ROHNERT PARK – The Chico State baseball team held off Sonoma State from rallying in the ninth inning to take game one of the doubleheader, 4-3, but when the Seawolves went into the final inning of the nightcap, they returned the favor and halted the Wildcats' threat to take game two, 3-2, and the two ballclubs had to settle with not only another twinbill draw Sunday, but they leave Seawolf Diamond with a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) series split.
Chico State exits Rohnert Park with a 12-8 overall record and 7-4 in the CCAA while Sonoma State goes to 8-9 overall and 2-7 in the conference.
Although the Chico State offense outscored Sonoma State 27-16 in the series, it was still a difficult weekend as the 'Cats left 42 runners on base and going 17-for-52 on the opportunity.
Kyle Dobson went 4-for-8 in Sunday's doubleheader with three RBIs, including a home run in game one. Now hitting .412 on the season, Dobson is now third best among those in the CCAA. Jacob Jablonski, who had been perhaps Chico State's hottest hitting in recent weeks, went 2-for-12 but did draw six walks, three of which were on Sunday and led to runs.
Cody Gentry put together another impressive outing in game two despite being the victim of the loss. The left-hander threw five innings with a season-best nine strikeouts and one walk, but a critical error in the fifth inning resulted in two unearned runs.
The 'Cats started game one off with two quick outs, Jacob Jablonski drew a walk and Xabi Iparraguirre, who hit the grand slam in his final at-bat of the day Saturday, followed with another home run to left field.
After Sonoma State got a run across to slice the deficit in half, Chico State got it back in its half of the fifth inning on Kyle Dobson's solo shot to left center field.
Starter Dylan Day went four innings allowing the one run on four hits and two walks. He did strikeout four. Tyce Ochs went two innings of relief, striking out two but allowed a solo home run in the sixth which allowed the Seawolves to make it a 3-2 Wildcat lead.
Chico State collected an insurance policy in the ninth that proved to be the scoring difference in the game. Jablonski led off the inning with a walk and advanced to second on Iparraguirre's ground out. Chico State was 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position until Dobson singled up the middle to score in Jablonski and give the Wildcats a 4-2 lead.
Marco Ibarra came into the game for Ochs and tossed 1.1 scoreless innings before Josh Verdon took over during the eighth inning. He went into the ninth giving up a leadoff single but it was quickly erased with a double play. He did issue a two-out walk that would haunt him as the runner stole second and scored on an RBI single up the middle to make a 4-3 Chico State lead. Verdon did get the third out on a ground out to earn his sixth save of the season.
Game two started out with both teams threatening to score. Chico State loaded the bases with one out and got out of the threat with an inning-ending double play and Sonoma State got the first two batters on with singles but Gentry held them at their bases. Gentry put himself into trouble in the second inning by loading the bases with one out, but he got out of the threat himself with three straight strikeouts.
Gentry pitched well until the fifth inning when a costly one-out error followed by a single setup a two-out, two-run double that gave the Seawolves a 2-0 lead.
The 'Cats did get one of those runs back in the sixth. Jablonski got on with his third walk on the day and reached third on singles by Dobson and Iparraguirre. Pinch-hitter Dom Meza hit a sacrifice fly to center deep enough to score in Jablonski. That was all the Wildcats could have done in that inning.
The Seawolves did respond in their half of the sixth when a single, a sacrifice bunt and another base hit scored in a run to make it a 3-1 score.
Chico State knocked on the door in the seventh inning with Elijah Jackson at third and Jablonski at first with one out. Dobson singled in Jackson but Jablonski, the potential tying run, was stranded at second.
The Wildcats return home to play an unusual part of a routine schedule. They will play their traditional four-game CCAA series against Cal State East Bay beginning Friday at 5 p.m., but Chico State will welcome Hawai`i Pacific to Nettleton Stadium for a non-conference game on Monday afternoon.
