LOS ANGELES—The Chico State baseball team spent all evening applying pressure to Cal State LA's struggling defense. The Golden Eagles responded with stellar play and twice threw out Wildcats at home. The Wildcats stayed the course, however, and in the ninth inning their stick-to-itiveness paid off in a big way, leading to a 4-3 win in the series opener at Reeder Field. 
 
After Zach Morris led off the ninth with a base hit, Jeffrey Ray laid down the Wildcats' fourth sacrifice bunt of the night. The pressure was on and proved too much for a Cal State LA defense that entered the game ranked 10^th out of 11 California Collegiate Athletic Association teams in fielding percentage. Jack Murphy's grounder was misplayed at first, allowing pinch runner Cole Arnold to score the go-ahead run.  
 
Tyler Chivens worked the ninth for his first Chico State save. He got a strikeout, walked a hitter, and then induced week contact on a two-strike count that led to a 4-6-3 double play. It was the second twin killing of the night for the Wildcats, who entered the weekend ranked No. 6 in the nation in double plays turned per game. 
 
Chico State moved to 23-6 overall and 16-4 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association with its sixth consecutive road win after starting the season just 1-4 away from home. The 14^th-ranked Wildcats have won eight of their last nine overall and lead Cal State Monterey Bay (a 13-9 loser at Cal State San Marcos Friday) by 1.5 games atop the CCAA standings. \
 
Starter Rylan Tinsley provided six strong innings of work for the Wildcats, allowing just one earned run on five hits while striking out three. Eric Hill earned the win in relief, surrendering only the game-tying groundout and an intentional walk before retiring four in a row. 
 
The Wildcats had led from the third batter of the game until that RBI groundout. Ray drew a leadoff walk, Murphy moved him to second base with a sacrifice bunt, and Grady Morgan singled him home. Morgan came around to score on Jarret Lindsay's bases-loaded walk for a 2-0 lead.
 
Chico State's lead was 2-1 in the sixth when Jacob Jablonski drilled a leadoff double down the left field line and came in to score on Andrew Crane's base hit. Morris was thrown out at home trying to score from second on Ray's base hit to end the inning.
 
The Golden Eagles knotted the game at 3 runs apiece thanks in part to an error and a passed ball in the bottom of the seventh and that's where the score remained until the ninth. 
 
Willie Lajoie, Morgan, and Jablonski banged out two hits apiece for the Wildcats. Morgan has now hit safely in 10 consecutive games, Ray nine in a row, and Jablonski seven straight. 
 
The series continues with a doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m. and concludes with a single game Sunday at 11 a.m.