CHICO – The 2024 chapter of the Chico State/Cal State Monterey Bay baseball series will go down as a dramatic one in their history books.
It started out with the Otters holding off the Wildcats' rally and winning the first two games by one-run scores. The Wildcats took game three on Saturday in similar fashion and then on Sunday Carson Stevens hit an opposite field walkoff home run to give Chico State a 6-4 win and split the CCAA series at Nettleton Stadium.
While the stalemate against one of the West Region's best teams is a positive outcome, the two wins were of great importance to the Wildcats (23-17, 17-14 CCAA) in the conference standings. After San Francisco State was swept at Cal State San Marcos this weekend to fall to 17-15 in the CCAA, the Wildcats (.548) leaped over the Gators (.531) for fourth place with eight games to play. Both teams still hold a two-win advantage over sixth-place Cal State Dominguez Hills and have a three-win lead over seventh-place Cal State LA.
The conference scoreboard watching continues into next weekend as Chico State visits Cal State East Bay, SF State hosts Cal State LA while Dominguez Hills will be on the road at Cal Poly Pomona.
The 19 hits in Sunday's ballgame with the Otters doesn't quite tell the whole story of what could be considered as an emotional game. While tagging 10 of those 19 hits in the game, the Otters (27-17, 23-13 CCAA) also had seven walks and a catcher's interference, but they also left 15 runners on base including the bases loaded on two occasions.
Chico State had logged in nine hits and four walks while leaving eight runners on.
Both coaching staff relied heavily on the bullpen to get through the game. Wildcats head coach Dave Taylor started with Nolan Meredith and then turned to six relievers throughout the game. On the other side of the dugout, Otters head coach Walt White let Ryan Sleeman throw two innings before he went to his bullpen.
Monterey Bay got on the board in the first inning using a leadoff walk followed by a one-out RBI double to left center. The lead was short lived as the Wildcats answered in the second inning. Jeremy Keller led off with a double and Stefan Foley drew a walk. Both sides moved up a base on a wild pitch to setup an RBI opportunity for Andrew Crane and Elijah Pascual. Crane got a productive groundout to tie the game and Pascual hit a fly ball to right deep enough for Foley to score and give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead.
The third inning became a stressful one for the Wildcats as four walks in the inning allowed the Otters to tie the game. It was all what Monterey Bay could do as Joseph Loubert was able to get out of the two-out jam he inherited allowing just one run across. Monterey Bay took a 4-2 lead in the fourth inning thanks to three doubles.
Chico State did respond in its half of the fourth inning. Foley led off with a double and the Wildcats would go on to play small ball. Crane and Pascual each hit ground balls to the shortstop that helped get Foley home.
Crane led off the sixth inning with a walk. He stole second and Monterey Bay reliever Daniel Flores made a pickoff attempt except no one was there and the throw ended up in center field and it allowed Crane to take third on the error. Pascual hit a bloop single down the right field line that brought in Crane and tie the game at four.
Keller pitched 2.1 innings of relief and held Monterey Bay's offense in check until the eighth inning, when the Otters loaded the bases without recording a hit going up against Tyce Ochs and Eddie Curley. Ryan Silvers backed up his two teammates by getting the 4-5 hitters to strikeout and groundout escape the eighth with the bases loaded and no runs scored.
Silvers would hold off the Otters attempt to score the go-ahead run in the ninth and keep the game tied going into the Wildcats' half of the inning. With two out, Daniel Vierra drew a walk and the right-handed hitting Stevens took a 2-1 pitch to right center field for the walkoff celebration.
Chico State and East Bay begin their four-game series Friday at 3 p.m.
