CHICO, Calif. – Once again, Jesse Gadd came up clutch.
Already taking game one of Saturday's doubleheader 4-3 over Cal Poly Pomona, Chico State had to respond from a couple of costly miscues in the second game and under heavy winds, Gadd stepped up to the plate and sent the Wildcats home in all smiles by hitting a walkoff solo home run to beat the Broncos 6-5 in eight innings and clinch the four-game CCAA series at Nettleton Stadium.
It is the second most memorable clutch moment Gadd delivered for Chico State this season. His first was in game two of the season-opening weekend against Point Loma, when he hit a two-run home run that eventually became the difference in the 12-3 win.
Chico State improves to 11-5 overall and 4-3 in the CCAA while Cal Poly Pomona falls to 6-10 overall and 3-4 in conference play.
When Evan Tomlinson threw the first pitch on the day at 1:03 p.m., the weather was absolutely perfect. He found himself in a 2-0 hole after three innings but managed to stop the Broncos from adding more runs the rest of his seven-inning outing. After his pitching opponent Tyler Reiter held Chico State's bats in check through four innings, the Wildcats were able to break through in the fifth.
Phoenix Casias reached on a single and after an unsuccessful double-play attempt gave Chico State some hope left with two outs, Ernie Arambula hit an RBI single to right field that broke the ice on board. Thade Miller kept that momentum going by singling through the right side to bring in the tying run and Troy Kent was able to take a pitch to the wall in left center field for a go-ahead two-run double, giving the Wildcats a 4-2 lead.
The Broncos threatened in the eighth inning and was able to get one run across before Ryan Silvers came in and stopped the bleeding.
Cal Poly Pomona thought to have hope again in the ninth inning when the No. 9 hitter reached safely with two outs, head coach Dave Taylor went to the bullpen to bring in the lefty Sean Head to go up against another lefty Brent Cota, who recorded four hits against righties the entire game. Head ended up winning the battle by getting Cota to fly out to left to end the game.
As game two progressed, the temperatures began to drop and the heavy winds picked up. After the Broncos managed to get a run in the first inning off starting pitcher Jeremy Keller, the Wildcats were able to cash in four runs in the second. With one out, Korey Likens singled and starting pitcher Dylan Esquival hit Arambula and walked Juan Nunez to load the bases with one out. Brady Wright, making his first plate appearance in the series, came up clutch in the No. 9 spot by hitting the go-ahead two-run double down the left field line. Miller followed with a sacrifice fly to bring in the third run. Phoenix Casias followed Miller by beating the second baseman's throw to first to keep the inning going. The throw to first would skip by the first baseman and it allowed Wright to score the fourth run.
Arambula had quite a fourth-inning performance. He led off with a single and stole his way to third and Wright brought him home with a single.
The Broncos slowly rallied fifth and sixth innings. They scored two runs in the fifth using a leadoff triple to center field and three singles in the following four at-bats to move one run closer to the Wildcats. In the sixth, Cal Poly Pomona tied the game thanks to a single, a stolen base and an RBI double.
Pomona's biggest threat in the game was in the eighth inning. A pair of walks and a hit-by-the-pitch had the Broncos with the bases loaded and one out. Freshman Dylan Adelman was asked to find a way out of it and two strikeouts later he left the field hyping himself and the Chico State dugout.
Reliever Anthony Vasquez retired the first two batters he faced in the eighth inning before Gadd stepped up and delivered the pinch-hit walkoff.
With rain expected to come into Sunday, Chico State and Cal Poly Pomona will evaluate the field in the morning to decide whether an 11 a.m. first pitch could happen. Be sure to check ChicoWildcats.com and on Instagram at @ChicoAthletics for any changes.
