Talk about experiencing both the highs and lows of a new season on the very first day of competition – the Chico State softball team visited both ends of the spectrum Saturday as it opened up the 2016 campaign with a doubleheader split against Academy of Art. The Wildcats were one out away from wrapping up the opener, only to commit back-to-back errors in the seventh inning to let the visiting Urban Knights steal a 3-2 win. But the 'Cats recovered with authority in the nightcap, pounding out 16 hits to roll to a 14-1 victory.
The Wildcats got plenty of production out of some of their newest players. Junior transfer Cyrena Taylor had four hits on the day and drove in three runs, with Melanie Abzun picking up three runs batted in with her first home run in a Chico State uniform. Claire Wayne and Megan Bowley each had a pair of hits in their Wildcat debuts, while returner Cailin Garmon blasted a three-run homer to highlight a 3-for-3 performance in game two.
The Chico State pitching staff was also effective, allowing just one earned run in 12 innings of work.
Game one of Saturday's doubleheader began as a pitcher's duel between the Wildcats' Haley Gilham and Brenna Mitchell of Academy of Art. Mitchell retired the first eight she faced before Wayne collected Chico State's first hit of the season with a line single to left field. Meanwhile, Gilham allowed just two hits through her first six innings of work.
The 'Cats broke through in the bottom of the sixth when Bowley delivered a pinch-hit single to plate Wayne, and later in the inning Sarah Galaviz scored on a two-out Academy of Art error.
Up 2-0 in the top of the seventh, Gilham allowed back-to-back hits before retiring the next two hitters. But the third squeeze proved elusive, as a run scored on a dropped popup followed by a miscue in left field that allowed two runs to come home and give Academy of Art a 3-2 lead. Chico State was able to get the tying run to second base with one out in the bottom of the seventh, but Mitchell got the next two batters on fly balls to nail down the Urban Knights' come-from-behind victory.
Gilham went the distance for the 'Cats but was tagged with the hard-luck loss.
In the second game of the double dip Chico State came out looking like an offensive juggernaut. The Wildcats went up 3-0 in the bottom of the first with Bowley and Desiree' Gonzalez providing RBI singles, and after Brenna Youngquist smacked a solo homer in the top of the second to put Academy of Art on the board, the Wildcats responded by sending 13 batters to the plate in the bottom of the frame, scoring eight times. A bunt single by Garmon plated Abzun and Alli Cook scored on a wild pitch, followed by a two-run double by Taylor, an RBI single by Briana Contreras and a three-run homer to left by Abzun to put the Wildcats in front 11-1.
The 'Cats kept the bats cooking in the fourth inning, as Garmon ripped a two-run bomb to right field and Taylor singled home Bowley to make it 14-1. Chico State starting pitcher Brooke Langeloh, the beneficiary of all the run production, allowed just one hit over four innings before turning things over to Cheyenne Sandoval, who got the final three outs to lock down the Wildcats' 14-1 win and the doubleheader split.
Chico State is back in action on Sunday, welcoming Dominican University (1-3) to University Softball Field for a Super Bowl doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. Fans unable to attend can follow the action on the Internet via Live Stats and live streaming video, available through the Wildcat Athletics website.
