The Chico State baseball team gave Cal State Monterey Bay a taste of its own medicine in game one of Saturday's doubleheader. The 'Cats blasted three home runs over the left field fence, including Cameron Santos' seventh-inning grand slam, and went on to win 17-9. Game two, scheduled for seven innings, lasted almost four hours before Cal State Monterey Bay won it in the 12th.
Chico State is now 11-4 overall and 1-2 in the California College Athletic Association (CCAA). Cal State Monterey Bay, ranked No. 16 in the nation, is 13-2 overall and 2-1 in the CCAA.
Behind a strong outing from starting pitcher Steven Baker, making his first CCAA appearance, the Wildcats' found their swings on an overcast day at Nettleton Stadium in game one. The cool air didn't chill the 'Cats' bats. They totaled 21 hits, 18 of them singles.
There were big stat lines up and down the lineup for Chico State. Seven players recorded multi-hit performances. Ben Gamba led with four hits, one of which was a 2-run homer in the 6th inning. Dillon Kelley, Cody Snider and Cameron Santos had three hits apiece and combined for 11 RBI. Casey Bennett and pinch-hitter Braxton Phillips added two hits apiece.
The Otters were no slouches at the dish either. The CCAA leader in home runs, they collected 15 hits, highlighted by a solo shot to dead center off the bat of Kevin Davidson. Davidson was 2-for-4 on the day with two walks and three runs scored to accompany the homer. Justin Flores and Jeffery Amaral added three hits each. Flores scored three runs and Amaral had 4 RBI.
Neither teams ERA was helped by this game, but Baker did enough to get the win. His final line: four earned runs, six hits with six strikeouts over five and a third innings. The transfer from College of Marin struggled commanding his off-speed pitches throughout the day, but he battled and kept his fastball low in the strike zone. The win brings his record to 3-0 with a 3.33 ERA.
The 'Cats jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first and wouldn't give it up. Kelley's two-run homer (the first to leave the yard at home this year for the Wildcats) provided the punctuation mark to the first four innings for the Wildcats, who jumped to a 7-2 lead.
Although Chico State led the whole game, there were a few tense moments – none more than in the sixth inning when Baker loaded the bases on a hit and two walks with the Wildcats leading 7-2. Coach Dave Taylor made the call to the pen for relief pitcher Grant Wright to try and get out of the jam. Although he surrendered a two-run single, Wright minimized the damage and got the 'Cats out of the inning up 7-4.
Chico State's offense tacked on 10 more runs over the next three hitting chances, including the Kelley and Santos bombs, putting the game out of reach for Cal State Monterey Bay.
Noah Villegas and Peter Lecce closed out the last three innings to secure the win for Wildcats.
As the skies cleared, the Wildcats' took the field for game two behind the arm of sophomore Hunter Haworth in his first start of the season. Haworth has been a staple at the end of the pen so far this year but was one of the starters for the 'Cats last season.
Chico State once again struck first. After loading the bases on a hit and two talks, Sonny Cortez drew a walk, bringing Santos home, for a 1-0 lead in the second. The 'Cats failed to bring any more across, which would become a theme over the next 10 innings. The Wildcats left 14 on base in the game.
Chico State added two more runs, getting one in the third and one in the fifth. Cal State Monterey Bay scored one of their own in the third, but couldn't muster much offense in the early part of the game.
Haworth was cruising, having retired 13 of the last 14 with the Otters down to their final out before before Amaral, Brian Bostjancic and Matt Urakami strung together three consecutive hits – Urakami's plating the tying run. Torgen Soderlund took over on the mound and finished the inning without further damage.
Chico State started the seventh with a leadoff double by Gamba, but left him stranded.
The game remained tied until the 10th when Myles Hager took a Soderlund slider over the right-center field wall for his sixth home run of the year. Chico battled right back in the bottom half, jump started by a leadoff single from Dylan Yamasaki. Yamasaki advanced to second on a Bennett bunt and then scored when Sonny Cortez's infield hit – a chopper to the right side – was thrown away by Hager.
The game went to the 12th when the big bats for Cal State Monterey came back up. Will Rosado singled, setting the table for the inning. Davidson advanced Rosado before Justin Flores' ground single up the middle gave the Otters the lead.
The 'Cats couldn't manage anything in the bottom half, giving Cal State Monterey Bay a 2-1 series lead heading into Sunday's series finale at noon.
Gamba continued his big day in game two, going 3-for-4 with two walks, a double and two runs scored. Cortez added three hits in the extra inning affair.
Soderlund, despite taking the loss, was excellent out of the bullpen, going five and a third while allowing two runs on four hits and striking out six. Haworth gets a no decision for his six and two thirds, in which he allowed seven hits and didn't walk a batter.
