The Wildcats swept a Saturday doubleheader for the third consecutive week with a pair of wins over the No. 10 Colorado Mesa Mavericks.
Some late-game heroics and timely hitting helped Chico State rattle off two big wins Saturday to complete the series sweep of the Mavericks. The Wildcats have now won their first three pre-season series, all against nationally ranked programs.
“To get these three teams on our schedule, and to be able to beat all three is great for the program to get back to its standard,” head coach Dave Taylor said.
Game one was an absolute thriller, with Wildcats senior second baseman Thade Miller walking things off on an RBI single in the bottom of the tenth to give Chico the 5-4 win. Game two was a defensive battle, only having five combined runs with the final score being 3-2.
“I thought we competed at a very high level, and in order to beat teams like that you got to come out ready to play,” Taylor said. “Our toughness and competitive D.N.A. was very high today, so I’m proud of the guys.”
Senior right-hander Marco Ibarra picked up his first win of the season after getting called on in the ninth while things were tied at three.
Senior right fielder Troy Kent hit a game-tying home run in the seventh inning, making that his third this season. The 3-3 deadlock held strong until the top of the tenth when the Mavericks senior catcher Declan Weisner hit a solo shot to left field giving them a one-run lead.
However, the Wildcats answered right back when junior first baseman Jesse Gadd doubled to right field to start the rally. Junior infielder Casey Vogan picked up the game-tying RBI after reaching base on a fielding error by the Mavericks shortstop, leading to a walk-off single to left field from Miller.
With the win, the Wildcats had already secured the series victory and were playing with the house’s money going into game two. Senior right-hander Evan Tomlinson took the mound for his third start and picked up his third win of the season, going five innings and only giving up two runs on five hits.
The bats on both sides of the field were quiet in game two, with the Wildcats slightly edging out the hitting battle, recording six hits to the Maverick’s five.
Junior right-hander Aaron McCurley also put in a great performance on the bump, recording his first save of the season after coming in to relieve Tomlinson. McCurley pitched a perfect two innings, not allowing any runners on base while striking out one, snuffing any of the Mavericks comeback aspirations.
The Wildcats couldn’t have imagined a better start to the season, heading into league play and are riding the momentum they’ve built up over the last three weeks.
“We got to stay hungry and tough and we can’t get too full of ourselves,” Taylor said. “My job is to make sure they don’t get too far ahead of themselves, but we got a lot of seniors so I’ll have some help with that and I’m not too worried about it.”
Chico State will take the field again on Thursday, in the Bay Area where they’ll take on the San Francisco State Gators for their first inter-conference series.
The Wildcats first home series of league play takes place on Feb. 28 against the Cal Poly Pomona Broncos.
For information about all Chico State athletics or to keep up with the game live, visit the Wildcat home page, or watch through FloSports.
Lukas Mann can be reached at orionmanagingeditor@gmail.com.
