Neither Mother Nature nor defending West Region Champion Cal Poly Pomona could slow the Chico State baseball team's roll.
The Wildcats swept the Broncos, ranked No. 6 in the nation and picked to win the California Collegiate Athletic Association's (CCAA) South Division in the preseason, and won a battle with the wind while running their win streak to 14 games Saturday at Nettleton Stadium.
The wind was whipping in from right field when Cameron Santos stepped to the plate in a tie game in the bottom of the ninth inning of game one. The junior third baseman barreled one right into the teeth of the tempest and still cleared the wall by plenty for a walk-off grand slam and 7–3 win.
The 13
th-ranked Wildcats rallied from two down in the nightcap to win 3–2 and improve to 21-4, setting a new program standard for consecutive home wins at 14. They've won their first 12 at home this season and won their final two games at "The Nett" last season.
Cal Poly Pomona fell to 13-12 overall and 9-5 in the CCAA.
The series concludes with a single game Sunday at 11 a.m. The game will be broadcast locally on AM-1290 KPAY. Audio will also be streamed online at
www.chicowildcats.com, where links to live stats will also be found. Fans can find them in the calendar section on the homepage and on the baseball schedule page.
Sonny Cortez was 5-for-5 with three runs scored and a stolen base in
Saturday's first game.
A victory Sunday would match the program record for consecutive home wins to start a season, tie for second in consecutive conference wins, and match the fourth longest winning streak in the program's history. Their 14-straight conference wins out of the gate is already a school record.
Chico State trailed 3–2 heading to the bottom of the ninth in the opener. Cody Snider's third hit of the game, a single up the middle, started the comeback. Snider advanced to second on a balk and third on Marcos Valencia's sacrifice bunt. When pinch hitter Andrew Carrillo was hit by an 0-2 pitch to put runners on the corners, Cal Poly Pomona Head Coach Randy Betten signaled for his closer, Ryan Alsworth.
But no one was getting Sonny Cortez out in game one. The senior center fielder slapped his fifth straight hit into center field to plate Snider with the tying run.
Andru Cardenas was hit by a pitch to re-load the bases for Santos, setting up the dramatic game winner.
Some scouts were on hand to see two of the West Region's top pitching prospects–Cal Poly Pomona's Jeff Bain (a transfer from California) and Chico State's Hunter Haworth–but Santos and Cortez were the players who made the biggest impressions.
Cortez went 5-for-5 with three runs and a stolen base. Santos was 2-for-5 with five RBI and made some outstanding plays at third base.
Haworth and Bain both finished with no-decisions. Bain allowed two runs on nine hits in seven innings and struck out five. Haworth went six innings, allowing two runs on six hits, and struck out five.
Grant Wright retired six in a row for the Wildcats to earn the win, improving to 2-0. Peter Beattie (3-1) took the loss, allowing two runs on one hit in an inning and a third. Alsworth surrendered three runs on two hits without retiring a batter.
The Wildcats had to rally to win the nightcap as well. They just didn't wait so long this time.
Cal Poly Pomona grabbed a 2–0 lead in the fourth. It marked just the second time in the Wildcats' first 25 games that their opponents drew first blood.
Cody Snider went 4-for-7 with a stolen base Saturday.
Chico State answered right back with two runs in the bottom half of the inning. Dillon Kelley led off the inning with a double, and after Josh Falco drew a walk, Jimbo Pernetti drilled a game-tying double to right-center.
The Wildcats grabbed the lead for good in the fifth. Santos got things started with a one-out double before Falco slapped an RBI-single through the left side for a 3–2 lead.
Chico State starter Casey Costello, Wright, and closer Anthony Baleto made the lead stand up. Costello improved to 5-0 in his seventh start, allowing two runs on three hits in six-and-two-thirds. Wright retired all four hitters he faced. Baleto slammed the door in the ninth, working around a one-out single, for his fourth save.
Santos went 3-for-4. Falco was 2-for-3 with a par of stolen bases.
Santos and Kelley have now hit safely in eight straight games. Falco has hit safely in seven in a row and reached base in 15 straight games. Santos has reached base safely in 13 in a row.
Longest home winning streak in Chico State baseball history
14 – 2016-17 (includes last 2 games of 2016)
13 – 2004
13 – 2002
12 – 2008
Longest winning streaks in Chico State baseball history
20 – 2002
17 – 1999-2000 (includes last 7 games of 1999)
16 – 1987
15 – 2013
15 – 1997
14 – 2006
14 – 2017
Longest home winning streak to start the season in Chico State baseball history
13 – 2002
12 – 2017
Consecutive conference wins in Chico State history
16 – 1987
15 – 2013
14 – 2017
