The Chico State baseball team was on both ends of brilliant pitching performances Friday and split a doubleheader against Cal State San Bernardino, winning the first game 5-2 and dropping the second 3-0, to open a four-game series at Nettleton Stadium.

Saturday's game has been moved to a 5 p.m. first pitch due to rain in the forecast. The series is scheduled to wrap up with a single game Sunday at 11 a.m.

Grant Larson scattered 10 hits (nine singles), did not walk or hit a batter, and induced three double plays in going the route in game one for the Wildcats. The lanky left hander struck out four and allowed two runs, improving to 4-0 in six starts while lowering his ERA to 2.54.

The Wildcats, now 13-7 overall and 9-5 in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) action, scored single runs in the second, third, fifth, sixth, and seventh to pull away.

Skylar Limonchi drove in two runs for the Wildcats, Eddie Zavala went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI, and freshman outfielder Grady Morgan smacked an RBI single for his first hit and RBI as a Wildcat.

Cal State San Bernardino's Tyler Penix and Jackson Gilmore answered for the Coyotes (7-13, 4-10), combining on a seven-inning shutout in game two. Penix allowed seven hits while striking out five in six innings of work, improving to 2-1 and lowering his ERA to 2.17 in six starts. After issuing a one-out walk in the seventh, Gilmore got a game-ending double play to collect his second save.

Chico State starter Christian Stiegele (2-2) took the loss. The senior right hander allowed three runs on seven hits in four innings of work. Reliever Brendan Henry fired two scoreless innings, and Chad Burchit and Austin McFarlane combined on a scoreless seventh to keep the Wildcats within striking distance.

They were, in fact, one hit away from getting right back into it, but Penix got out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth and also closed the door on a budding rally featuring runners on second and third in the sixth.