The Chico State baseball team brought their hitting shoes to the yard Sunday afternoon, and powered by a 15-hit attack that included home runs by Jacob Jablonski and Andrew Crane, knocked Colorado Mesa from the ranks of the unbeaten, downing the Mavericks 11-7 in the opener of a previously-unscheduled three-games series at Nettleton Stadium.
The win moved Chico State to 4-3 on the season, while Colorado Mesa—which opened up the season with a series sweep of nationally-ranked Azusa Pacific—fell to 4-1 overall.
The heart of the Wildcats' order was particularly productive Sunday, with Jablonski, Cameron Mahaffy, and Xabi Iparraguirre each racking up three hits, while Crane's home run highlighted a 2-for-4 day at the plate.
The 'Cats used the long ball to put up a crooked number in the bottom of the second inning. Jablonski led off with a no-doubt blast over the center field wall, and after a two-out walk to Jeremy Keller, the table was set for Crane, who sent a ball beyond the left field fence to give Chico State a 3-0 lead.
Colorado Mesa got on the scoreboard by plating a pair off Wildcats starting pitcher Ethan Lay in the top of the fourth, but the 'Cats got one of the runs back in the bottom of the inning when Keller singled home Iparraguirre.
The Mavericks scored twice in the top of the fifth to knot up the contest, but in the home half of the frame Chico State re-took the lead 5-4 on an RBI single by Iparraguirre.
The Wildcats effectively put the game away in the bottom of the sixth inning, sending 10 men to the plate and scoring five times. Mahaffy delivered a two-run single; Jablonski knocked in Dom Meza with a base hit to right; Mahaffy scored on a Logan Drummond groundout, and Crane finished off the rally by singling home Jablonski. By the time the dust had settled, Chico State owned a commanding 10-4 lead.
Colorado Mesa continued to battle in the late innings, scoring two runs in the seventh and one in the eighth to close to within 10-7. Iparraguirre provided a little insurance for the Wildcats with an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth, and Justin Tamelier took care of the rest—Chico State's fourth pitcher of the afternoon set the Mavericks down without incident in the top of the ninth to lock down the 'Cats' 11-7 victory.
Lay (1-0) allowed three earned runs in five innings of work to earn the first win of his Chico State career, while Tamelier notched his first save of the 2023 season. Colorado Mesa reliever Cade Nicol (1-1) was saddled with the loss.
Chico State and Colorado Mesa conclude the three-game series Monday with a doubleheader scheduled to get underway at 12 noon. Admission to Nettleton Stadium is free. Fans unable to attend can follow the action with Live Stats, with Mike Baca's play- by-play on KPAY Sports 1290-AM simulcast on the Internet. Links are available on the Wildcat Athletics homepage or the baseball schedule page. There will be no live stream video of Monday's doubleheader.
