Facing the odds-on favorite to claim California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Pitcher of the Year honors in the opener of the regular-season ending doubleheader against Stanislaus State and needing a split to clinch the No. 3 seed in next week's CCAA Tournament, Chico State Head Coach Dave Taylor knew that a sweep would be a tall order, so he ordered his tall lefty to start game two.
 
After the Wildcats' late rally in the first game came up just short in a 4-3 loss, Wildcats 6-foot-7 starter Grant Larson allowed just two hits in five innings to lead Chico State to a 5-1 win in the nightcap.
 
Chico State wrapped up the regular season with a record of 30-20, clinching its 22^nd 30-win season in the past 23 seasons, and 26-18 in the CCAA.
 
The Wildcats, two-time defending CCAA Tournament champions, will open their title defense Wednesday at 7 p.m. against a team yet to be determined at Banner Island Ballpark in Stockton.
 
The game, and every Chico State postseason game, will be broadcast live locally on AM-1290 KPAY. Every CCAA Tournament game will also be televised on Eleven Sports USA (available locally on DirecTV HD channel 623) and streamed on the Bay Area Online Sports Network.
 
Larson, a sophomore lefty, continued to pitch like a future CCAA Pitcher of the Year Friday, improving to 6-2 and lowering his ERA to 2.38. He did not walk a hitter and faced just one over the minimum through four.

 
The Warriors' lone run came after the leadoff man reached on an error in the fifth. Larson limited the damage after a single and a wild pitch put two in scoring position with nobody out, surrendering just one unearned run on a sacrifice fly and getting his final out of the afternoon on a grounder to third.
 
Dan Beavers earned his fifth save of the season by finishing the contest with two no-hit frames. He struck out four, walked one, and did not allow a hit.
 
Chico State trailed 4-0 entering the bottom of the seventh inning in the opener and had mustered only an infield single against Warriors ace Joe Ryan. They had handed Ryan his only defeat of the season with a 1-0 win early this season in Turlock.
 
They finally broke through against him in the seventh. A lengthy at-bat by Louie Canjura ended in a strikeout but perhaps took a toll on Ryan. Cameron Santos lined a single to left with one out and Alex DeVito doubled him home.
 
Ryan got out of the inning escaping further damage, but his day was done.
 
The Wildcats got two more in the eighth with the aid of a pair of Warriors errors to close the gap to one. Casey Henderson's infield single started the rally and Canjura contributed an RBI single during the rally.
 
Chico State let a prime opportunity to tie the game in the ninth after RJ Hassey led off the inning with a double and moved to third on Tyler Stofiel's sacrifice bunt.
 
But the Wildcats did not let that disappointment carry over into the nightcap, scoring four times in the second inning to take control.
 
DeVito walked, Hassey singled, and Turner Olson bunted for a hit to load the bases to start the frame. Henderson walked in a run with one out, Dustin Miller squeezed in the second run with a bunt, and Kyle Blakeman ripped a single through the left side to drive in two and give Chico State a 4-0 advantage.
 
Pinch runner Brian Pozos' baserunning led to Chico State's insurance run. Inserted after DeVito drew a leadoff walk in the sixth, Pozos went to second on Hassey's sacrifice bunt. With two down, Stofiel queued a grounder toward second, and when the second baseman had it deflect of his glove, Pozos speeded around third with no hesitation and made an acrobatic slide to the back side of the plate to score.
 
Henderson finished the day 3-for-4 with a double, two walks, an RBI, and two runs scored to pace Chico State's offense.
 
Hilario Tovar (6-6) started the opener for the Wildcats and pitched well, allowing two runs on five hits in six frames. Andrew Schantz and Jae Wagner added an inning apiece of scoreless relief.