including 32-4 at home.
The Wildcats trailed 7-4 with one down in the seventh when Kyle Eveland and Adam Arakawa drew walks to end Grand Canyon southpaw Kevin Burbank’s afternoon two outs shy of a complete game. From out of the bullpen jogged Colin Courtland, who failed to retire any of the four batters he faced. Josh Meagher greeted him with a pinch-hit single to right field that loaded the bases. Then Taylor called Eric Stephens off the bench, and he hit an opposite-field double off the wall in left field to drive in two.
Pinch runner Cameron Softli made a nice play on Stephens’ hit, going from first to third even though he had to wait to see if the ball would be caught. That opened up a base for Jimmy Dodos, who was intentionally walked, and left a big decision in the hands of Taylor.
He pinch-hit Mills for Nick Victor, who had taken over the team lead in batting average with two hits in the game, including a two-run homer to left field. The move could not have worked out better. Mills smoked the third pitch he saw into right-center field for what would have been a double had it not been a walk-off, allowing Softli and another pinch runner, Trevor Moore, to score with ease. It was Moore’s fourth pinch-hit of the season in nine tries and his fourth hit with the bases loaded in four at-bats.
Before Grand Canyon rallied for five runs in the fifth inning of the nightcap, Chico State’s doubleheader sweep looked as though it would be accomplished without much stress. The Wildcats won the opener 15-1, bashing four home runs – Stephens, Dodos, Eveland and Moore all went deep – and putting up a crooked number in each inning from the fourth on.
The Wildcats led 4-1 in the second game on the strength of Victor’s two-run blast, Jordan Larson’s RBI-single, and Eric Stephens’ squeeze bunt that plated Eveland.
Grand Canyon sprung to life in the sixth with three consecutive singles to chase Chico State starter Mike Robbins. Reliever Ian Waldron walked Jay Green to force in a run and then surrendered Byron Reischl’s two-run single, and suddenly the game was tied 4-4. Following another walk, a strikeout, and Tyler Blair’s two-run single, Ivan Gonzalez came on and got the final two outs to end the inning.
The Antelopes added an insurance run in the seventh on Green’s RBI-single, but that 7-4 lead did not stand up.
Gonzalez, who got Chico State out of the big jam in the sixth, earned his first win of the season, improving to 1-2. Courtland took the loss, dropping to 1-5.
Chico State scored six runs in the fourth inning of the opening game and cruised to victory from there. Dodos and Eveland hit back-to-back home runs in the frame. They pushed across two more runs in the fifth on Stephens’ no-doubter to right field. Larson’s two-run double keyed a three-run sixth, Meagher and Bryan Willson drove in runs in the seventh, and Moore crushed a two-run homer to left in the eighth.
Wildcats starter Joel Garcia improved to 7-3 with the win. He worked out of trouble for much of his outing, but allowed only one run on 10 hits and struck out five. Brian Fowler, Michael Gleason, and Scott Newberry each worked a scoreless inning in relief.
The four-game series concludes with a single game Sunday at noon.
Unfortunately for the ’Cats, they did not receive any help in the CCAA games that took place Saturday. Cal State Dominguez Hills, which the Wildcats are chasing for the fourth and final CCAA Championship Tournament berth, swept a doubleheader from first-place UC San Diego to stretch its lead over the Wildcats back to two games with eight remaining. Meanwhile, the team the Wildcats are likely chasing for the fourth and final NCAA Championship Tournament West Region berth, Sonoma State, swept a doubleheader from Cal State San Bernardino.
Following tomorrow’s game, the Wildcats host Academy of Art in a non-conference game Tuesday at 6 p.m. and then host Cal State Stanislaus for a four-game series next weekend that will wrap up the Wildcats’ home slate. They finish the regular season with a four-game road trip to Cal State Monterey Bay May 1-3.
GAME 1 BOX SCORE
GAME 2 BOX SCORE
