Hunter Haworth and Grant Wright combined on a four-hitter as the Chico State baseball team bounced back from a frustrating 7-6 first-game loss to beat Sonoma State 3-1 and split Saturday's doubleheader at Nettleton Stadium.
Haworth took a shutout into the sixth and nearly went the distance before a two-out walk in the seventh. Wright walked the first batter he faced, but got Seawolves' leading hitter Ryan O'Malley on a grounder to first for his first collegiate save.
Haworth allowed a run on four hits and struck out seven in six-and-two-thirds.
Grant Wright got the final out in
the nightcap for his first save.
With the split, the Wildcats are now tied atop the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) North Division standings with Cal State Monterey Bay at 17-12. Cal State East Bay is a half-game back at 16-12. Sonoma State (14-14) is now two games out of the third and final North Division postseason spot and 2.5 out of first.
Chico State, 27-14 overall, put up three runs in the first inning of the first game and led 4-0 before fumbling the game away, allowing the tying run on a hit batsman and error that led to an unearned run in the ninth, and the game-winning run on an unearned run in the 11th.
Sonny Cortez's leadoff single sparked the three-run first. He eventually scored on a passed ball, Dillon Kelley came around to score on an error, and Josh Falco singled home the third run of the frame.
Casey Bennett walked and stole second in the second, setting the stage for Ben Gamba's RBI-single that stretched the lead to 4-0.
Sonoma State got two runs in the third and another in the fourth against Wildcats' starter AJ Epstein. He went five-and-two-thirds innings and left with the lead, however.
Chico State tacked on two more runs in the fourth on RBI-grounders by Gamba and Kelley.
Sonoma State got a run closer in the eighth to make it 6-5.
Then, with no on and two down in the ninth, the wheels came off for the Wildcats. Steven Baker had a 1-2 count on the Seawolves' Bryant Cid before hitting him with a pitch. Trevor Adams then blooped a single down the right field line. Falco's throw back into the infield one-hopped second-baseman Cameron Santos and got by him, allowing Cid to come all the way around to score the tying run on the throwing error.
The Wildcats had a good opportunity to retake the lead in the 10
th when Jerrett Maas singled and moved into scoring position on Falco's bunt. But the Seawolves wiggled off the hook.
And in the 11
th, another Chico State error proved costly. Matthew Richards' base hit to center skipped over the glove of Cortez and rolled to the wall. He came in to score the winning run on a wild pitch.
Ben Gamba drove in two runs in
the first game and went 3x3
in the nightcap.
Cortez got on leading off the bottom half of the inning, but Santos grounded into a double play to end the threat.
The Wildcats jumped out to an early lead in the second game as well. Cortez singled leading off the inning and eventually scored on Maas' sacrifice fly for a 1-0 lead.
They added two more to their advantage in the third. Santos singled and Gamba doubled to start the frame and then Snider singled Santos home. Falco singled through the left side to plate Gamba for a 3-0 lead.
Haworth cruised through the first five innings, striking out six. He got grounders to second to end the only two scoring threats he faced.
The Seawolves finally got to him with two down in the sixth backing up a base hit with an RBI-double. But a ground ball ended the threat.
Gamba, who drove in two in the first game, finished 3-for-3 in the second game.
Cortez went 2-for-5 with a stolen base and two runs scored in the opener.
Santos had hits in both games to stretch his hitting streak to eight. He and Cortez have each reached base in eight in a row.
The series concludes with a single game Sunday, which also marks the final home game of the season for the Wildcats. The team's eight seniors will be honored prior to the game in a ceremony scheduled to start at approximately 11:40 a.m.
