SAN FRANCISCO—Even with a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) and NCAA Championship Tournaments bid already secured, the Chico State softball team was not the least bit interested in mailing in the final games of the regular season Saturday. The Wildcats played hard and with their usual intensity, and in the process extended the program's longest-ever winning streak to 22 games, completing a series sweep of San Francisco State by taking both ends of a doubleheader, blanking the Gators 5-0 in the opener and winning the nightcap 7-3.  
 
The Wildcats wrap up regular season play 47-3 overall a CCAA-best and 37-3 conference mark. San Francisco State concluded its 2018 campaign 24-31 on the year and 19-21 in CCAA play.
 
Chico State belted out 22 hits on the afternoon. Kristin Worley led the way with five hits, while Amanda Flores contributed four hits and three runs batted in. Ari Marsh and Karli Skowrup each posted three hits, with Cyrena Taylor and Megan Bowley both enjoying a multi-hit day.

 

Game one of Saturday's double dip saw Chico State jump out to a 1-0 lead when Taylor's two-out single plated Worley in the top of the first inning. In the third the Wildcats put a crooked number on the board—Worley led things off with a walk, advanced to second on a Marsh base hit, and scored when Taylor singled to center. With two outs and the bases loaded, Flores shot a single to center to plate Taylor and Skowrup, putting the 'Cats up 4-0.
 
Chico State picked up an unearned run in the top of the sixth when Wendy Cardinali scored on a two-out Gators error.
 
Haley Gilham, who opened the series Friday with a two-hit shutout, picked up where she left off Saturday, scattering three hits and matching her season high of 11 strikeouts over seven scoreless innings as the Wildcats registered the 5-0 win. The shutout—her fourth straight and NCAA-leading 13th of the year—raised Gilham's record to 23-2, tying her own school record for victories in a single season. She also notched a new personal record for strikeouts in a season (148).
 
In the doubleheader nightcap, the Wildcats broke the seal, scoring a run in the top of the first inning when Worley singled, stole second, went to third on a Marsh single and scored on a Taylor groundout. The lead didn't last long, though, as San Francisco State answered with three runs in its half of the frame.

 

Chico State tied things up in the top of the fourth inning. Bailey Akins tripled down the right field line and came home when San Francisco State threw the ball away trying to retire Claire Wayne on a bunt. Wayne wound up at third base on the play, and Flores promptly singled her home to make it a 3-3 game.
 
Sam Mulock, who came on in relief for the 'Cats in the first inning, kept the Gators' offense in check to help Chico State stage the game-winning rally in the top of the sixth. A one-out walk to Wayne and singles by Flores and Bowley loaded the bases, setting the stage for Cardinali, who singled through the left side to put the Wildcats in front. Worley followed with a double to chase home Flores and Bowley and extend Chico State's lead to 6-3.
 
The 'Cats added another run in the top of the seventh when Bowley's bases-loaded single plated Skowrup, and Mulock finished an outstanding six-and-two-thirds inning relief stint by tossing a scoreless bottom of the seventh, locking down Chico State's 7-3 victory, the doubleheader win and the series sweep.
 
Mulock earned the win—her second of the series—to improve to 7-0 on the year.
 
With the regular season concluded, the Wildcats turn their attention to next week's CCAA Championship Tournament, taking place next Friday through Sunday at Stockton's Bill Simoni Field on the University of Pacific campus. Chico State enters the double-elimination tourney as the conference's No. 1 seed, and will face No. 4 Cal State San Bernardino (28-18, 18-16 CCAA) Friday at 5 p.m. No. 2 UC San Diego (34-15, 27-13 CCAA) and No. 3 Stanislaus State (32-20, 23-15 CCAA) comprise the rest of the tournament field.