SAN FRANCISCO—After being forced to sit on Saturday due to wet weather conditions in the Bay Area, the Chico State softball team was back in action Sunday in a series-concluding doubleheader with San Francisco State. After breezing to a pair of wins Friday, the Wildcats encountered a much more competitive Gators' squad in the final two games of the set. San Francisco State snapped Chico State's nine-game winning streak in game one with a 7-4 victory, but the No. 4 Wildcats were able to capture the nightcap 5-3 to split the doubleheader and win the series three games to one.
Chico State now stands at 19-2 on the season, and holds a two-game lead in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with a 14-2 conference record. San Francisco State finished the series 13-14 overall and 9-11 in CCAA play.
The Wildcats' offense, which entered the series as the top-hitting team in the CCAA, was held to just 10 total hits Sunday. Reilani Peleti had five of them, including a double and home run while extending her current hitting streak to eight straight games. Karter Williams had two hits on the afternoon, while Virgie Robello and Alani Nguyen combined for three RBI in the doubleheader's pivotal second game.
San Francisco State struck first in game one of Sunday's twin bill, combining four hits and a hit batter to score twice in the bottom of the first inning. Peleti instantly cut the deficit in half in the top of the second, leading off the inning with her third big fly of the season.
The Gators plated a run in the bottom of the third inning to go up 3-1, but the 'Cats pulled even with a pair in the top of the fifth—Williams started the rally with her first home run of the year, a solo shot to left field, and then later in the frame a bases-loaded walk to Angel Lopez forced Robello home from third to make the score 3-3.
San Francisco State took advantage of three Wildcats errors and roared back in front with four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, and this time Chico State's comeback attempt fell a little short. The 'Cats scored a run in the top of the seventh inning and got the tying run to the plate with one out, but a game-ending double play short-circuited the Chico State rally, giving the Gators the 7-4 win.
Brooke Larsen started in the pitcher's circle for the Wildcats, and though she allowed just three earned runs on the way to her ninth complete game of the season, was charged with the loss to slip to 9-2 on the year.
Chico State didn't dwell on the loss for long. The Wildcats opened game two of the doubleheader with three runs in the top of the first inning—Kristin Worley led off with a walk and scored on a one-out double by Nguyen, then after a bases-loaded walk to Amanda Metzger forced home Williams, Nguyen came home on a Grace Gallagher sacrifice fly.
The 'Cats stretched their lead to 5-0 in the top of the third inning when Robello delivered a clutch two-out single to plate Peleti and Metzger. San Francisco State got on the board with a run in the bottom of the third, then scored again in the fourth to cut the 'Cats' lead to 5-2.
The score remained the same until the bottom of the seventh inning, when the Gators' Brylynn Vallejos led off with a double, stole third, and scored on a groundout. Sam Mulock prevented San Francisco State from getting the tying run to the plate, inducing back-to-back groundouts to end the game and lock down the Wildcats' 5-3 win and the doubleheader split.
Mulock allowed a pair of earned runs and struck out three in the complete game performance. With the victory, the senior lefthander raised her season record to 10-0.
Chico State returns home to University Softball Field next week to take on Sonoma State (17-8, 12-4 CCAA) in a series pitting the top two teams in the CCAA. The four-game set begins with a Friday doubleheader at 1 p.m., followed by a Saturday twin bill starting at 12 noon.
