Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3 TURLOCK – The Chico State softball team won a pair of games on Friday's opening day of the Tournament of Champions, doing it in dramatically different fashions. The Wildcats piled up 14 hits and rolled to a lopsided 10-1 win over Central Washington, then after dropping a 5-2 decision to Simon Fraser, the 'Cats bounced back to score three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning and pull out a 4-3 victory over Western Oregon in action at the Pedretti Softball Complex in Turlock.
 
With the two Friday wins, Chico State's record now stands at 18-9 on the season.

 

Alli Cook collected seven hits over Friday's three Tournament of Champions games, while Desiree' Gonzalez contributed five hits including a home run and seven runs batted in. Emily McEnaney also produced five hits on the day for the Wildcats.
 
Chico State wasted little time getting on the board against Central Washington, as first inning RBI singles by Gonzalez, Zimmermann and Courtney Brown staked Haley Gilham to an early lead. Gonzalez delivered again in the second, knocking in Cook with a base hit to right field to extend Chico State's advantage to 4-0.
 
Chico State broke the contest wide open in the top of the third inning. Aided by three Central Washington errors, Chico State scored six times – Gonzalez capping the uprising with a two-run homer – to go up 10-0. Gonzalez's round-tripper, the 20th of her career, ties her with Hailey Stockman for the most home runs in Chico State softball history.
 
Gilham's streak of consecutive scoreless innings ended at 31.1 when Central Washington plated a run in the fourth, but the freshman tossed a 1-2-3 fifth frame to lock down Chico State's 10-1 victory.
 
Against Simon Fraser, the runs were a little harder to come by. Pitchers Brooke Langeloh of the Wildcats and the Clan's Alia Stachoski matched each other zero for zero through the first three innings before Chico State broke through in the top of the fourth – walks to Gonzalez and Brynn Lesovsky and a base hit by McEnaney loaded the bases for Zimmermann, who delivered a sacrifice fly to center to plate pinch-runner Cailin Garmon and give the 'Cats a 1-0 lead.
 
Chico State went up 2-0 in the fifth when Cook's two-out triple chased home Ashley Huff, and the Wildcats had a chance to extend its advantage in the sixth but left the bases loaded. The missed scoring opportunity would prove costly – Simon Fraser sent 10 batters to the plate in the bottom of the sixth, erupting for five runs to jump out in front. The Wildcats put two aboard to get the potential tying run to the plate in the top of the seventh inning, but Stachoski retired both McEnaney and Gonzlaez on groundouts to end the contest, giving the Clan the come-from-behind 5-2 victory.
 
Friday's final game against Western Oregon saw the Wolves plate three runs in the top of the first inning, but the 'Cats got one back in the bottom of the frame when a bases-loaded walk to Gonzalez forced home Huff to make it a 3-1 contest.
 
Gilham, who surrendered the three first inning runs, settled down quickly in the pitcher's circle and held the Wolves scoreless on just two hits over the next six frames, retiring 11 Western Oregon batters at one point. Chico State had several chances to slice into the deficit, but just couldn't come up with a clutch hit, leaving runners in scoring position in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings.
 
Chico State finally broke through in the bottom of the seventh inning – after Huff was hit by a pitch and Cook singled to left, Lesovsky laid down a sacrifice bunt and reached when the ball was thrown down the right field line, allowing Huff to score. With runners at second and third, Western Oregon elected to intentionally walk McEnaney to load the bases, setting the stage for Gonzalez to deliver the game-winner – her ground single up the middle plated Cook and pinch-runner Garmon to give the Wildcats the dramatic 4-3 victory. Gilham went the distance to post her 10th complete game and improve her season record to 9-4.  
 
The Wildcats play two games Saturday during the second day of the Tournament of Champions, taking on Holy Names at 11:15 a.m. and Montana State-Billings at 2:15 p.m.