HOUSTON – Chico State baseball coach Dave Taylor deemed the Wildcats' invitation to play against some of the nation's top teams at the Houston Winter Invitational at Minute Maid Park a win-win opportunity during a preseason interview.
"I accepted that invitation because we have a good team and we have a chance to go out there and win three games," said Taylor. "But I see it as a win-win. This is a good opportunity to see where we are at early in the year–good or bad. We could go out there and get it handed to us and that could work for us. Or we could go out there and play well and feel really good about ourselves going into that first conference weekend."
Cam Greenough threw seven shutout innings, striking
out seven, to lower his ERA to 1.06 in three starts.
The Wildcats left Houston following a 3–2 loss to No. 3 Central Missouri on Sunday with plenty to build off of and a lot to work on as well.
Chico State, ranked No. 37 in the nation in the preseason, is now 7-4. Central Missouri improved to 7-2
Sunday's loss was a microcosm of the Wildcats' season thus far. The starting pitching was once again exceptional. Cam Greenough threw seven shutout innings, scattering six hits and striking out seven.
But the Wildcats' offense, with the exception of Cody Snider, scuffled for much of the day. Snider staked Chico State to a 1–0 lead in the third. He led off with a single, moved to second on a bunt, stole third, and then scored on Casey Henderson's sacrifice bunt.
And with the game deadlocked at one in the ninth, Snider skied a home run that snuck just inside the foul pole down the right field line.
But the Chico State bullpen failed to hold a one-run lead for the second straight inning in the bottom half of the frame. And for the second straight inning, a free pass fueled the Mules' rally.
In the eighth, Andrew Schantz surrendered a one-out walk, stolen base, balk, and game-tying base hit.
In the ninth, Jae Wagner walked the leadoff hitter. The tying run reached on an error before a sacrifice bunt tied the game. And with two down, a base hit won it for Central Missouri.
Chico State's starting pitching was exceptional all weekend: Hunter Haworth posted six shutout innings on Friday before running into trouble in the seventh; Casey Costello threw six shutout innings in a win on Saturday; Sunday, Greenough blanked the Mules for seven innings, striking out seven.
Andru Cardnas dives to tag out a Mules baserunner.
The Wildcats' defense continues to impress as well. They committed just one error in the three games in Houston and have just three errors in the first 11 games of the season.
But the team's struggles at the plate continued. They had eight hits Sunday (seven singles), but went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and 1-for-11 with runners on base. Over their three games in Houston the Wildcats hit just .183, and had an even harder time with runners on base (.103) and runners in scoring position (.083).
They lost two of three.
The bullpen scuffled in Houston as well, allowing six runs (four earned) on nine hits and six walks in seven and two-thirds innings.
Chico State heads into its opening California Collegiate Athletic Association series this weekend with plenty to be excited about and plenty to work on as well. The Wildcats will host Stanislaus State in single games Friday at 2 p.m. and Saturday at noon before playing a doubleheader in Turlock Sunday beginning at 1.
