TURLOCK—The Chico State softball team proved Friday that a week off did nothing to dull its competitive fire. The Wildcats returned from their bye week in fine form Friday, getting a four-game set against a hot and hungry Stanislaus State squad off to a very successful start. The 'Cats rode seven extra-base hits and a couple of big innings to take both ends of the series-opening doubleheader in Turlock, downing the Warriors 5-0 in the opener before prevailing in the nightcap 7-4.
 
Friday's doubleheader sweep extended Chico State's current winning streak to eight in a row, and moved the Wildcats to 32-11 on the season. The two wins also helped Chico State pick up some ground on first place Cal State San Marcos. The 'Cats, sitting in second place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) standings with a 22-8 conference record, crept to within two games of the front-running Cougars with six regular season contests remaining. San Marcos split its series-opening doubleheader Friday with Cal State Monterey Bay.
 
Stanislaus State's push for one of the two remaining CCAA Tournament berths took a big hit with Friday's doubleheader loss. Though still mathematically alive, the Warriors dropped to 15-26 overall and into ninth place in the CCAA with a 9-21 conference record.
 
Chico State piled up a combined 18 hits in the double dip, and the offense was pretty evenly distributed. Grace Stover, Hailey Seva, and Nina Revoir collected three hits apiece, while Reilani Peleti, Amanda Metzger, and Grace Gallagher each contributed two knocks to the 'Cats' attack.
 
In the opener of Friday's doubleheader, neither team could get much going offensively in the early innings, as the Wildcats' Brooke Larsen and Stanislaus righthander Kyndra Marzorini allowed neither a run nor a hit through the first three frames. Chico State broke the scoreless deadlock in the top of the fourth—Gallagher's two-out double plated Seva, and when the Warriors tried to throw Gallagher out at second base, the throw sailed all the way to the center field fence, allowing her to score and giving the 'Cats a 2-0 lead.
 
The Wildcats added a run in the top of the sixth inning, and once again it was Gallagher who delivered, following Revoir's leadoff double with her second two-bagger of the contest. The 'Cats effectively put the game out of reach in the top of the seventh—Metzger led off the frame by clubbing her sixth home run of the year over the left field fence, and a Warriors error combined with consecutive singles by Stover, Seva, and Peleti produced another Chico State run.
 
That was all the insurance Larsen would need to salt it away, as the righthander retired Stanislaus in order in the bottom of the seventh to give the Wildcats the 5-0 win.
 
Larsen scattered three hits on the way to recording her CCAA-leading eighth shutout and 18th complete game, while raising her season record to 16-4.
 
The nightcap saw the 'Cats stake starting pitcher Mari Takeda Bajan to a quick 1-0 lead, as Revoir's two-out double in the top of the first inning chased home Stover. Takeda Bajan set down the first eight Warriors batters she faced, but back-to-back two-out hits by Stanislaus in the bottom of third knotted up the contest at one apiece. The Warriors threatened to go out in front in the bottom of the fourth inning, but came away empty as Takeda Bajan worked out of a first and third, one out jam.
 
Chico State jumped back on top with a crooked number in the fifth inning. Metzger led off with an infield single and later scored from third on a fielder's choice grounder. Anastacia Alba then stole second base and came home when Stover singled up the middle. Consecutive doubles by Seva and Peleti resulted in two more runs, and Revoir's infield single plated Peleti with the fifth run of the frame, giving the Wildcats a 6-1 advantage.
 
Stanislaus climbed back into the contest in its half of the fifth, taking advantage of three Chico State errors to score three times and pull to within 6-4. Katelyn Oldwin came on to relieve for the 'Cats and tossed a 1-2-3 sixth inning; then in the seventh the Wildcats posted a big insurance run courtesy of an Alba triple and a Stover sacrifice fly. Oldwin shut down Stanislaus without incident in the bottom of the seventh, as the Wildcats put the finishing touches on a 7-4 victory to complete the doubleheader sweep.
 
Takeda Bajan got credit for the win to improve to 7-3 on the year, with Oldwin twirling two-and-a-third innings of spotless relief to earn the first save of her Chico State career.
 
The Wildcats conclude their series with Stanislaus State Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. Fans can follow the action online with live streaming video via the CCAA Network (monthly subscription fee required) and via Live Stats; links can be found at www.chicowildcats.com in the calendar section of the website's homepage, and on the Chico State softball schedule page.