SEASIDE—The Chico State baseball team tried to conjure some late-inning magic to pull a victory from the jaws of defeat for the second day in a row, Sunday. But this time the Wildcats were bitten by their early-inning struggles in an 11-7 loss at Cal State Monterey Bay and forced to settle for a series split in Seaside.
 
The Wildcats scored in five of the final six frames after falling behind 6-0, but could not put together the big inning required to fully recover despite loading the bases in the seventh and ninth. The loss dropped Chico State to 9-5 overall and 5-3 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). Cal State Monterey Bay moved to 6-8 and 3-5.
 
Willie Lajoie homered for the second consecutive game as part of a two-hit day. Tyler Stofiel and JT Navarro each delivered two-run singles. Tyler Erne and Cody Wissler added RBI infield hits to the attack.
 
Chico State will play its next eight games at home, beginning with a four-game set against first-place Cal State East Bay next weekend. That series is scheduled to start with a single game Friday at 2 p.m. The teams will play a doubleheader Saturday at noon, and the series concludes with a single game Sunday at 11 a.m. All four games, and every 2020 Chico State baseball contest, will be broadcast locally on AM-1290 KPAY Sports.