LOS ANGELES – Michael Gleason fired a complete-game six hitter, striking out 10, to lift the Chico State baseball team to a 5-3 victory at Cal State L.A. to open a crucial four-game series Friday night. Gleason improved to 6-0 and the Wildcats 9-0 in games he’s started this season by rallying from an early 3-1 deficit.

Jordan Larson notched a two-run single that tied the game in the fourth. Michael Murphy, who doubled and scored in the first to stretch his hitting streak to nine games, followed by plating the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly. Other offensive heroes included Kevin Seaver, who finished 4-for-5, and Adrian Bringas, who reached base three times and scored twice.

But the night belonged to Gleason, who has led the Wildcats to victory in each of his 10 career starts. He did surrender Carlos Moya’s two-run homer in the second and a lost-in-the-lights RBI-triple in the third, but he allowed just two hits over his last six-and-a-third innings on the mound and shut the Golden Eagles out over that span.

Chico State, ranked No. 3 in the West Region and No. 23 in the nation entering the weekend, improved to 24-11 overall and 19-10 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). Cal State L.A. fell to15-19 overall and 13-12 in the CCAA. The series continues with a doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m., before concluding with a single game Sunday at noon. 

BOX SCORE