HAYWARD – Next month, the careers of fourth-year seniors Rachel Failla and Jessica McDermott will officially come to an end. The longtime teammates have provided the Chico State softball team with countless highlights and outstanding performances season after season – but with the clock winding down on their days as Wildcats, it appears the two San Diego natives have saved their absolute best for last. Saturday, Failla knocked in a pair of runs – her 10th career home run accounting for the lone Chico State score in the nightcap – and McDermott spun a complete game shutout as the ’Cats downed Cal State East Bay 4-1 and 1-0 to complete the regular season with a doubleheader and series sweep of the Pioneers.
Chico State, the No. 19 team in the nation and fourth in the NCAA West Region rankings, have won seven of its last eight to improve to 34-14 overall and 25-9 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). Saturday’s doubleheader sweep not only strengthened the Wildcats’ chances of earning a berth in the upcoming NCAA West Regionals, it assured the ’Cats the No. 3 seed in next weekend’s CCAA Championship Tournament.
Failla finished the day with three hits; the big fly in game two moved her into a tie for fourth place on Chico State’s career home run list. Britt Wright continued to produce at the plate, collecting three hits Saturday to extend her current hitting streak to 12 straight games. McDermott recorded her 40th career win and 16th shutout as a Wildcat while combining with Sam Baker and Kayla McConnell to hold Cal State East Bay, the No. 2 hitting team in the CCAA, to just one run and nine hits the entire day.
The Wildcats threatened to score early in game one of the doubleheader, but stranded the bases loaded in both the first and second inning. Chico State finally broke through in the third, going up 1-0 when Failla’s RBI single plated Hailey Stockman. In the top of the fourth inning, the ’Cats extended their advantage to 4-0 thanks to a bases-loaded walk to Diana Payan and a two-run single by Emily McEnaney.
Cal State East Bay got on the board in the bottom of the fourth on Devin Salmones’ solo homer, and in the fifth got the potential tying run to the plate when Baker issued a pair of one-out walks. But McConnell came on in relief and diffused the threat by getting Jamie Yaller to ground into an inning-ending double play to protect the ’Cats’ three run lead. McConnell scattered two hits over the final two innings, striking out Heidi McAllister to end it and lock down Chico State’s 4-1 victory.
Baker (17-5) struck out seven in four-and-a-third innings to get credit for the victory, with McConnell earning her fourth save of the year; Talia Ferrari (11-5) took the loss for East Bay. The Wildcats collected six hits in the contest, with Failla going 2-for-3.
BOX SCORE - Game One
Game two was an old-fashioned pitcher’s duel between McDermott and East Bay’s Lauren Zweigle, with neither team threatening to score in the first four innings – in fact, the Wildcats and Pioneers combined for just four hits heading into the fateful fifth frame. Failla led off the top of the inning with what turned out to be the game-winner, a home run over the left field fence. Chico State threatened for more, with Jackie Munoz and Kelli Keefe getting aboard with base hits, but both were stranded in scoring position and the ’Cats settled for the slim 1-0 lead.
East Bay threatened to knot up the contest in its half of the fifth, as Salmones led off with a double. McDermott promptly retired the next three hitters to get out of the jam, and though the Pioneers got the potential tying run aboard in both the sixth and seventh innings, neither advanced past second base as McDermott struck out Emily Montanez and got Devon Mercurio to ground out to second in the bottom of the seventh to lock down the Wildcats’ 1-0 victory, sweeping the doubleheader and posting the ’Cats first four-game series sweep of the year. McDermott struck out eight on the day as she moved to third place on Chico State’s all-time victories list.
BOX SCORE - Game Two
Chico State will now travel to Arnaiz Field in Stockton next Friday and Saturday to take part in the CCAA Championship Tournament. It marks the third straight year the Wildcats have competed in the conference’s postseason tourney. The ’Cats’ first opponent in the double-elimination event will be Cal State Monterey Bay, which earned the No. 2 seed in the tournament. The Wildcats and Otters game will underway Friday at 7 p.m.
