SAN FRANCISCO—The Chico State softball team entered its makeup series with San Francisco State Tuesday sporting one of the top offenses and pitching staffs in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). The sparkling stats evidently didn't do much to impress the host Gators, which held the Wildcats to just two runs and eight hits the entire day and did just enough offensively to hand the 'Cats their first back-to-back losses of the season in a 4-1 and 2-1 doubleheader sweep.
The losses dropped the No. 6 Wildcats to 15-4 on the season and 10-4 in the CCAA. San Francisco State, which had lost 10 straight games earlier in the season, extended its current winning streak to three in a row and now stands at 8-14 overall and 7-11 in CCAA play.
Ari Marsh and Olivia Dallara were the lone Wildcats with more than one hit on the afternoon. Kristen Worley singled in the doubleheader opener, but went 0-for-1 in the nightcap to halt her team-high hitting streak at 11 straight games.
In game one, Wildcat pitcher Haley Gilham had trouble with her command early in the contest, and San Francisco State took full advantage. The Gators used a walk, single and sacrifice bunt in the bottom of the first inning to set the table for Sara Higa, who laced a double to center field to plate Aryn Guzman and put San Francisco State in front. An RBI groundout later in the frame gave the Gators a quick 2-0 lead.
San Francisco State scored again in the bottom of the second, but Chico State finally answered in the top of the fourth inning when Claire Wayne singled home Worley to make it a 3-1 contest. The Gators got the run right back in the bottom of the fourth, and that was more than enough cushion for San Francisco State starter Megan Clark, who held the 'Cats hitless over the final three frames to give the Gators the 4-1 win.
San Francisco State picked up where they left off in game two, immediately reaching Wildcat lefty Samantha Mulock for a pair of first inning runs. Chico State cut the Gators' lead in half in top of the second on one swing of Dallara's bat, as she belted a solo homer—her second of the season—over the right-center field fence.
That would be all the offense generated by either team the rest of the way. The 'Cats had a chance to tie the game in the top of the fourth inning, but Wayne was thrown out at the plate trying to score from first on a double by Dallara. While Mulock held the Gators in check, Chico State was unable to get any offense going over the final three frames. The Wildcats were held to just one hit—a Bowley single in the sixth—by San Francisco State reliever Lindsey Cassidy, and despite getting the tying run in scoring position with one out in the top of the seventh, the Wildcats couldn't come up with the clutch hit in crunch time, allowing the Gators to hold on for the 2-1 win and the doubleheader sweep.
Chico State and San Francisco State conclude their four-game series Wednesday with a doubleheader beginning at noon. Fans can follow the action online with Live Stats via the Wildcat Athletics website.
