HAYWARD – With postseason play less than a week away, the Chico State softball team proved Friday that it can win in a number of different ways. The No. 19 Wildcats pounded out 10 hits – including a pair of three-run homers – to outslug Cal State East Bay 14-9 in the first game of their series-opening doubleheader, then rode a clutch complete game pitching performance by Jessica McDermott in the nightcap to beat the Pioneers 5-1 and sweep the twinbill.
The ’Cats, winners of five of their last six games, improved to 32-14 overall and 23-9 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), and went a long way to strengthen their position at No. 4 in the NCAA West Region rankings. Cal State East Bay, the No. 9 seed in the West, fell to 31-22 on the year and 17-17 in CCAA play with Friday’s doubleheader loss.
Chico State racked up 22 hits on the day; Diana Payan going 4-for-7 with a home run and five runs batted in. Britt Wright, Bianca Lopez, Sam Quadt and Hailey Stockman had three hits apiece; Stockman collected five RBI in the twinbill, with Quadt and Lopez each driving in three.
In game one of the doubleheader, Chico State used the long ball to build a big early lead. In the top of the first inning, Lopez and Quadt drew one-out walks, setting the stage for Payan, who ripped her second home run of the year over the right field fence. In the top of the second, free passes to Jackie Munoz and Kelli Keefe preceeded Lopez’s second homer of the season to center, putting the Wildcats in front, 6-0.
Chico State ran its lead to 8-0 on Emily McEnaney’s two-run single in the top of the third, but in the bottom of the inning Cal State East Bay cut the deficit in half with four runs off Wildcat starter Sam Baker. The Wildcats got one of those runs back in the fourth on an RBI single by Payan, but the Pioneers pulled to within 9-7 in the bottom of the frame on a two-out, three-run homer by Sara Holdridge.
The ’Cats gave themselves some breathing room in the top of the sixth – a run-scoring single by Stockman and an RBI groundout by Payan made the score 11-7. The Wildcats looked like they put the game away by plating three more in the top of the seventh – a bases-loaded walk to Quadt and a two-run single by Stockman put Chico State up 14-7. East Bay, though, quickly cut the lead to five as Devin Salmones smacked a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh…but Kayla McConnell came on in relief for the ’Cats to get the final three outs and lock down the hard-fought 14-9 victory.
Baker (16-5) struck out eight and got credit for the win; Payan finished the game with five runs batted in; Lopez went 2-for-3 with three RBI and four runs scored, while Stockman had a pair of hits and knocked in three for the victorious Wildcats.
BOX SCORE - Game One
East Bay opened the scoring in the nightcap, as Holdridge led off the bottom of the second inning with a homer to left. Chico State answered in the top of the third – Munoz was hit by a pitch and scored on back-to-back infield singles by Keefe and Wright to tie the score, then the Wildcats went ahead 2-1 when Keefe scored on Quadt’s infield single.
Now staked to a lead, McDermott provided the ’Cats with some serious dealing, retiring 10 straight East Bay batters at one point. She pitched her way out of a two-on, two-out situation in the bottom of the sixth inning, and was rewarded with three huge insurance runs in the top of the seventh – Keefe led off the inning with a base hit and came home on Quadt’s RBI single through the left side of the infield; Stockman followed with her Chico State record 10th home run of the year, pushing the ’Cats’ advantage to 5-1. The Pioneers got the leadoff batter aboard in the bottom of the seventh, but McDermott got Salmones to fly out and induced a double play grounder off the bat of Emily Montanez to end it, giving Chico State the victory and the doubleheader sweep.
McDermott (9-5) scattered three hits and fanned eight to record her ninth complete game of the season; East Bay starter Talia Ferrari (11-5) suffered the loss. The Wildcats collected a dozen hits in the nightcap, with Quadt, Wright, Payan and Keefe picking up two knocks apiece.
BOX SCORE - Game Two
Chico State and Cal State East Bay conclude the series – and the regular season – Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. The Wildcats will then move on to next weekend’s CCAA Championship Tournament at Arnaiz Field in Stockton.
