Saturday starting promisingly for the Chico State baseball team. But it ended the way far too many second days of a series have for the Wildcats this season, on the aggravating end of a doubleheader sweep. The Wildcats led 3-0 after three innings in the opener but were outscored 11-2 after that, dropping the first game 5-4 in 10 innings and the second 6-1.
 
The Wildcats have been swept in each of their past three doubleheaders and five of their last seven. They're just 2-12 in those seven series, the main reason their playoff hopes are fading fast.
 
Chico State fell to 14-19 overall and 13-17 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association and now trails fourth-place Cal State Monterey Bay by 5.5 games with 10 to play. Cal State Dominguez Hills improved to 19-18 overall and 13-14 in the CCAA. The Toros are four behind the Otters with 13 games remaining.
 
The Wildcats hope to make up some ground in Sunday's 11 a.m. series finale. Long-time manager Tommy Wigton's retirement ceremony will take place before the game.
 
Danny Miller, Dylan Garcia and Andrew Carrillo drove in runs early in the first game to give Chico State a 3-0 lead. But the Wildcats were 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position after that, striking out five times.
 
The Toros surged ahead 4-3 with two runs in the fourth and two more in the sixth.
 
Connor Huesers gave the Wildcats some hope with a game-tying solo home run in the eighth, but Cal State Dominguez Hills won it with a run in the 10^th.
 
Hope was hard to come by in the nightcap. Kamran Young yanked a solo home run in the first inning to give the Toros a lead they would not relinquish.
 
The Wildcats were hitless with three strikeouts in their first four at-bats with runners on base. Meanwhile, Cal State Dominguez Hills plated another run in the third and three more in the fifth to stretch its lead to 5-0.
 
The Wildcats got their first hit with a man on base in the sixth when Huesers hit a drive off the left field wall. It was almost caught, however, and Garcia and Clayton Gelfand (both who got on via hit by pitch) only moved up one base to load them.
 
Miller made it a 5-1 game with an RBI-grounder, and after Jeff Ortega was hit by a pitch to reload the bases, the Wildcats were in business. But reliever Fernando Gallegos (the winning pitcher in game one) closed the door. He struck out pinch-hitter Tyler Madrid for the second time Saturday, and then got Cameron Santos to fly out to left.
 
The Toros got an insurance run in the sixth and it looked like that might be big in the seventh when the Wildcats got two on with one out. But Peter Lecce and Huesers struck out to end the game.
 
Chico State struck out 19 times in all Saturday.
 
Huesers, Garcia and Miller each had three hits to lead the Chico State offense. Garcia scored three times and Miller drove in two runs.
 
Gallegos allowed just one run (Huesers' homer) in six innings to collect his fifth win and first save of the season.
 
TyRay Gatewood earned his first win of the season in his first start of the season in the nightcap, allowing just one unearned run and striking out eight in five innings of work.