Winning games in convincing fashion is definitely the goal of the Chico State baseball team, but when you can beef up your batting average at the same time, well, so much the better. The Wildcats definitely had their hitting shoes on Saturday in their series-opening doubleheader with San Francisco State, cranking out 21 runs and 29 hits on the way to beating the Gators 11-5 and 10-5 at Nettleton Stadium.
 
Chico State ran its season record to 14-4 on the season with the two victories, as the Wildcats extended their home winning streak to 12 straight. The 'Cats have scored at least 10 runs in each of their last three games and have moved into second place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with a 7-2 conference mark.
 
The afternoon didn't start out with offensive fireworks, though, as Chico State was held without a hit through the first three frames of the twin bill's opening contest. The Wildcats did get on the board in the bottom of the third inning thanks to a two-out walk to Jeffrey Ray and a Gators throwing error that allowed Ray to score all the way from first. San Francisco State, meanwhile, tagged 'Cats starting pitcher Rylan Tinsley for five runs in his first four innings of work.
 
That would turn out to be all the Gators' offense could generate, as Tinsley and Wildcat relievers Josh Verdon and Kevin Lyons combined for five shutout innings the rest of the way. The Wildcats made it a 5-4 ballgame with a three-run fourth inning, as Andrew Crane and Zach Morris delivered RBI singles and Elijah Jackson's sacrifice fly to center chased home Jarret Lindsay.
 
Chico State blew the game open in the bottom of the fifth, sending 11 men to the plate and scoring seven times. Lindsay's RBI triple got the rally started, with Jackson, Ray, Kyle Dobson, and Willie Lajoie all driving in runs. By the time the third out was recorded, the Wildcats boasted a commanding six-run advantage.
 
Verdon and Lyons took it from there, setting down the Gators without incident over the final four frames, allowing just one San Francisco State runner past second base, and cementing the Wildcats' 11-5 victory.
 
Tinsley earned the win to improve to 3-0 on the season. Ray and Lindsay each went 3-for-4, with Jackson driving in three runs.
 
Chico State scored early and often in the nightcap, as Jacob Jablonski's two-run single staked Wildcats starter Braeden Gowdy to a quick first inning lead. The 'Cats put up a three-spot in the second, and after San Francisco State scored twice in the top of the third inning, Chico State answered with a run in its half of the third as Jackson doubled home Jablonski, and another in the fourth—Lajoie singling home Michael Bennin—to put the Wildcats up 7-2.
 
The Gators scored a run in the fifth off Gowdy, but were silenced over the next three frames by 'Cats reliever Tyler Chivens, who with the help of a pair of inning-ending double plays turned behind him by the Chico State defense, kept the Wildcats' four-run lead intact.
 
The 'Cats plated three insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Jackson provided the big blow with his first career Wildcat homer, while Ray contributed an RBI single and Grady Morgan delivered a sac fly to bring in Jack Murphy. San Francisco State finally got to Chivens for a pair of runs in the top of the ninth, but Gerritt Erickson came in from the Chico State bullpen to retire Jo Bynum for the final out, securing the 'Cats' 10-5 win and the doubleheader sweep.
 
Gowdy picked up his CCAA-leading fifth victory, with Jackson and Lajoie racking up three hits apiece. Ray and Jablonski registered a pair of safeties as the Wildcats posted 16 hits in the contest.
 
The Wildcats and San Francisco State wrap up their four-game series Sunday with a doubleheader beginning at 12 noon. Fans unable to attend in person can follow the action online with live streaming video via the CCAA Network. For $9.95 per month, fans can access every Chico State game—home and away—along with all live and archived CCAA matchups.
 
Live Stats will also be available, with links found at www.chicowildcats.com in the calendar section of the website's homepage, and on the Chico State baseball schedule page. The games will be broadcast locally on Sportstalk KPAY 1290-AM, and simulcast online.