ROHNERT PARK—Kyle Blakeman scuffled in his first eight games in a Chico State baseball uniform. But he found a quick way into the hearts of the Wildcat faithful by feasting on the pitching of rival Sonoma State.
Hitting in the No. 2 hole for the first time as a Wildcat, Blakeman homered in his first at-bat and followed with consecutive doubles, scoring the first three runs of Chico State's 5-1 victory in Friday's opener of a four-game series at Seawolf Diamond in Rohnert Park.
Wildcats ace Casey Costello continued his amazing run, improving to 3-0 this season and 15-0 in his Chico State career by allowing just one run on four hits in seven innings. Dan Beavers got the Wildcats out of a jam in the eighth, but after getting into a tight spot of his own in the ninth by walking two and hitting a batter to load the bases, Anthony Baleto slammed the door to pick up his first save of the season and the eighth of his career. Baleto got the first hitter he faced on a pop-up, and then struck out the next two to close it out.
Alex DeVito added a two-run blast in the ninth as Chico State improved to 6-3 overall and 2-1 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. Sonoma State slipped to 4-3 overall and 0-1 in the CCAA.
Anthony Baleto got the final three outs for his
first save of the season and eighth of his career.
The series continues with a doubleheader Saturday at 11 a.m. and concludes with a single game Sunday at noon.
Blakeman, a highly-regarded transfer from San Jose State, was just 1-for-20 and hitless in his last 15 at-bats heading into the game. But he blasted a solo home run to left-center field with one down in the top of the first. The Wildcats led from that point on, and Blakeman helped make sure.
He led off the third with a double down the right-field line, and after Cameron Santos drew a walk, DeVito moved up both runners with a sacrifice bunt. A Casey Henderson grounder brought Blakeman home for a 2-0 advantage.
Sonoma State scored a run in the bottom of the sixth—the first allowed by Costello in 18 and a third innings—but the Wildcats got it back in the seventh. Blakeman doubled to left field with one out and Santos singled him home to stretch the Wildcats' lead to 3-1.
Costello was pulled after allowing an infield single leading off the eighth. Jae Wagner got two out but allowed a walk in the process, and Head Coach Dave Taylor signaled for Beavers from the bullpen. Beavers struck out the Seawolves' leading run producer to end the threat.
DeVito's no-doubter to left field, his first as a Wildcat, finished the scoring.
Santos went 1-for-4 with a stolen base, run, and RBI. He has now hit safely in all nine games this season and has career totals of 98 runs and 98 RBIs heading into Saturday's action.
Saturday's first game and Sunday's series finale will be broadcast locally on AM 1290-KPAY. All three games will be streamed online. Links to streaming audio and live stats for all three games are available at www.chicowildcats.com in the calendar section on the homepage and on the baseball schedule page. A link to the video stream of Sunday's game will also be available.
