SAN BERNARDINO—The rain-battered field at Cal State San Bernardino required quite a bit of preparation Friday to allow the four-game softball series with Chico State to get underway. It took so much time to get the field in playing condition, in fact, that one of the games of the scheduled doubleheader had to be scratched. With Friday's action pared down to just a single contest, the host Coyotes scored a pair of early runs and made them stand up, nipping the Wildcats by a final of 2-1.
Friday's setback saw Chico State slip to 11-10 on the season and into sixth place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with a 6-7 conference record. Cal State San Bernardino evened its overall record at 15-15 while improving to 11-10 in CCAA play.
Cal State San Bernardino opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning, stringing together a Wildcats error, sacrifice bunt, and a single to center to go up 1-0. Chico State was able to get a runner in scoring position in each of the first three frames, but came away empty each time. In the bottom of the third, Tereise Tosi belted a two-out solo home run to put the 'Yotes up 2-0.
The 'Cats cut the deficit in half in the top of the fourth. Hailey Seva scored from second when Ashley Rocha reached on an error. Anastacia Alba followed with a single, but the rally fizzled when an attempted a suicide squeeze by Chico State resulted in an inning-ending double play.
Katelyn Oldwin took over for Amelie Valdez in the pitcher's circle in the bottom of the fourth, and kept San Bernardino in check by retiring nine straight Coyotes batters over the next three innings. The Wildcats continued to battle against San Bernardino lefthander Samantha Vargas, getting baserunners aboard in the fifth and sixth innings, but were unable to plate the tying run.
The 'Cats had one more chance to knot up the contest in the top of the seventh, but were set down in order—the only inning they didn't produce a baserunner—giving Cal State San Bernardino the 2-1 victory.
Grace Stover has two of the five Chico State hits on the day. Valdez allowed just one earned run, but was charged with the loss to slip to 6-4 on the season.
Chico State and Cal State San Bernardino resume the series Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. Fans can follow the action online with Live Stats and live streaming video, with links located on the Wildcat Athletics homepage and the softball schedule page. Accessing the live video stream requires a monthly subscription fee that grants users access to every CCAA event on the network, home and away.
