CHICO, Calif. - The Wildcats opened the CCAA conference schedule with resilient wins over the visiting Otters of Cal State Monterey Bay. Reaching ten wins early into the season sets head coach Angel Shamblin's team on a desirable momentum streak.
Last year's squad did not see double-digit wins until April; this goes around, they already reached the mark with more than half of the season to play. With two more games to play this weekend, the 'Cats have shown their grit and collective fight as a program, with both of Friday's results being decided in extra innings.
Game 1
The Wildcats narrowly edged out the Otters on the offensive side, as countless frames were flown through without a glimmer of a hit. That can be attributed to Amelie Valdez, who pitched her fifth complete game of the season and notched her sixth win. With four strikeouts, the junior refused to sacrifice a run to the Otters, improving her season ERA to an impressive conference-leading 0.46 average.
In the eighth frame of the game, Lauren Carbajal gave the 'Cats a spark of hope with a single to right field that put extra pressure on the Otters' pitching staff. Walks for Amelie Valdez and Brianna Swihart after two back-to-back battles of wits at the plate loaded the bases with the Wildcats offensive leader following the pair.
Kennedy Gustin, batting .425 in 12 stats with the Wildcats, only needed two pitches to knock a shot up the middle, giving her team the 1-0 win to open up the conference season.
Game 2
The second game of the doubleheader looked contrastingly different, with the Otters taking a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning, which would be doubled by the fourth.
Hannah Levy started a streak of hope for the 'Cats after a single in the 5th that Itzell De Los Rios, Italia Abrenica, Kennedy Gustin, and Mia Santos took advantage of, with a sequence of hits that resulted in the lead cut to three runs. Three straight singles from Abrenica, Gustin, and Santos pushed De Los Rios home as the 'Cats caught a glimpse of a comeback.
As the bases remained loaded, the pressure fell on the Otters defense, as they surrendered four hits in a single inning and the 'Cats were feeling hot. Aiyana Curry was the next batter as they sat in a two-outs situation, but on the second pitch, the sophomore hit a picturesque blast down the left line, which tied up the game after clearing the bases.
Bella Tavares took care of business in extra innings as the 'Cats had the momentum in their favor. Curry led the charge again with a second double on the day, this time to center field. Ali Lewis put her teammate in a prime scoring position with a single to left field, following up immediately with a sacrifice fly from Marissa Anderson that sent the winning run over home plate.
The second half of the series kicks off bright and early tomorrow at 11 a.m. at Wildcat Softball Field!
