LOS ANGELES – Much meaning was packed into the Chico State baseball team’s 14-8 win at Cal State L.A. Sunday. From a historic standpoint, it was Head Coach Dave Taylor’s 150th victory as the program’s leader and this team’s 21st conference victory, guaranteeing the program’s 15th consecutive winning conference record. It also moved the Wildcats, who have struggled away from home for much of the season, to 10-10 on the road. That record won’t change any time soon as the Wildcats will play their last 14 games at home.
Ian Waldron came on to pitch five innings of one-run relief to subdue a red-hot Cal State L.A. offense that scored seven runs in the first four innings to build a 7-5 lead. That gave Chico State more than enough time to come from behind. Jackson Evans banged out four hits and Michael Murphy, Kevin Seaver, and Adam Arakawa notched three apiece as the Wildcats scored twice in the fifth to tie the game, took the lead with a run in the sixth, and then pulled away with two more in the seventh and four in the ninth.
Waldron, meanwhile, retired the Golden Eagles in order in the fifth, sixth and seventh, striking out five of the nine batters he faced. He allowed only a run on four hits in five frames to improve to 5-1 on the season and lower his team-best ERA to 2.04.
Chico State, which entered the weekend ranked No. 23 in the nation and No. 3 in the West Region, improved to 26-12 overall and 21-11 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). Cal State L.A. fell to 16-21 overall and 14-14 in the CCAA.
The Wildcats jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead when Murphy led off the game with a walk and moved to second when Jordan Larson reached on an error. Seaver walked to load the bases and Johnny Hay drove in Murphy with a sacrifice fly. Evans drove in a run with a base hit to left field.
The Golden Eagles took the lead with three runs in the second helped by a pair of walks and a throwing error by Larson, ending his 59-game errorless streak.
After Evans doubled in the third and eventually scored on a wild pitch, Cal State L.A. built its lead to 6-3 with three more runs in the third aided by two more free passes and just the third error of Seaver’s career at first base.
Murphy’s one-out single, which extended his hitting streak to a 2010 Chico State best 12 games, opened the door for two Wildcat runs in the fourth to trim the lead to 6-5. Seaver plated Evans with a double and came around to score on a wild pitch later in the frame.
Cal State L.A. stretched the lead back to two runs at 7-5 with the help of its third consecutive leadoff walk. Five of the eight Golden Eagles who scored reached base via no-out walks.
Then Waldron shut the door, which is something his counterparts from Cal State L.A. were unable to do.
The Wildcats tied the game at 7-7 with two runs in the fifth. Arakawa led off the frame with a bunt single, Adrian Bringas singled with one out, and Tony Hernandez walked to load the bases. Hunter Buckmore’s RBI grounder drew the Wildcats to within one, and Larson walked with the bases loaded to plate the tying run.
Hernandez walked to force home the go-ahead run an inning later, and the lead was Chico State’s for good. Seaver and Arakawa drove in runs in the seventh to build the lead to 10-7.
Waldron struck out the potential tying run to end the eighth, and the Wildcats put the game away with four runs in the ninth. Seaver doubled leading off the frame, Hay drew a walk, and Arakawa plated Seaver with a ground ball to second base. Hay scored on Evans’ base hit, and after Evans stole second and third, he scored on Hernandez’s double. Hernandez scored on Ben Manlove’s base hit to make it 14-8.
The Wildcats, currently in third place in the CCAA, now lead fourth-place Cal State San Bernardino by a game and trail second-place Cal State Dominguez Hills by two games. The Wildcats welcome Cal State Dominguez Hills to town for a four-game series beginning next Friday at 7. They will then host a non-conference doubleheader against Simpson University on the 20th and a four-game non-conference series against Western Oregon on the April 23-25 before wrapping up their conference slate and regular season with four home games against Cal State Monterey Bay April 30-May 2.
The Wildcats can clinch their 14th postseason berth in the last 15 seasons with five wins in their final eight conference games.
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