Box Score Chico State Head Coach Dave Taylor tweaked his lineup Sunday looking for a spark. He got a bonfire.
The Wildcats' starters went 13-for-29 and each one had had at least one hit in the Wildcats' 9-1 win against Academy of Art at Nettleton Stadium. Chico State recorded season highs in hits (14), runs and stolen bases (5), improving to 10-3 and completing a four-game sweep of the Urban Knights (4-8).
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*Eric Angerer was back in the leadoff spot where he spent 42 games last season and went 1-for-3 with his first stolen base and two runs scored. He also reached via hit-by-pitch for the 48th time in his career, tying the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) record held by Cal Poly Pomona's Andre Gomez.
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*Blake Walker hit second and went 1-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI.
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*Ryne Clark drove in a team-high three runs hitting in the third spot for just the second time in his career.
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*Ruben Padilla went 2-for-5 to increase his team-high batting average to .341.
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*True freshman Clayton Gelfand went 2-for-3, recording his first collegiate hits and his first RBI.
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*Catcher Peter Miller, batting in the six hole for the first time this season, went 3-for-4 to stretch his hitting streak to four games.
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*Ryan McClellan went 1-for-2 with a ringing double as the seventh-place hitter.
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*Ronnie Galosic made his first start as a Wildcat and went 1-for-3 with a run scored.
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*Cody Slader went 1-for-2 with an RBI, scored twice, and stole two bases.
Luke Barker (1-0) picked up the win in his first start of the season. The junior retired the final nine hitters he faced and allowed just one run on five hits and one walk in six innings of work. He struck out four.
Great pitching has become the norm, for these Wildcats. They lowered their team ERA to 2.42 while limiting an opponent to two runs or fewer for the 10
th time in 13 games.
Galosic gave Chico State fans plenty to cheer about on his own. After being used as a late-game defensive replacement or pinch runner 42 times since the start of last season, he got his first chance to start. He took the opportunity and ran with it – literally.
With the score tied 1-1, the senior smacked a single to center field and then raced all the way around to third when the outfielder misplayed the ball. Galosic then tagged on Slader's shallow fly ball to right, avoided the tag with a sensational slide, and then dove on home plate to avoid the tag.
The run gave the Wildcats the lead, started a four-run uprising, and the Wildcats rolled from there.
Chico State, ranked No. 21 in the nation, will jump back into CCAA play with a four-game home series against Cal State Monterey Bay next weekend beginning with a single game Friday at 2 p.m.
