SAN FRANCISCO—One can simply walk into the donut shop, and a bit later (and a little lighter in the wallet) walk out with a dozen fresh, hot donuts. The mess made at the beginning of the process is irrelevant by then. The Chico State softball team experienced something similar Saturday. The Wildcats made a bit of a mess of things in the top of the first inning of the first game, but by the time the day was over, the Wildcats had cooked up two more wins to sweep the weekend series at San Francisco State and bring their winning streak to a delicious dozen.
Chico State rallied from a three-run deficit to win the first game 6-3 and then rolled to a 5-2 win in the nightcap. The Wildcats, ranked No. 11 in the nation, are now 22-4 overall and 14-2 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). They are 18-4 away from home. San Francisco State slipped to 12-14 overall and 7-9 in the CCAA.
The sweep sets up a showdown for first place in the CCAA next weekend in Chico. The Wildcats and Cal State San Marcos (23-3 overall, 14-2 CCAA) will start their four-game series with a doubleheader Friday at 1 p.m. It concludes with a doubleheader Saturday at 11 a.m.
Amanda Metzger's sixth-inning grand slam propelled the Wildcats to victory in the opener. They trailed 3-2 before Nina Revoir drew a leadoff walk, Brooke Larsen was hit by a pitch, and Jade Henry singled to center ahead of Metzger's blast to left. Metzger, Revoir, and Sara Mitrano had two hits apiece.
Brooke Larsen rebounded from a slow start in which she surrendered three first-inning runs to earn the win, improving to 13-1 on the season. She struck out 10 without walking a batter in a complete-game effort.
No late-game heroics were necessary in the nightcap. Reilani Peleti and Revoir delivered sacrifice flies in the first inning to stake the Wildcats to a 2-0 lead. Peleti produced another run-scoring fly ball in the third and then Rachael Bles blasted a two-run homer in the fourth.
The Gators pushed across a pair of unearned runs in the fifth, but Wildcats starter Katelyn Oldwin completed the game, scattering nine hits over seven frames while striking out three to move to 7-2.
Grace Stover, Blaire Willson, and Tayler Berens banged out two hits apiece and Willson swiped three bags.
