Box Score Another classic between rivals Chico State and Sonoma State is one the Wildcats would like to soon forget. The Seawolves scored twice in the top of the 10th and shortstop-turned-reliever Scott Harkin struck out three Wildcats with the go-ahead or tying run in scoring position in the final two innings of a 3-2 Sonoma State win.
Harkin was called upon in relief for just the sixth time this season with runners on first and second and one down in Chico State’s ninth. He struck out Ryne Clark and Jon Peters swinging to end the threat, punctuating both moments with demonstrative fist pumps.
Wildcats ace Nick Baker got the first out of the 10th, becoming the first Chico State pitcher ever to log more than nine innings in a game. But the first three Seawolves to come to the plate against reliever Jeremy Perez reached.
Sean Martin came on to attempt some heroics of his own. He pitched well, but couldn’t keep the game tied. A one-out pitch in the dirt got beyond catcher Jake Bailey, allowing the go-ahead run to score. It looked like the Wildcats might limit the damage there when Steven Fillipi got caught too far off second base on a shallow fly ball. But cutoff man Pierson Jeremiah’s throw ricocheted off Fillipi’s back as he dove back toward second and bounded into center field, allowing another run to score and giving the Seawolves a 3-1 edge.
That run proved vital when Chico State nearly came back with a two-out rally in the bottom-half of the inning. Cody Webber’s RBI-single left runners on the corners with two down and Chico State cleanup hitter and RBI leader Blake Gibbs coming to the plate. But he swung through three pitches and the game was over.
Harkin finished with five strikeouts in an innings and two-thirds, improving to 2-0 on the season. Perez (0-1) took the loss for Chico State.
The Wildcats’ bid to clinch a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championship Tournament berth will now have to wait another day. At 32-9 overall and 25-8 in the CCAA, they need one win or one Cal State East Bay loss to do so. Meanwhile, their lead atop the CCAA standings is now a game and a half over Cal State L.A. and two over Cal State Monterey Bay with seven to play.
Sonoma State, meanwhile, drew to within five games of the Wildcats, and perhaps more importantly, remains two games ahead of Cal State East Bay in the race for fourth place and the final CCAA Championship Tournament berth.
Baker did all he could to put the Wildcats in position to win during his record-breaking performance. He gave up just one run on seven hits in his nine-plus innings of work and lowered his ERA to 1.24.
Sonoma State’s Taylor Herbert didn’t throw for as long, but was equally strong while in the game. He gave up just one unearned run on six hits in seven frames.
The 6th-ranked Wildcats thought they had the game’s first run in the fifth when Ben Manlove came all the way around from first base on Cody Slader’s two-out double to right center, but he was called out on a close play at the plate.
So it was 30th-ranked Sonoma State that wound up drawing first blood. Devon Zenn led off the seventh with a double and scored on Sam Montgomery’s base hit through the left side of a drawn in infield.
Chico State answered in the bottom half of the inning. Zenn booted Austin Prott’s ground ball to open the gates and Clark followed with a one-out single. Prott was picked off second, but Clark quickly stole the base. Pinch hitter Jon Peters tied the game with a big chopper over the third baseman’s head.
Manlove, Jeremiah, Webber and Clark finished with two hits apiece for the Wildcats.
Zenn went 2-for-5 for Sonoma State.
The series continues with a doubleheader Saturday at noon at Nettleton Stadium and concludes with the second annual Capital City Clash at Sacramento’s Raley Field Sunday night at 5:30.
