CHICO – Perhaps the most anticipated Division II baseball series in the nation this weekend got off to a rip-roaring start with Chico State’s 6-5 victory against Cal State Dominguez Hills Friday night at Nettleton Stadium. Chico State starter Michael Gleason and Cal State Dominguez Hills starter Brett Montgomery – two of the frontrunners for California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Pitcher of the Year honors – were awesome before the Wildcats broke open a 2-2 tie with four runs in the eighth and then barely held off a furious rally in the ninth when Scott Newberry got the final out with the tying run on first.
The 29th-ranked Wildcats, also ranked No. 3 in the West Region, improved to 27-12 overall and 22-11 in the CCAA while pulling to within three conference wins of a guaranteed spot in the CCAA Championship Tournament thanks to their 17th win in 19 games at home this season. They also snapped the Toros’ 12-game winning streak and continued their dominance of them at home, beating them for the 18th time in 19 tries since the erection of Nettleton Stadium.
Cal State Dominguez Hills, which entered the weekend ranked No. 13 in the nation and No. 2 in the West, fell to 31-11 overall and 21-8 in the CCAA.
The Toros tied the game 2-2 in the top of the eighth on Kevin Logan’s RBI single, which was the first earned run they scored against Gleason, who struck out nine and surrendered six hits in seven-and-a-third innings.
The Wildcats finally chased Montgomery in the bottom half of the frame. Through seven he had allowed just four hits and struck out seven, but Ben Manlove greeted him with a double leading off the eighth and pinch runner Michael Schultz scored the go-ahead run on Michael Murphy’s line-drive base hit to right field, spelling the end of Montgomery’s day. The Wildcats then loaded the bases on consecutive one-out walks against Toros closer Matt Phillips, and then added crucial insurance runs when Adam Arakawa was hit by a pitch and Jackson Evans laid down a perfect squeeze bunt, marking the end of Phillips’ day.
Andrew Klausmeier finally got the Toros back to the dugout by getting the final out of the inning on Adrian Bringas’ ground ball, but not before Johnny Hay had scored to make it 6-2.
Cal State Dominguez Hills mounted a serious rally in the ninth. Ian Waldron, who got the final two outs of the eighth, plunked Carlos Leyva with one out and then surrendered Kyle Pond’s single. Wildcats reliever Sheldon Lechuga came on to strike out Abel Medina for the second out of the frame, but then allowed RBI-singles to Steve Carillo and Kevin Pillar that trimmed the lead to 6-4.
Newberry was then summoned to get the final out, but before he could do so, he caught Pillar leaning off of first. However, Pillar extended the game by beating the rundown throw back to first while Carillo trotted home to make it 6-5. But Newberry closed the door on his first career save by getting pinch hitter Barrett Ceverha to ground out to first to end the game.
Waldron earned the win in relief, improving to 6-1. Montgomery was tagged with the loss, falling to 5-2.
Murphy finished 2-for-3 to extend his hitting streak to 13 games and scored twice. Manlove also went 2-for-3.
Pillar extended his CCAA-record hitting streak to 40 games with a sixth-inning double and finished 2-for-4. He is nine games shy of tying the NCAA Division II record and would match the third longest streak in NCAA Division II history with a hit in tomorrow’s opener.
Logan finished 3-for-3 with a triple, two RBI, and a pair of stolen bases. Leyva and Pond each notched two hits apiece.
Murphy set the table for the first-inning run that gave the Wildcats a
1-0 lead and they never trailed. He moved into scoring position on Jordan Larson’s ground ball and later scored on Johnny Hay’s base hit through the left side.
Gleason kept the Toros off the board through the first five frames and struck out four batters in the fourth after his third strikeout victim of the inning, Brian Sturgis, reached on a wild pitch.
Pillar’s one-out double in the sixth and Gleason’s errant pickoff throw that allowed him to advance to third, led to the Toros first run when Logan beat out an infield single to tie the game 1-1.
Chico State answered with a run in the bottom-half of the inning when Larson was hit by a pitch, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and after Kevin Seaver walked, scored when Leyva’s throw to attempt to complete a double play was wild.
The series continues with a doubleheader Saturday at noon and concludes with a single game Sunday at noon.
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