AZUSA, Calif. – The Chico State baseball team has played beautiful baseball en route to 45 wins and regular-season and conference tournament titles, netting the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Championship Tournament West Regional. Believers would say that the baseball gods have rewarded them with bloops that find the turf, line drives that land, and bounces that lead to breaks. The baseball gods had other ideas Thursday.
 
Chico State rallied from six runs down in the eighth to tie their NCAA Tournament opener against Cal Poly Pomona at the Cougar Baseball Complex on the campus of Azusa Pacific University. But the breaks went Cal Poly Pomona's way after that and the Broncos took advantage to win 8–7 in 10 innings.
 
The Wildcats seemed a safe bet to walk off on Cal Poly Pomona, the two-time defending West Region champs. They had done it twice before while winning three of four against the Broncos this season, including an 8–7 victory in last week's California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament. But Casey Henderson's smash up the middle, ticketed to at least make it into the grass beyond second base, skipped off the very top of the pitchers' mound, allowing second baseman Bryce Graddy to play it easily and begin an inning-ending double play.
 
The Broncos reclaimed the lead with a bloop single, bunt, and grounder up the middle in the top of the 10^th.
 
Trailing by a run with two on in the bottom-half of the inning, Cody Snider scorched a line drive that could have won the game had it found a gap. Instead, it was right at the center fielder.
 

"Off the bat I knew I put a great swing on it and stayed in the middle of the field with my approach," Snider said. "It was just one of those things where it just went right at him and that's just the game of baseball."
 
CCAA and West Region Player of the Year Cameron Santos grounded out to short to end the game.
 
The Wildcats also had the misfortune of facing Broncos ace Jeff Bain, who is possibly the hardest throwing starter in the region. Bain limited the Wildcats to one run on six hits while striking out six in the first seven innings before the Wildcats finally got to him after he eclipsed the 100-pitch mark in the eighth.
 
"Bain was good today. He was what we thought. For the one seed to get the six seed and 93 (mph) – it usually it doesn't work that way," said Chico State Head Coach Dave Taylor, who was named the West Region's Coach of the Year Thursday morning. "You have to give him a lot of credit though. You have to give our guys a lot of credit too. We came back. We climbed back in it and we were one fly ball away from being in the winners' bracket. But the game is the game."
 
Chico State (45-10) will now face California Baptist Friday morning at 11 a.m. If the Wildcats are to reach the NCAA Championship Finals, they'll need to win four or five straight, depending on how the bracket plays out.
 
For now, Taylor is focusing on tomorrow.
 
"You're 45-10 and there's a reason why you rack up that many wins. We've been down in the past and we're down right now. All these guys know how to do is stay in the fight and we'll do that," Taylor said. "These guys set goals at the beginning of the year and they want to attain those goals. Until somebody tells us differently we're going to try to go out and win the first inning tomorrow. That's all we can control at this point. We'll digest it tonight and it will sting, but we'll get off the bus and be ready tomorrow."
 

Wildcats starter Casey Costello, the West Region's Pitcher of the Year, allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits in seven innings of work. He had three innings of three up and three down through the first four frames, but his struggles began in the fifth.
 
"Casey was good early," Taylor said. "He just didn't execute on a couple pitches that cost him. The two balks didn't help."
 
With the game tied 1-1 in the fifth, Costello committed a balk with the bases loaded to give Cal Poly Pomona the lead. Another balk, which followed a walk, helped the Broncos add a run to their lead in the sixth.
 
They scored again in the seventh and three more times in the eighth against relievers Anthony Baleto and Grant Wright to blow the game open at 7–1.
 
But the Wildcats battled back, scoring five in the eighth to trim the deficit to one. Snider doubled leading off and scored on Santos' single. Dillon Kelley followed with a base hit before Josh Falco reached on catchers' interference to load the bases. A Jimbo Pernetti grounder plated the second run of the inning before Henderson doubled down the left-field line to make it 7–5. RJ Hassey's RBI single was the final run of the frame.
 
The comeback 'Cats, 5-5 when trailing after seven innings entering the game, were at it again.
 
"It's part of us," said Hassey. "It's been there all year. I don't think there was much doubt in us. We fought today. It was good stuff."
 
Hassey personifies that ethic. He doubled and scored to stake Chico State to a 1–0 lead in the third (Sonny Cortez bunted him to third ahead of Snider, whose sharp grounder to second brought him home) and finished 2-for-3 Thursday. His third-inning double was his eighth straight hit and 10^th straight time he had reached base. The junior catcher has raised his average from .258 to .400 during the course of the Wildcats' three postseason games, in which he is 8-for-9 with three doubles and six RBI.
 
