Pierson Jeremiah made the most of his opportunity Friday night, banging out a pair of RBI-singles to lead the Chico State baseball team to a 4-2 win against visiting Cal State East Bay. Now the Wildcats are on the doorstep of taking advantage of their big opportunity as well. The Wildcats are wrapping up a 22-game homestand this weekend. A sweep of the Pioneers would give them a 17-5 record during that stretch and leave them in sole possession of second place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA).
Sweeping Cal State East Bay will be no easy task, however, if the Pioneers continue to play like they did Friday night. They score was knotted 2-2 heading to the seventh. But Blake Gibbs led off the inning with a single and scored the go-ahead run on Shane Kroker’s base hit. Jeremiah followed with an RBI-single.
Chico State starter Kagen Hopkins threw seven strong innings to earn the win, improving to 4-2. The junior right hander allowed two runs, only one of which was earned, on seven hits. He struck out five and walked just one. Sean Martin and Mike Botelho followed with 1-2-3 innings of relief. Botelho’s frame netted him his fifth save of the season.
Chico State, ranked No. 4 in the nation, improved to 20-7 overall and 10-7 in the CCAA. Cal State East Bay is 9-14 overall and 3-10 in the CCAA.
Jeremiah, who often sees action as a late-inning defensive replacement, was likely on the lineup card for just the second time this season due to some of his teammates’ defensive struggles there of late.
Ironically, it was his two-out error in the first that opened the door for Cal State East Bay to score its first run.
The junior transfer from Cañada Community College earned redemption in his first at-bat, however, driving in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the second as the Wildcats took a 2-1 lead. He hit a rocket to center field for an out in his next at-bat, and then finished up his day at the plate with the line drive RBI-single to center field.
Jeremiah, who is now hitting .412 on the season (7-for-17) also stole a base and made a pair of nice defensive plays.
Saturday’s scheduled noon doubleheader start time has been moved up to 11 a.m. in an effort to beat the forecasted afternoon rain. If the teams get two games in tomorrow, they’ll wrap up the series with a single game Sunday morning at 11.
Every Chico State baseball game can be heard locally on Fox Sports 101.7 FM and 1340 AM. The broadcasts are also accessible via streaming audio by clicking on the Wildcat Webcast link at on the right side of this page.
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