The Chico State baseball team kicked off a 10-game homestand with a doubleheader sweep of Cal State L.A. Friday, improving to 17-1 at "The Nett." Josh Falco drove in four runs, leading an offensive charge that featured five Wildcats with multiple RBI. And Hunter Haworth combined with three relievers on a six-hitter in the nightcap as the Wildcats continued their march toward a second consecutive California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) title with wins of 11–8 and 7–1.
Ranked No. 5 in the nation entering the weekend, Chico State is now 30-7 overall and 23-3 in the CCAA. With 12 games to play in the regular season, the Wildcats now lead UC San Diego by 5.5 games in the race for the conference crown, and Cal State East Bay by eight games for the North Division title.
This matches the program's best record through 37 games since 2002. The 2000 and 2002 Wildcats each started 32-5. The 1997, 2007, 2013, and 2014 Wildcats all started 30-7.
The Wildcats' first win Saturday was unlike most of their victories this season. They committed a season-high three errors, and starter Casey Costello gave up more two earned runs for the first time all season. But the offense carried them.
Hunter Haworth struck out eight in six-plus scoreless innings.
Jimbo Pernetti drove in three runs, and Falco and Cameron Santos two apiece to lead the charge. The Wildcats also stole six bases, led by Santos' career-high three.
Costello and the Wildcats allowed two runs in the top of the first. But Chico State answered with four in the bottom-half of the inning and added two in the second and another in the third to take control of the game.
Dillon Kelley and Falco singled home runs to tie the game in the first, and then Pernetti belted a two-run double to right-center to give Chico State the lead for keeps.
Casey Bennett singled and stole second to get things started in the second. After a walk to Sonny Cortez and Cody Snider's sacrifice bunt, Santos singled up the middle to drive in a pair.
In the third, RJ Hassey singled and stole second ahead of Bennett's RBI-single to center that made it 7–2.
Costello ran into trouble in the sixth, but reliever Grant Wright struck out the potential tying run to preserve a 7–5 lead.
And for the second time in the game, Chico State answered a Golden Eagles rally. Snider singled to open up the bottom-half of the inning and scored on Falco's two-out single. Pernetti then lined a single to center to score Santos and build the lead back to four.
They tacked on two more runs in the seventh, one on Snider's RBI-single, to make it an 11–5 game.
Stuart Bradley, who pitched the final three innings to earn his third save, kept the Golden Eagles off the scoreboard until a two-out, three-run homer in the ninth made the score appear closer than the game really was.
Costello earned the victory to improve to 9-0.
The Wildcats jumped on Cal State L.A. early in the second game as well. And the Golden Eagles could not answer against Haworth, Chico State's starter. The junior struck out eight in six-and-two-thirds scoreless innings to improve to 5-1.
Chico State's offense put together some two-out magic to grab the lead in the first. Santos and Kelley both singled with two down, and then Falco flipped a two-run triple down the right-field line.
Andrew Carrillo, who got the start at second base for game two and went 2-for-2 with two RBIs and reached base all four times he came to the plate, led off the second with a single and later scored on Cortez's ground ball.
Falco started another two-out rally in the third, bunting his way aboard. Pernetti then doubled off the left-field wall ahead of Carrillo, whose infield scored two when Pernetti daringly scored from second on the ball that was smothered right on the lip of the outfield grass in the hole between first and second to make it 5–0.
Tyler Stofiel led off the fourth with a single and scored on Snider's shot off the pitcher that rolled into center field to stretch the lead to 6–0.
Cortez scored the team's final run in the seventh on a wild pitch.
Beginning with the series finale against Cal State L.A. Saturday at 11 a.m., the Wildcats have a chance to secure the best home winning percentage in program history over these next eight games. The 2002 team that went 26-4 at Nettleton Stadium currently holds that title.
