SAN MARCOS – The only thing more sensational than the pitching the Chico State baseball team got from its bullpen Saturday was the Wildcats' wild comeback in the nightcap that secured their doubleheader sweep at Cal State San Marcos.
 
Five Wildcats came out of the bullpen to produce a combined nine-and-a-third shutout innings as the Wildcats won the first game 9-1 and the second 7-4 in 10 innings.
 
Chico State, ranked No. 22 in the nation, has now won eight straight to improve to 22-6 overall and 12-4 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). The Wildcats now lead the North Division by three games.
 

Noah Villegas pitched a 1-2-3 sixth in relief of game one starter Clayton Gelfand, who threw five strong innings to get the win, allowing only an unearned run, and improving to 6-2. AJ Epstein got the last nine batters in succession for his second save of the season.
 
Chico State trailed 4-2 in the second game when Peter Lecce was called upon to get the team out of a two-out, second-and-third jam. He struck out the only batter he faced to keep the Wildcats close.
 
Stuart Bradley then provided Wildcats three shutout frames as the offense tried to come back against Cougars' ace Emilio Esquibel.
 
They cut the lead to 4-3 on Cody Bistline's RBI single in the sixth but were down to their last out in the ninth before tying the game with an improbable rally.
 
Sonny Cortez drew a two-out walk and Cameron Santos singled to chase Esquibel, who had been a strike away from a complete game on two occasions. They loaded the bases when Cortez was called safe on the attempt to get him at third on Ben Gamba's chopper to short.
 
Dillon Kelley then tied the game with a grounder up the middle that the second baseman smothered but could not collect in time for a force out at second. Cortez scored, but Santos was thrown out trying for the go-ahead run.
 
The Cougars immediately answered with a leadoff triple in the bottom of the ninth and were in prime position to get the walkoff win. Bradley intentionally walked the next two batters to load the bases with nobody out. That's when Steven Baker walked to the mound and delivered a minor miracle. Baker got a grounder to short that Tony Roque threw home for the force out. Baker kept Roque busy with another grounder, this one a 6-4-3 double play, to get out of the inning and keep the Wildcat alive.
 
Chico State then got three in the 10^th to win it. Josh Falco started things with a one-out double and moved to third on an error. Andru Cardenas walked to put runners on the corners. Braxton Phillips – the walkoff hero of the Wildcats' win last Saturday – came through again. Phillips doubled home the winning run with a liner down the left-field line. Cortez gave them some insurance with a two-run single before Baker closed the door in the 10^th.
 
It wasn't particularly easy. Baker surrendered a leadoff walk and the next batter reached on a fielders' choice. But Baker got back-to-back strikeouts and a groundout to end the game and collect the win, improving to 4-0.
 
Cortez, 2-for-6 in the opener and 2-for-5 with a run and two RBIs in the nightcap, stretched his hitting streak to 12 games and on-base streak to 23. Cortez has five multi-hit games in a row.
 
Ben Gamba had a hit in each game and has now reached base safely in 15 straight and has a 10-game hitting streak.
 
Dillon Kelley led the offense with six hits, He was 2-for-4 with a run in the opener and 4-for-5 with the game-tying RBI in the second game.
 
The bottom of the order keyed the Wildcats' win in game one. Cardenas, the No. 8 hitter, went 2-for-5 with two runs and three RBI. Casey Bennett, the No. 9 hitter, was 3-for-5 with three RBI.
 

Cardenas' two-run triple was the big hit in a three-run second inning that gave Chico State the lead for good. Bennett followed with an RBI double. He added a two-run double in the Wildcats' four-run ninth.
 
The series concludes with a single game Sunday at 11 a.m. The Wildcats will have one day off before traveling to face Cal State East Bay Tuesday. They'll complete a game halted by rain with the 'Cats trailing 5-4 in the bottom of the eighth beginning at 10 a.m. and then immediately complete the four-game series with a doubleheader.
 
Tomorrow's game will be broadcast locally on AM-1290 KPAY and online. Tuesday's games will feature online-only broadcasts. Fans can listen online and/or follow the livestats via links provided in the calendar section and on the baseball schedule page at www.chicowildcats.com.