LAS VEGAS—The Chico State softball team continued its hot start to the 2018 campaign during the second day of the Desert Stinger Tournament in Las Vegas. The Wildcats duplicated Friday's two season-opening wins with a pair of victories Saturday, downing Azusa Pacific 7-2 and Western Washington 8-0 at the Majestic Park softball complex.
With Saturday's wins, Chico State improves to 4-0 on the season. The 'Cats also extended their undefeated streak at the Desert Stinger to nine straight, dating back to last year.
Chico State banged out 18 hits over Saturday's two tournament games. Ari Marsh led the way with four hits and four runs batted in, with Kristin Worley, Wendy Cardinali, Kristin Worley, Cyrena Taylor, Bailey Akins and Reilani Peleti all enjoying a multi-hit day. Akins slugged a pair of home runs for the Wildcats, with Cardinali, Claire Wayne, Karli Skowrup, and Breanna Martin all going yard.
A trio of Chico State pitchers—Haley Gilham, Sam Mulock and Naomi Monahan—combined to hold the opposition to just two runs and six hits in 14 innings of work Saturday.
Against Azusa Pacific, Chico State fell behind 2-0 in the top of the first inning, but came back to knot up the score in the bottom of the third as Marsh singled home Martin and Worley. Martin put the Wildcats ahead to stay in the fourth, clubbing her first career homer as a Wildcat.
Akins registered her first Chico State bomb in the bottom of the fifth inning to make it 4-2, and Skowrup's big fly in the sixth, with Angel Lopez and Shelby Burdette aboard, officially put the game out of reach. Gilham, after giving up the two first inning runs, shut down Azusa Pacific on just three hits the rest of the way, giving the Wildcats the 7-2 victory.
Gilham improved to 2-0 on the year, and now with 58 career victories, she sits just one back of Katie Stokx for the most career wins by a Chico State pitcher.
In the 'Cats' evening contest against Western Washington, Chico State immediately got on the scoreboard, when Marsh singled home Cardinali and Worley in the top of the first inning. In the third Marsh singled, reached third on a pair of wild pitches and scored on a Vikings error to put the Wildcats up 3-0.
Chico State brought out the big lumber in the top of the sixth, as Akins and Wayne led off the inning with back-to-back homers. Later in the frame, with Martin aboard, Cardinali ripped a home run to center field to extend the Wildcats' lead to 7-0.
The 'Cats added a gift run in the top of the seventh inning, when Taylor singled and eventually scored on a Western Washington throwing error.
Mulock started in the pitcher's circle for the Wildcats and tossed five shutout innings, allowing just one hit and striking out five to earn the victory and improve to 2-0 on the season. Monahan chipped in with two impressive innings, blanking the Vikings in the sixth and seventh to lock down Chico State's 8-0 victory.
Chico State wraps up the Desert Stinger with a single game Sunday. The Wildcats take on Concordia (Oregon) beginning at 11:30 a.m. Fans can follow the action online via the Wildcat Athletics website.
