CHICO – On a Sunday afternoon when eight Chico State seniors were honored for their contributions to the Wildcat baseball program, Kevin Seaver made sure his last regular season game at Nettleton Stadium would be a memorable one, bombing a pair of home runs and driving in four runs as the ’Cats downed Cal State Monterey Bay 12-3, completing a four game series sweep of the visiting Otters and extending Chico State’s winning streak to seven heading into the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championship Tournament.
With the win, the Wildcats improved to 34-16 on the year and wrapped up conference play with a 26-14 mark. Cal State Monterey Bay ended its season losing six in a row to fall to 8-41 overall and 4-36 in the CCAA.
Chico State took advantage of an Otters error to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, as Johnny Hay delivered a two-out RBI double to plate Michael Murphy. Monterey Bay knotted up the contest in the top of the second on a solo homer by Joey Friedman, but the ’Cats went back on top in the bottom of the inning when Seaver smashed his first round-tripper of the day, a solo shot to left field. Chico State went up 3-1 in the third when Jordan Larson singled and came all the way around to score on a Jackson Evans base hit and a throwing error by Otters right fielder Jerrod Krick. A home run by Jacob Flores in the top of the fourth inning brought Monterey Bay to within one, but in the bottom of the fourth the Wildcats struck again – Seaver coming home from third on a Kyle Leon fielder’s choice grounder to make the score 4-2.
Monterey Bay would score what would turn out to be its final run in the top of the fifth inning, when Thomas George’s RBI single down the right field line made it a 4-3 ballgame. But in the bottom of the fifth Chico State would blow the game open with four runs off Otters starting pitcher Scott Tully, three of them coming on one swing of Seaver’s bat, as he launched his second homer of the day high over the left field wall with two aboard. Deven Braden added an RBI double later in the frame to push the Wildcats’ lead to 8-3. With Wildcat relievers Jordan Lindebaum, Scott Nartker and Phillip Hymas blanking Monterey Bay the rest of the way, Chico State put the game out of reach with four eighth inning runs, as Evans singled home a pair and Travis Kruger picked two RBI on a double to right. Hymas got the final three outs in the top of the ninth to lock down the Wildcats’ 12-3 victory and the series sweep.
Brian Fowler (1-0), the first of four Chico State pitchers, got credit the win, with Tully (2-7) taking the loss for Monterey Bay. The Wildcats piled up 12 hits on the day, with Seaver, Evans, Hay, Braden and Danny Dyer each enjoying multi-hit games. Friedman and Jason Okamoto combined for four of the Otters’ seven hits in the losing effort.
BOX SCORE
Chico State now turns its attention to postseason play, as they travel to Stockton Thursday to take on top seed UC San Diego in the opening round of the double-elimination CCAA Championship Tournament. The game is slated to start at 7 p.m. at Klein Family Field on the University of Pacific campus. The Wildcats also have their sights on the NCAA Championship Tournament in two weeks – currently, Chico State is ranked No. 3 in the West Region.
