Eddie Zavala crushed a game-tying two-run homer and Griffin Hennessey hit a walk-off single in the opener and Chico State pitching staff made sure there was no need for a comeback in the nightcap as the Wildcats swept a doubleheader against visiting Cal State East Bay by scores of 9-8 and 5-0 Saturday at Nettleton Stadium.
The Wildcats, winners of five straight and 9-of-10 at home, improve to 12-5 overall and finish the day in a tie with UC San Diego atop the California Collegiate Athletic Association standings at 8-3. Cal State East Bay fell to 10-5 overall and 6-5 in the CCAA.
The Wildcats will go for the series sweep Sunday at 11 a.m. at Nettleton Stadium. The game will be broadcast locally on AM-1290 KPAY Sports.
Chico State grabbed the momentum with a 6-2 lead in the opener, keyed by JT Navarro's fourth home run of the season (a two-run shot) before Cal State East Bay surged ahead 8-6 heading to the ninth.
Willie Lajoie led off the frame and singled through the left size. Zavala then tied it with a long game-tying home run to left, his second of the season.
Alex Muñoz was hit by a pitch, and after Jorge Perez's sacrifice bunt and an intentional walk, Bryce Beauchamp reached on an error to load the bases for Hennessey, who was making his second start of the season.
The senior second baseman lined a shot over the head of the drawn in center fielder to walk it off, setting off a wet and wild celebration in shallow right field.
Christian Stiegele, Daniel Foret, and Tyler Chivens combined on a three hitter in the second game. Stiegele took a no-hitter into the fourth and got a strikeout with the tying run on second to end the fifth, improving to 2-1 with the win. The senior right hander surrendered only two hits and one walk while striking out four.
Foret pitched the sixth and worked around a leadoff single with an assist from catcher Tyler Stofiel, who threw out a runner attempting to steal at second base to end the inning.
Chivens, who earned his first win as a Wildcat in the first game by retiring all four hitters he faced, pitched the seventh inning of the second game and retired the Pioneers in order with a pair of strikeouts.
Chico State took the lead in the first inning when Navarro reached on a leadoff walk and eventually scored on Zavala's grounder to short.
The score remained 1-0 until the bottom of the sixth when the Wildcats busted it open with four runs. Aidan Rasmusson opened things up with a one-out single, Muñoz was hit by a pitch, and Perez loaded the bases with a base hit to left. Rasmusson and Muñoz both scored on wild pitches and then Navarro knocked a two-run single through the left side to make it 5-0.
Rasmusson finished with a pair of hits, including a double, to lead the offense.
Cal State East Bay jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the opener, but the Wildcats scored two of their own in the bottom half of the inning on back-to-back-to-back doubles off the bats of Navarro, Turner Olson, and Lajoie.
Navarro made it 4-2 in the second with a line shot that snuck over the left field wall. It was his fourth of the season after hitting only one over his first three years as a collegian.
The Wildcats added two more runs in the fourth. Stofiel walked and scored on a Hennessey single, and later in the frame, Lajoie walked with the bases loaded to make it 6-2.
Cal State East Bay stormed back with three runs in the fifth and then tied the game with a run in the sixth before grabbing an 8-6 advantage with two more runs in the eighth.
Chivens entered the game with the bases loaded and one out and the Wildcats already trailing 8-7 and got out of the jam, allowing only a sacrifice fly.
Chico State baseball's Eddie Zavala is greeted by his teammates near the top of the dugout after his game-tying, two-run homer in the ninth.
(Photo by Ryan McCasland)
