CHICO – Don’t ever count the Chico State baseball team out of an inning. Until that third out is recorded, the Wildcats are always a threat to score. The ’Cats would prove that repeatedly Tuesday at Nettleton Stadium in the finale of their series with Cal State Monterey Bay – Chico State produced six runs on two-out hits to beat the visiting Otters 7-3 and earn a split of the four-game set.
T.J. Yasuhara, Myles Dempsey and Ben Manlove each had two hits to lead the Wildcat attack, with Dempsey and Blake Gibbs each driving in a pair of runs. Lefthander Austin Alva (2-0), the second of four Chico State pitchers, got credit for the win as Chico State improved to 19-7 on the season and moved into a third place tie in the California Collegiate Athletic Association with a 9-7 conference mark. Cal State Monterey Bay fell to 15-11 overall and 8-8 in CCAA play.
Monterey Bay got on the board first against ’Cats’ starter Nick Baker, as Jason Merjano’s bases-loaded single in the top of the first inning gave the Otters a 2-0 lead. Submariner Jake Paolinetti held Chico State without a hit until the bottom of the third, when the Wildcats broke through – three straight two-out singles by Dempsey, Cody Foster and T.J. Yasuhara producing a pair of runs to tie up the ballgame.
The Otters went back in front in the top of the fifth on an RBI single by Brian Haggett, but in the bottom of the inning Chico State once again knotted up the contest when Manlove doubled down the left field line and scored on Dempsey’s single through the right side.
Monterey Bay had a chance to re-take the lead in the top of the seventh inning, but with two on and two out, Alva came in from the ’Cats’ bullpen to get Merjano to ground out to end the threat. In the bottom of the seventh, a critical two-out error by Otters second baseman David Garcia kept the inning alive, and the Wildcats capitalized – Gibbs promptly greeted reliever Dylan Auker with a two-run double and scored on an RBI single by Pierson Jeremiah to put Chico State on top 6-3.
The Wildcats plated an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth inning, and again it came on a two-out knock, as Manlove’s second two-bagger of the day chased home Ian McKay. ’Cats closer Mike Botelho came on to record the final three outs in the top of the ninth, locking down Chico State’s 7-3 win and the series split with the Otters.
BOX SCORE
Chico State plays the final four contests of its 22-game homestand this weekend, as the Wildcats host Cal State East Bay. The series opens Friday at 6 p.m., followed by a doubleheader Saturday at noon and a single game Sunday at 11 a.m.
