CHICO, Calif. – Nettleton Stadium has always been a friendly place to play for baseball, but Sunday was not the case as extremely heavy winds twirled around the ballpark and made it difficult for No. 11 Chico State and Cal State East Bay.
 
After 11 innings fighting with the wind, the Wildcats missed out on tying the game in the 11^th inning and the Pioneers held on to upset Chico State 5-4 to take the four-game CCAA series.
 
Chico State falls to 16-10 overall and 9-7 in the CCAA while East Bay leaps over the Wildcats for fourth place at 12-11 overall and 7-5 in conference play.
 
While both teams combined for 24 hits throughout the day, several of those hits were earned because of the wind. One example was in the fifth inning when Brady Wright hit a fly ball to right that appeared to be routine that instead flew over the right fielder's head and to the wall for a triple. On the other side, third baseman Michael Baker played what usually is a routine popup on the left side but the wind pushed the ball and dropped right on the foul line for a single.
 
Each team got on the board in the first inning thanks to their leadoff man getting on base. For Chico State, Thade Miller opened the offense with a double to center, took third on Phoenix Casias' groundout and scored on Troy Kent's sacrifice fly to shallow left, narrowly beating the throw home.
 
Jeremy Keller led off the second with a double to left center and scored on Ernie Arambula's single through the right side. Following Wright's one-out triple, Miller hit a sacrifice fly that put the Wildcats ahead 3-1 through the fifth inning.
 
After giving up the unearned run in the first inning, Rocco Borrelli pitched shutout innings until the sixth. That inning the Pioneers got one run on three hits to make it a one-run game. Joseph Loubert came in with two outs and got out of the inning holding the lead.
 
The seventh inning turned into a stressful one for both sides. First the top half of the inning. The Pioneers had the bases loaded with no outs, they tied the game on a groundout and a fielding error put East Bay ahead 4-3. The Wildcats had a similar script when their turn of the seventh happened. With two down and pinch-runner Lorenzo Mariani on second, Wright hit a groundball to second that looked like would end the inning but was misplayed and it allowed Chico State to tie the game at four.
 
East Bay had a chance to score in the ninth inning with runners on first and second and one out, freshman Dylan Adelman came into the threat and induced an inning-ending double play to keep the game tied.
 
Chico State, too, had a chance to walkoff in the 10^th inning. Kent and Daniel Vierra drew back-to-back one-out walks and with two away Baker hit a single to shallow center field. Kent tried to win the game from second base but the center fielder's throw was well in time for the out.
 
The Pioneers got the go-ahead run in the 11^th inning using a leadoff single and a sacrifice fly to center field.
 
The Wildcats had a rally going in the 11^th inning as well. With Carson Case on first and two down, Miller found a hole on the right side that put runners at the corners. Phoenix Casias hit a fly ball into the heavy wind in right center but the center fielder was there in time for the catch and secure East Bay's win.
 
Chico State goes back on the road to face the defending CCAA champions Cal State Monterey Bay beginning Friday at 6 p.m. The Otters were on a bye week through the conference and took two wins over the PacWest's Jessup in Seaside over the weekend.