LOS ANGELES, Calif. - With their backs against the wall for the second consecutive evening, the Chico State baseball team scratched and clawed out of an early deficit Thursday to keep both their CCAA Tournament hopes and their quest for a NCAA Regional berth intact.
Phoenix Casias's walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 10th lifted the fifth-seeded Wildcats to a thrilling 5–4 win over No. 2 seed Cal State Dominguez Hills at Reeder Field, keeping Chico State in the CCAA Tournament while strengthening an already impressive resumé for when the NCAA Selection Show arrives Sunday at 7:30 p.m.
After a missed opportunity to walk the game off in the ninth, Drake Richardson pitched around a leadoff single in the 10th and allowed the Wildcats to respond in their half of the inning in dramatic fashion. Ernie Arambula and Carson Case drew back-to-back, one-out walks and although Thade Miller hit a hard line drive to the outfield that was caught, Casias picked him up and found a hole through the right side that rolled just enough for Arambula to slide in the winning run from second and send the Wildcats in celebration.
The victory came just hours after a 12–9 loss to top-seeded Cal State Monterey Bay. Facing elimination from the conference tournament and a possibility of their NCAA Regional berth being put in serious jeopardy, the Wildcats (31–21) rallied from a 4–1 deficit and will now meet the loser of Cal State Monterey Bay and San Francisco State in a 6 p.m. elimination game Friday.
Drake Richardson was electric in high-leverage relief, tossing two shutout innings and earning the win. With the potential go-ahead run at second and nobody out in the ninth, Richardson struck out the side to escape the jam unscathed. Then in the 10th, after allowing a leadoff single and a sacrifice bunt, he again kept the Toros off the board—stranding the runner at second for the second straight inning.
Jeremy Keller struck out eight over six innings, while Tyce Ochs dominated through the seventh and eighth, punching out five of the nine batters he faced.
At the plate, Thade Miller powered the offense with three hits, including two doubles and an RBI. Ernie Arambula scored twice and doubled in a run, and Casias notched two RBI—none bigger than his two-out single to right that brought home Troy Kent for the win.
