Welcome to the 2015, Chico State baseball fans. Welcome to the college game, Cameron Santos. This looks like it's going to be fun!
 
The true freshman Santos made a pair of fearless dashes to score the tying run and then Andrew Carrillo lived up to his Twitter handle (AC_Is_IceCold) with a bases loaded, two-out, walk off single through the right side to send the Wildcats home with a 3-2 win against rival Sonoma State on opening night at Nettleton Stadium.
 
Chico State won its fifth straight, improving to 5-2 on the season and 4-0 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, moving into a three-way tie for first in the conference standings. Sonoma State fell to 3-8 and 0-5 in the CCAA.
 
Santos made his first collegiate appearance as pinch runner for Tyler Madrid, who drew a one-out walk to start the rally. Santos made a daring dash from first to third on Connor Huesers' line single to left, tumbling safely into the bag after a head-first dive as the ball bounced off the third baseman's glove. A perfect throw and catch could have spelled disaster, but the pressure Santos applied proved too much to for the Seawolves to overcome.
 

After Matt Jacobson was intentionally walked to load the bases, Gordon Deacon came to the plate and put together a great at-bat, fouling off a number of pitches before hitting a medium-deep fly ball down the left field line. Third-base coach Jose Garcia sent Santos, who sprinted down the line and slid headfirst, just under and around the tag of catcher Spencer Neve, after left fielder Adam Manzer delivered a perfect throw home.
 
Sean Smith, another freshman, was then hit by a pitch to re-load the bases and set the stage for Carrillo, who came through in the clutch. The junior transfer from Azusa Pacific lined a single through the hole between first and second base for the game-winner.
 
That hit made a winner out of Chico State reliever AJ Epstein (1-0), who threw three innings of one-hit ball and retired the first eight batters he faced.
 
Starting pitcher Luke Barker, the reigning CCAA and West Region Pitcher of the Week, allowed two runs on nine hits in six innings of work. He didn't have his best stuff, but minimized the damage by working out of a pair of highly volatile situations. 
 
First he got a bases-loaded double-play grounder to end the third. He stranded runners in scoring position in the fourth and fifth. And in the sixth, after allowing a run on three straight hits to start the inning, the Seawolves had two runners in scoring position with only one out. But the crafty right-hander induced consecutive grounders to third get out of the inning and give the Wildcats a chance to come back, down just 2-0.
 
The Wildcats got a run back in the seventh when Huesers singled home Peter Miller, who got on with a one-out single and moved into scoring position with Madrid's walk.
 
Smith finished 3-for-3 with a pair of stolen bases to spark the Wildcats' offense from the ninth spot in the batting order. Carrillo was 3-for-5 and Huesers 2-for-4.
 
The series continues with a doubleheader Friday starting at 11 a.m. and concludes with the fourth annual Capital City Clash at Raley Field in Sacramento Sunday at 1 p.m. Tickets are still available via the "Ticket Information" link at www.chicowildcats.com.