"He's like the poster child for preparation and being ready to go when your name's called," Taylor said. "It's been a good shock for us in the bottom of the lineup. I'm very proud of him for hanging in there and taking advantage of the opportunity."

The Wildcats mounted another rally in the ninth when Snider led off with a single and Santos was hit by a pitch. Kelley bunted the runners up a base in front of Falco, who was intentionally walked to load the bases.
 
Pernetti quickly fell behind 0-2 before fouling off one tough pitch and then hitting a chopper toward the hole between short and third. That brought the tying run across, and when Pernetti beat the throw for an infield hit, the Wildcats did not even need a hit to win. 
 
Then baseball happened.
 
Twenty years ago Thursday the Chico State baseball program won its first West Region title. Those who remember, or have heard the stories, know the breaks went the Wildcats' way when they won the NCAA title a handful of days later. The Wildcats have accomplished a lot since, including winning eight more regional championships. One thing they have not done is come back to win the title after losing their regional opener.
 
Snider believes this is the team to do it.
 
"There's never a doubt in any of our heads," Snider said. "We trust in one another and we believe in the talent that we have. It's going to be a grind but we're ready to grind. We've done it all year long and we're going to come back tomorrow strong."
 
Radio / Live Stream / Live Stats
Every Chico State postseason game will be broadcast locally on AM-1290 KPAY. Links to the online stream, video stream, and live stats are available at www.chicowildcats.com in the calendar section on the homepage and on the baseball schedule page.

Throughout the event individuals wishing to watch the game or follow the live stats can do so for free at: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/apu/

SCHEDULE
Thursday, May 18 

Game 1	11 a.m.	Azusa Pacific 3, Cal Baptist 1
Game 2	3 p.m.	Cal Poly Pomona 8, Chico State 7 (10)
Game 3	7 p.m.	UC San Diego vs. Dixie State

Friday, May 19

Game 4	11 a.m.	Cal Baptist vs. Chico State	Stats	Video
Game 5	3 p.m.	Cal Poly Pomona vs. Loser Game 3	Stats	Video
Game 6	7 p.m.	Azusa Pacific vs. Winner Game 3	Stats	Video

(If Four Teams Remain Following Friday)
Saturday, May 20

Game 7	11 a.m.	Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6	Stats	Video
Game 8	3 p.m.	Loser Game 6 vs. Winner Game 4	Stats	Video
Game 9	7 p.m.	Loser Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8	Stats	Video

Monday, May 22

Game 10	Noon	Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9	Stats	Video
Game 11	4 p.m.	If Necessary	Stats	Video

(If Five Teams Remain Following Friday)
Saturday, May 20

Game 7	11 a.m.	Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6	Stats	Video
Game 8	3 p.m.	Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 4	Stats	Video
Game 9	7 p.m.	Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 6	Stats	Video

(If Two Teams Remain Following Saturday)  
Monday, May 22
                                                                                                                                     

Game 10	Noon	Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9	Stats	Video
Game 11	4 p.m.	If Necessary	Stats	Video

(If Three Teams Remain Following Saturday)
Monday, May 22 

Game 10	Noon	Winner Game 8 vs. Loser Game 9	Stats	Video
Game 11	4 p.m.	Winner Game 10 vs. Winner Game 9	Stats	Video

 

'CAT SCRATCHES: The Wildcats are making their 19^th NCAA Championship Tournament appearance, including their 17^th in the past 22 seasons. They have won nine West Region titles: 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2012, and 2014. The 1997 and 1999 Wildcats, whose pitching coach was current Wildcats Head Coach Dave Taylor, went on to win NCAA titles…The Conference Commissioner's Association (CCA) and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) released their All-West Region teams Thursday. Casey Costello was named the CCA's West Region Pitcher of the Year, Dave Taylor the NCBWA West Region Coach of the Year for the third time in six seasons, and Cameron Santos the NCBWA Player of the Year. Links to both releases can be found above…The Wildcats are after their 10th NCAA Championship Tournament Regional title in the past 21 seasons. They've won the title 9 times out of the last 16 they made the tournament field. Chico State last won the title in 2014. The Wildcats are 41-22 all time in regional competition and 57-34 overall in the NCAA Championship Tournament…The Wildcats are 1-1 versus California Baptist in Regional Championship Tournament play. The Lancers ended the Wildcats' season at last year's regional…The Wildcats committed one error Thursday, dropping their nation's-best fielding percentage to .983. The NCAA Division II record is .984, and only two teams have ever finished the season above .980…Dillon Kelley went 2-for-4 Thursday and is still a career .500 hitter (24-for-48) in the postseason.