Fresh off the Rally at Raley, the Chico State baseball team returned home home to ignite The Nett. The Chico State baseball team kept the fire going with a seven-run second and eight-run third in a 15-3 win against Cal State Dominguez Hills in the opener of a four-game series Friday night at Nettleton Stadium in the first game since an eight-run game winning rally against Sonoma State last Sunday at Raley Field.
TJ Yasuhara, Blake Gibbs and Pierson Jeremiah drove in three runs apiece for the Wildcats, who improved to 30-13 overall and 20-13 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with their 22nd home win in 27 tries this season.
Cody Foster and Gibbs notched three hits apiece and Matt Anderson and Cody Webber wacked two apiece for the Wildcats, who sent 10 batters to the plate in the second and 13 more in the third.
Chico State starter Kagen Hopkins surrendered just one hit after allowing consecutive home runs leading off the game to earn the win, improving to 6-3, Hopkins struck out five and walked a pair in six innings of work, retiring 10 in a row at one point.
The Wildcats erased that two-run deficit quickly in the second inning. Ben Manlove singled home the first run and Yasuhara was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to tie the game 2-2. They weren’t loaded for long. Jeremiah cleared them with a three-run double down the left field line. Gibbs followed with an RBI-double to make it 6-2 before coming around to score on a passed ball. Eric Angerer’s RBI-grounder made it an eight-run second for the Wildcats.
Gibbs’ two-run line shot over the wall in center field, a tremendous display of power, was the big blast during Chico State’s seven-run third. Yasuhara also had an RBI-single and was hit by another pitch with the bases loaded for a two-RBI inning.
The Wildcats remain in a tie for second place in the CCAA standings with Cal State San Bernardino, now three and a half games behind conference leader UC San Diego with seven to play. The Wildcats have also seemingly strengthened their grip on one of the West Region’s four NCAA Championship Tournament berths. The Wildcats are the No. 4 team in the West according to Wednesday’s inaugural regional rankings, and No. 5 Dixie State was swept Friday while No. 6 Cal State L.A. lost to UC San Diego for the second day in a row.
Cal State Dominguez Hills fell to 12-29 overall and 8-25 with the loss despite Matthew Young’s two home runs. He also doubled. Carlos Avila also homered and finished 2-for-4.
The series continues with a doubleheader Saturday at noon and concludes with a single game Sunday morning at 11. The team’s six seniors will be honored prior to that game, so if you plan on coming out to Nettleton Stadium, get there early to salute them.
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