CHICO – It wasn’t just a rollin’ Hay. Yes, Chico State baseball player Johnny Hay had quite a day, bashing three home runs and notching a hit in each of his last seven plate appearances of the Wildcats’ 24-2, 12-1 sweep of visiting Central Washington. But he certainly wasn’t the only big-time contributor. Deven Braden, Danny Dyer, Adam Arakawa, Michael Murphy, and Adrian Bringas also went deep for the Wildcats – who muscled up for eight home runs on the day – and Kevin Seaver doubled three times and joined Hay with six RBI. Then there was the flawless defense (the Wildcats didn’t commit an error, turned a pair of nifty double plays, and got diving catches in the outfield from Arakawa and Jordan Larson) and dominant pitching (starters Phillip Hymas and Michael Gleason each fired six innings of three-hit ball).
Chico State, ranked No. 16 in the nation, improved to 8-2 and 6-0 at home with the wins. The Wildcats have now won 16 of their last 17 at Nettleton Stadium going back to last season.
Central Washington, picked to finish second in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference in its preseason coaches’ poll, fell to 2-6. The teams will play another doubleheader starting Sunday at 11 a.m.
The Wildcats tied one school record and threatened many more long-standing marks with their offensive explosion in the opener. The 22-run margin of victory matches the program’s largest ever against a Division II school. The Wildcats beat UC Davis 23-1 on March 15, 1987. Their 24 hits were the most since their school-record tying 25 against San Francisco State on March 29, 1998. Their eight doubles were also one off the school mark. The 24 runs are tied for the seventh most in the program’s history and the most since they beat Simpson College 24-0 on March 2, 1999.
It was just that kind of day for the Wildcats of Chico State. For the Wildcats of Central Washington, it was a day they’d like to forget.
Every Chico State batter came to the plate in the third, fifth, sixth and seventh inning of the opener. They scored five times in the third, four times in the fifth, six times in the sixth, and eight times in the seventh. And just to make sure Central Washington didn’t get any ideas in the nightcap, they batted around in the first inning and put a five-spot on the board.
Arakawa hit a two-run homer and Murphy and Hay drove in runs as Chico State streaked to a 5-0 lead in the third inning of the opener. Murphy’s solo shot in the fourth made it 6-1, and Braden’s two-run bomb keyed a four-run fifth that made it 10-1. Hunter Buckmore had an RBI-double and Arakawa drove in a run with an infield single in that inning as well.
In the sixth, Hay went yard, Larson smacked a two-run single, and Seaver cleared the bases with a double to make it 16-1. And in the seventh, the Wildcats sent 11 batters to the plate and scored eight more runs. Danny Dyer smoked a two-run homer and Travis Kruger lined a two-run single, while Michael Schultz, R.J. Mott, Murphy, and Jackson Evans also drove in runs in the frame.
Murphy finished the opener 4-for-6 and like Hay wound up a triple short of the cycle. Hay went 3-for-4 and Larson went 3-for-7. Murphy, Arakawa, and Seaver drove in three runs apiece, while Larson, Kruger, Hay, Dyer, and Braden each plated a pair of runs.
Gleason earned the victory to improve to 2-0. He struck out seven and walked one.
Bryce Hjellum (0-2) took the loss for Central Washington, surrendering eight runs on 11 hits in four-and-a-third frames. Eric Sorenson and Sean Murphy drove in Central Washington’s two runs.
The break between games did nothing to cool off Chico State. Hay and Bringas went back-to-back to cap a five-run first, Murphy drove in a run in the second, and Hay went big fly to lead off to third to make it 7-0. Chico State went on to add four runs in the fourth on Seaver’s two-run double and RBI singles off the bats of Hay and Braden. Kruger doubled leading off the sixth, moved to third on Hay’s seventh straight hit, and then scored on a double-play ball to end the home team’s scoring.
Central Washington broke up the shutout in the seventh on pinch-hitter Kris Henderson’s RBI grounder.
Hymas earned the win with six shutout innings. He struck out six and didn’t walk a hitter to improve to 2-1.
Jake Millbauer (1-2) went the distance for Central Washington, allowing 12 runs (nine earned) on 16 hits.
Chico State has now won 53 of its last 57 regular-season non-conference games at home and 124 out of 142 overall since the 1996 season. Against GNAC teams, the Wildcats are now 54-11 all-time, including 48-6 at home. They’ve won four of five all-time meetings against Central Washington.
GAME 1 BOX SCORE
GAME 2 BOX SCORE
