Christian Stiegele, Anthony Baleto, and Jae Wagner put the screws to the UC San Diego lineup, and Alex DeVito drilled the decisive three-run homer as the Chico State baseball team wrapped up construction on its biggest series win of the season Monday at Nettleton Stadium.
 
Stiegele and Baleto threw four innings apiece, allowing only one run each, and Wagner slammed the door in the ninth with a first-pitch double play and a strikeout, putting the finishing touches on a 4-2 win. With the victory, the Wildcats handed UC San Diego its first series loss of the season.
 
Chico State improved to 21-15 overall with its fifth win in six games, while creeping ever so close to the Tritons in the CCAA standings. The Wildcats, 17-13 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, are in a virtual four-way tie for second place, just percentage points behind UC San Diego, Cal State LA, and Sonoma State, which all finished the day at 16-12 in the CCAA.
 
UC San Diego is now 20-13 overall.
 
Pressed into starting duty due to injuries, Stiegele stepped up big time in his first start as a Wildcat. The junior transfer from Riverside Community College retired nine of the first 10 hitters he faced while keeping the high-powered Tritons off the board until the fourth in earning his first victory as a Wildcat.
 

Although UC San Diego finally got to him in the fourth on Tyler Durna's solo home run, Stiegele's most impressive work came in that frame. After giving up the home run and a single, Stiegele worked through a bobble in the infield that should have resulted in an inning-ending double play, and then an error on a second straight grounder that would have ended the inning. Stiegele worked through both mistakes and got a fly ball to get out of danger on his final pitch of the day.
 
Meanwhile, up until the fourth, the Wildcats had not managed a hit against UC San Diego starter Jonah Dipoto. That was about to change.
 
Louie Canjura was hit by a pitch with one out and then Cameron Santos drew a walk. Up stepped DeVito, who turned on a pitch and drove it high over the left field wall a few feet inside the foul pole.
 
Just like that, the Wildcats held a 3-1 lead they would not relinquish.
 
They added a run in the fifth. RJ Hassey led off the frame with a base hit, moved to second on Casey Henderson's sacrifice bunt, and eventually scored on Cameron Santos' sharp single through the left side of the infield—the 199^th hit of his career.
 
Baleto picked up where Stiegele left off, retiring eight of the first nine Tritons he faced, including four via strikeout. He surrendered a solo home run with two down in the seventh but got out of the inning without further damage. He also worked around a two-out infield hit in the eighth.
 
After allowing a base hit to lead off the ninth, Baleto's day was done.
 
Wagner wasted no time in quelling the prospective rally, getting a 5-4-3 double play on his first pitch of the game. He struck out the next batter he faced to finish the game and earn his second save of the season.
 
The Wildcats will next hit the road for another critical four-game series April 13-15 at Cal State San Marcos.