CARSON, Calif. – Fifteen down, one to go. First place is guaranteed. Wow. The Chico State baseball team split a doubleheader at Cal State Dominguez Hills Saturday in its 14th and 15th straight road games to start the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) season. The Wildcats won the first game 5-2 and dropped the second 3-2. They’ll wrap up the four-game series with a single game Sunday, and with Saturday’s win they’re guaranteed to be in first place as they start a string in which they’ll play of 18 of their last 24 regular season games at home.
The Wildcats, ranked No. 5 in the nation and No. 1 in the West entering the weekend, moved to 17-5 overall and 11-4 in the CCAA.
Adrian Bringas banged a two-run double to key a three-run first and those runs were all freshman starter Ryan O’Shea needed in the opener. O’Shea improved to 4-0, allowing just two unearned runs in seven and a third innings. He allowed five hits and three walks while striking out eight.
Sheldon Lechuga got the final five outs for his fourth save of the season. The lefty struck out two and gave up just one hit.
TJ Yasuhara and Cody Foster singled leading off the game and Jackson Evans drew a walk to load the bases. Matt Anderson’s RBI single backed up Bringas’ two-run double making it 3-0.
O’Shea’s error opened the door for the Toros’ two-run third that trimmed the lead to 3-2. But the Wildcats answered with an insurance run in the fourth on Foster’s RBI-double and tacked on another run in the eighth on Yasuhara’s run-scoring single.
The Wildcats got a taste of their own medicine when the Toros took a quick 3-0 lead in the nightcap. They closed the gap to 3-2 on Jackson Evans’ RBI single and Bringas’ sacrifice fly, but they couldn’t draw even.
Brian Buckham (2-3) went the route in taking the loss. He allowed three runs on five hits while striking out three.
Sunday’s game starts at 11 AM, and then the Wildcats will return home where they’ll play 10 in a row beginning with a doubleheader against San Francisco State Tuesday at 2 PM.
GAME 1 BOX
GAME 2 BOX
