The threat of wet weather and less-than-encouraging forecasts cast serious doubt that Saturday's series-ending doubleheader between Chico State and Stanislaus State could avoid the raindrops. The start time changed three times for Saturday's games, but the good news was the two teams not only successfully got on the field, but played 18 innings of extremely entertaining—and precipitation-free—baseball. The even better news for Chico State fans: the Wildcats posted a pair of wins, downing the Warriors 7-1 and 6-4 to salvage a split of the four-game set at Nettleton Stadium.
By sweeping Saturday's double dip, Chico State improved to 7-6 on the season and 2-2 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). Stanislaus State slipped to 10-8 overall and 3-5 in conference play.
The Wildcats' offense piled up 18 hits, with Jacob Jablonski going a combined 5-for-7 on the afternoon. Ernie Arambula, Xabi Iparraguirre, Jeffrey Ray, and Kyle Dobson each contributed two hits to the 'Cats' attack.
In game one of the doubleheader, Chico State spotted Stanislaus an unearned run in the top of the first inning before scoring five times in the bottom of the frame—consecutive singles by Ray, Kaden Bass, and Jablonski produced the Wildcats' first run, with Dobson later providing a two-run double. The 'Cats scored a pair on a two-out Warriors error, and when the dust had settled, Chico State had batted around to build a 5-1 lead.
An RBI single by Iparraguirre and another Stanislaus error accounted for two more runs in the bottom of the second, and that would be more than enough for Chico State starting pitcher Dylan Day to chalk up his first career win as a Wildcat. After giving up the unearned run in the first, Day shut down the Warriors on just two hits over six scoreless innings—and finished his outing by retiring 13 Stanislaus batters in succession. Logan Meyers came out of the 'Cats' bullpen to finish the job with two scoreless innings of relief, giving Chico State the 7-1 victory.
Another five-run inning proved to be the deciding factor in game two of Saturday's twin bill. A first inning home run by Robert Valdivia put the Warriors on the board, but the Wildcats tied the game in the third on a Jablonski RBI double. A solo homer for Stanislaus—this one by Tyler Van Dyk—put the Warriors back on top in the top of the fourth inning, and another run in the top of the seventh gave Stanislaus a 3-1 lead.
Chico State took control of the contest in the bottom of the seventh. Back-to-back bases-loaded walks to Ray and Zach Morris tied the game at 3-all, then Cameron Mahaffy's safety squeeze bunt plated Jarret Lindsay from third to give the Wildcats the lead. Iparraguirre put the exclamation point on the five-run rally with a two-run double, ballooning Chico State's advantage to 6-3.
Stanislaus answered with a run in the top of the eighth inning, but Wildcats reliever Josh Verdon retired the Warriors in order in the top of the ninth, cementing Chico State's 6-4 win and the doubleheader sweep.
The Wildcats return to action next week in the Bay Area, taking on San Francisco State in a four-game weekend series beginning Friday at Maloney Field.
