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Box Score 2 CHICO – There were plenty of zeroes being put up Friday as the Chico State softball team opened its four-game series with Cal State Dominguez Hills, but when the two teams did plate runs, they did it in bunches, leading to a pair of lopsided final scores. The Wildcats could not get much going offensively in the opening game of Friday's doubleheader, dropping a 9-0 decision to the Toros, but with Emily McEnaney and Desiree' Gonzalez powering the 'Cats with home runs in the nightcap, Brooke Langeloh delivered her first career shutout as Chico State came back to whitewash Dominguez Hills 7-0 at University Softball Field.
With Friday's split, Chico State moves to 8-11 on the season and 6-8 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). Cal State Dominguez Hills is now 14-8 overall and 8-4 in CCAA play.
Sammi Ridgway had three of the Wildcats' nine total hits on the day, with McEnaney and Alli Cook picking up two safeties apiece. Chico State swiped four bases on the afternoon, with Cook extending her CCAA lead with two steals to give her a dozen on the season.
Game one of Friday's doubleheader was, quite frankly, the Adriana Sanchez show. The senior shortstop, an All-American a year ago, went 3-for-3 and drove in six of the Toros' first seven runs. Dominguez Hills went up 2-0 in the top of the first inning when Sanchez doubled home Catherine Brown and Madison Murphy, then with two aboard in the top of the second, Sanchez launched her sixth home run of the year to give the Toros a 5-0 lead.
Dominguez Hills starting pitcher Jamie Duran held the 'Cats to just two hits in the contest, but Chico State did have a chance to climb back into the contest in the bottom of the third inning, putting runners at second and third with one out. Duran was able to wiggle out of the jam by inducing two straight groundouts to end the inning and keep the Wildcats off the scoreboard.
The Toros put the game away with two runs in the top of the fourth inning – one coming home on a single by Sanchez – and two more tallies in the fifth to cruise to the 9-0 victory. Alex Molina (4-6) started in the circle for Chico State but lasted just 1.2 innings and was charged with the loss.
The nightcap was a totally different story, as the Wildcats staked Langeloh to a big early lead. In the bottom of the first inning McEnaney plated Ridgway with a single to right, and Gonzalez followed with a monster home run to center to give the 'Cats a 3-0 lead. In the bottom of the second Kelli Keefe came home on Cook's bunt single, then McEnaney chased Duran with a three-run homer to left, ballooning Chico State's advantage to 7-0.
That was more than enough run support for Langeloh, as the righthander deftly mixed her pitches and kept the Dominguez Hills hitters off balance. The sophomore took a two-hitter into the top of the seventh inning and finished with a flourish, retiring the Toros in order to give Chico State the 7-0 win and the doubleheader split. McEnaney had two of the Wildcats' seven hits in the contest while racking up four runs batted in. Langeloh struck out four in going the distance to even her season record at 1-1.
The Wildcats conclude their four-game series with Dominguez Hills Saturday with a doubleheader scheduled to get underway at 11 a.m. Fans not able to attend in person can follow the action online with Live Stats through the Wildcat Athletics website.
