CARSON—There was no doubt about it—the Chico State softball team's bats were on fire Saturday. The No. 9 Wildcats enjoyed their most productive day of the season in taking both ends of a doubleheader against Cal State Dominguez Hills, piling up 23 runs—11 coming in the fourth inning of game two—and 29 hits to win 7-1 and 16-6 to complete a four-game weekend sweep of the host Toros.
Saturday's two victories moved Chico State's overall record to 12-1 and into a share of first place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with a 7-1 conference mark. Cal State Dominguez Hills fell to 1-16 on the season and 0-12 in CCAA play.
Olivia Dallara led the Wildcats' offensive charge with five hits and seven runs batted in. Claire Wayne belted two home runs among her four hits on the day, with Kristen Worley and Ari Marsh also collecting four safeties. Karli Skowrup contributed three hits, while Megan Bowley racked up three hits and four RBI.
Chico State jumped out in front in game one of the doubleheader, plating a pair in the top of the first inning. Worley came home from third on a successful double steal, with Bowley swiping second and later scoring on a Dominguez Hills error, staking starting pitcher Haley Gilham to a 2-0 lead.
In the top of third inning, Chico State erupted for four runs—three coming on one swing. Worley and Marsh delivered back-to-back singles, and Bowley chased Worley home with a sacrifice fly to center. Following a base hit by Wayne, Dallara crushed her first career Wildcat home run to center field, ballooning Chico State's advantage to 6-0.
Gilham, meanwhile, kept the Toros off the scoreboard until the sixth inning, when Dominguez Hills plated what would prove to be their lone run of the game. Wayne capped off the Wildcats' scoring with a solo homer in the top of the seventh, and Gilham set down the Toros without incident in the bottom of the frame to lock down Chico State's 7-1 victory.
Gilham scattered four hits and struck out three in going the distance, raising her season record to 7-0. Worley racked up three of Chico State's 12 hits in the contest.
Looking to salvage the final game of the series, Dominguez Hills struck first in game two of the double dip with a run in the bottom of the second inning. The Wildcats quickly knotted up the contest in the top of the third when Skowrup singled and scored on a Toros error.
The roof literally caved in on Dominguez Hills in the top of the fourth, when the 'Cats sent 15 batters to the plate, scoring 11 times. Marsh led off the inning with a triple down the right field line and scored on an infield single by Bowley. Wayne followed with a double, and Dallara knocked in both Bowley and Wayne on a double to left-center, putting Chico State up 4-1.
Skrowrup promptly singled home Dallara, and back-to-back RBI singles by Worley and Marsh made the score 7-1. With the bags juiced, Bowley cleared the bases with a double, then came around to score when Wayne delivered her second home run of the day—the two-run shot extending the Wildcats' advantage to 12-1.
The Toros scored a run in the bottom of the fourth, only to see the 'Cats put up another crooked number in the fifth. Mia Quintero delivered a double to drive in Mya Reynolds, then later in the frame Marsh singled home Lynea Klemmedson. Dallara concluded the Wildcats' scoring with a two-run double, extending Chico State's lead to 16-2.
The Toros' Lyzette Reveles hit a grand slam in the bottom of the fifth inning, but it was far too little and far too late for Dominguez Hills, as the Wildcats recorded the final outs to win 16-6 to complete the doubleheader and series sweep.
Samantha Mulock allowed just two unearned runs in four-and-two-thirds-innings of work to earn the victory and improve to 3-1 on the year. Marsh and Dallara each had three hits in the contest, with Bowley, Wayne and Skowrup adding two safeties apiece.
Chico State returns home next weekend to host Stanislaus State at University Softball Field. The four-game set gets underway Friday with a noon doubleheader, followed by a Saturday twin bill beginning at 11 a.m.
