As has become a tradition in baseball circles, Blake Gibbs received a pounding from his teammates after his walk-off single gave the Chico State baseball team a 3-2 win against San Francisco State Sunday afternoon at Nettleton Stadium. Hopefully some heady Wildcats got a few good shots in on TJ Yasuhara, Luke Barker, and Eric Angerer as well.
Yasuhara saved the Wildcats countless runs with four brilliant plays from his shortstop position. Barker gave up just a run on three hits in eight innings of work. And Angerer woke the sleeping offense with a pinch hit RBI-single that tied the game in the seventh.
Gibbs’ walk-off hit was the Wildcats’ second in the series. Ben Manlove was the hero Friday. Gibbs was one of Sunday’s heroes as the Wildcats took three of four from the Gators over the weekend, improving to 11-3 overall and 5-3 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA).
Angerer’s hit tied the game at 1-1 in the seventh and the Wildcats took a 2-1 lead on Cody Foster’s solo home run in the eighth. But San Francisco State rallied to tie it in the top of the ninth.
The Wildcats’ winning rally started when Roger Boulden alertly took first base on a wild pitch despite swinging and missing at strike three. Yasuhara moved him to second on a sacrifice bunt, and after Foster was intentionally walked with two out, Austin Prott was grazed by a pitch to load the bases. Down two strikes in the count, Gibbs singled sharply up the middle. Boulden bounced home and the Wildcats exploded out of the dugout, hats and helmets flying and fists pumping.
Yasuhara’s offensive contribution in the inning was only possible thanks to his glove work in the innings before. With a runner on second and two down in the third, Yasuhara dove to smother a shot into the hole, got up, and threw a strike to the plate, cutting down the runner and ending the inning thanks to Manlove’s nifty catch and tag. He made a gorgeous over-the-shoulder grab with his back turned toward home plate to start the fourth.
And with the game seemingly hanging in the balance, he made back-to-back brilliant plays to get Mike Botelho and the Wildcats out of a major jam. A leadoff single, walk, two passed balls, and an intentional walked loaded the bases for the Gators with no one out. The Wildcats were still clinging to a 2-1 lead, but would certainly be grateful to get out of the inning tied.
Thanks to Yasuhara, they did. Yasuhara ranged to his left on a grounder up the middle, snagged it about five feet beyond the bag, and quickly flipped the ball to second to start a 6-4-3 double play. The tying run scored, but the Wildcats were an out away from getting out of the inning. They did when Yasuhara sprinted between the mound and second base to bare hand a chopper and threw on to first to end the inning.
Barker, a freshman making his third start, gave the impression that he’s been learning some things. He sailed through the first five frames, allowing just a single and his only free pass of the day. And even after a quick double and single put the Gators on the board in the sixth, Barker put an end to the rally with a double-play ball. He had retired seven in a row before the consecutive hits and retired seven more in a row after them.
The Wildcats finally put a run on the board for him in the seventh. Cody Webber singled and moved into scoring position on Myles Dempsey’s sacrifice. And with two out, Angerer slapped a single through the left side to tie the game.
Foster briefly gave Chico State the lead with his drive over the left field wall in the eighth. It was his second of the year and gave him 16 RBI. He drove in just 22 as a regular starter all of last year.
Foster and Prott finished with two hits apiece. Prott reached base five times Sunday with two singles, two walks, and the hit-by-pitch.
The Wildcats are now tied for third place in the CCAA standings with Cal State Monterey Bay, a game behind Cal State L.A. and Sonoma State. Cal Poly Pomona (11-4 overall and 4-4 in the CCAA) comes to town next weekend. The Broncos, expected to be among the teams to beat the CCAA this season, ended the Wildcats’ 2011 season with a 13-2 win in the CCAA Championship Tournament.
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