Box Score STOCKTON – The end of Friday’s Chico State baseball game mirrored the end of California Collegiate Athletic Association portion of the Wildcats’ season. They were sitting pretty. Looking good. Feeling great. Then the wheels came off.
Chico State led Cal State Monterey Bay 3-1 heading into the eighth inning, but allowed eight runs in the final two frames in a CCAA Championship Tournament elimination game. It marked Chico State’s eighth loss in their last 10 games and snapped a streak of 51 straight the Wildcats had won when leading heading into the eighth inning.
Chico State, now 34-16 on the season, is hoping the NCAA selection committee deems them worthy to move on to the NCAA Tournament. The selection show is scheduled for Sunday night at 7.
The good news for the Wildcats, ranked No. 4 in the West entering the weekend, is that they got off to an amazing 30-6 start this season and were ranked as high as third in the nation.
They got off to a great start Friday as well. Blake Gibbs bashed two home runs in his first three at-bats to give them a 3-1 lead.
The lead was still 3-1 when Cal State Monterey Bay came to bat in the eighth. The Otters tagged Chico State relievers Chris Rodriguez, Sean Martin and Morgan Yee for three runs to grab a 4-3 lead.
Chico State showed some life in the bottom-half of the inning, getting two runners on with one down and then scoring the tying run on an error when a ground ball got through the legs of Cal State Monterey Bay shortstop Jason Merjano.
They had a chance to add more with runners on the corners with one down, but Eric Angerer lined out to second and then Cody Slader grounded out.
The Otters continued feasting on the Chico State bullpen in the ninth. The first two runners of the inning reached against Yee (0-1) and then Ryan O’Shea allowed a walk and a bunt single to load the bases before Brian Haggett drove in two runs with a smash single past drawn-in third baseman Pierson Jeremiah to give the Otters the lead for good.
In all, Chico State’s usually intrepid relief corps allowed eight runs (six earned) on eight hits and two walks in two innings.
Troy Neiman had been in line for the win after seven strong innings. Despite a shaky start, he allowed just one run on five hits, striking out five in the process.
Three of those hits came against the first five batters of the game.
It took just three pitches for the Otters to get on the board in the first. Victory Rasor-Thompson hit Neiman’s first pitch for a double down the right-field line. Then Ronnie Fhurong singled the second pitch he saw to center for an RBI.
Neiman gave up a leadoff single in the second, but not another hit until the sixth.
It looked like the Wildcats would get on the board in the third when Jeremiah hit one to left-center with two runners on. But Otters left fielder Cannon Bernarding preserved the lead with a great diving catch.
Gibbs tied the game in the fourth with a solo home run into the bullpen beyond the left-centerfield wall. He struck again in the sixth with another home run to nearly the exact same spot. This one – his 12th of the season and the 19th of his career – was more of a line-drove shot.
That blast tied Gibbs with Josh Meagher (2008-09) for the eighth most in Chico State career history and Nate Palmer (1996) and Steven Newson (2002) for ninth in a single season.
Neiman also made his way on to one of the school’s career top-10 lists. His sixth strikeout was the 123rd of his career, matching Alex Carbajal for 10th all time.
The Wildcats are hoping that Neiman and Gibbs get a chance to add to those numbers. They’ll find out if they will on Sunday night.
The selection show will be broadcast live at 7 p.m. on NCAA.com.
