The Chico State Wildcats’ baseball team split its four-game series with the Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros to begin CCAA conference play.

Coming into the series hot after winning three consecutive series, the Wildcats looked to win their first CCAA conference series against the Toros.

The ’Cats’ took the first and last game of the series with scores of 17-3 and 10-0. The Toros took games two and three with scores of 6-3 and 14-3.

Game 1: March 6, 2 p.m.

Looking to get the upper hand in the series early, the ’Cats turned to freshman ace and right-handed pitcher Jack Tews, who has a 1.73 ERA.

The ’Cats struck early against Toros right-handed pitcher Dylan Goodrich, putting up five runs in the first inning, chasing Goodrich from the game after getting only one out. 

Senior first baseman Jesse Gadd started the scoring for the ’Cats after drawing a bases-loaded walk. Junior infielder Michael Baker and junior infielder Brady Ranallo brought in two runs after both were hit by a pitch. The ’Cats capped off the inning with two more runs as senior outfielder Stefan Foley singled to right field to make the score 5-0.

The Toros got on board in the fourth inning as senior outfielder Alex Sepulveda hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score sophomore catcher Nigel Buckley.

The ’Cats responded with a run of their own in the fourth inning as junior infielder Jackson Snitko grounded into a fielder’s choice to the shortstop, scoring junior infielder Jaylen Hodges to extend the lead to 6-1.

The Toros wouldn’t go down without a fight as they added two runs in the fifth inning. Senior infielder Quinn Johnson singled to center and scored two runs on a fielding error by Foley to make the score 6-3.

Looking to put the Toros away, the ’Cats exploded for ten runs in the sixth inning. 

Ranallo started the scoring with a wild pitch. Senior outfielder Keoni Coloma flew out to center to score Foley. Sophomore outfielder Myles Walton singled to left to score Hodges, and Snitko followed with a double down the left field line to score Walton. Junior catcher Cole Nachreiner singled to score Snitko, and Baker singled to score two more runs.

 The dagger came when Ranallo hit his first home run of the season to score another two runs. Hodges capped the inning with a single to center that scored Foley to make the score 16-3.

The ’Cats added one more run in the seventh inning for good measure as sophomore utility Kobe Rolling singled to score Snitko and give the win to the ’Cats, 17-3.

Ranallos’ first home run was also the ’Cats’ first home run as a team. 

“It was a great feeling,” Ranallo said. “Get the team hyped up, get everyone going, I’m looking for a couple more this year.”

Ranallo explained that he was trying to hit the ball anywhere into the open field since the ’Cats had a big lead, but he ended up leaving the yard instead.

“Definitely trying to hit the ball as hard as I can and spray around the field,” Ranallo said. “Didn’t matter where I went.”

Ranallo capitalized on the mistake pitch and made the Toros pay.

“It was just put in the wrong spot, and I was able to get a hold of one,” Ranallo said.

Game 2: March 7, noon

Looking to build off a dominant game one win, the ’Cats turned to junior right-handed pitcher Thomas Meyer. 

The Toros struck early as junior catcher Angel Cortez crushed a home run to left field, his first of the season, to make the score 1-0.

The ’Cats got on the board with a run in the second inning as Foley hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Nachreiner and tie the game at 1.

Looking to take the lead, the ’Cats added a run in the third inning as Snitko doubled down the right field line to score Coloma,  giving the ’Cats a  2-1 lead.

They added another run in the fourth as Hodges grounded into a double play to score Ranallo and make the score 3-1.

Unfortunately for the ’Cats, the lead didn’t last very long.

Junior outfielder Deegan Grgas hammered a two-run home run to rightfield, his first of the season, to tie the game at 3. 

The Toros took the lead back in the seventh inning when freshman right-handed pitcher Nathan Hikes gave up a RBI single to junior outfielder Zac Ragland, scoring Cortez and giving the Toros the lead. Junior infielder Tristan Usher singled to right field to score two more runs and make the score 6-3.

Unfortunately, the ’Cats couldn’t come back, and the Toros secured the win 6-3.

Game 3: March 7, 3 p.m.

Looking to bounce back after the loss, the ’Cats turned to senior right-handed pitcher Rocco Borrelli.

The Toros got to Borrelli early, putting up six runs in the first inning. Usher hit a two-run home run to left-center, his fifth of the season, to give the Toros an early lead, 2-0. 

Senior infielder Ben Saitz reached on a fielder’s choice to shortstop to score Buckley. Ragland singled down the right field line to score one, and junior infielder Elijah Scott followed with a single to left field to score Saitz. Usher capped the Toros’ explosive first inning with a hit by pitch to score Ragland and make the score 6-0.

The ’Cats got two runs back in the first inning when Ranallo drew a bases-loaded walk to give the ’Cats their first run and Snitko scored on a wild pitch to make the score 6-2. 

Senior pitcher Carson Case replaced Borrelli in the second inning as the Toros added three more runs in the second. Sepulveda and Saitz ripped back-to-back RBI singles to right field, plating two for the Toros. Ragland hit a sacrifice fly to left to score Cortez, and the Toros closed the second inning 9-2.

Things didn’t get much better for the ’Cats as the Toros added two more runs in the third inning. 

Sepulveda hit a sacrifice fly to score Usher, then Cortez singled up the middle to score Johnson and extend the Toros’ lead 11-2.

The ’Cats got a run back in the third as sophomore catcher Jared Cantu singled to score Baker and cut the Toros’ lead to 11-3.

The Toros would add three more runs in the fifth as they secured a blowout win, 14-3.

Game 4: March 8, noon

Looking to avoid their first series loss in a month, the ’Cats turned to freshman right-handed pitcher Jakob Poole.

Neither team could get much offensive momentum early, as Poole and Toros’ freshman right-handed pitcher Zachary Lopez pitched well early.

The ’Cats got on the board in the fourth inning, starting with Coloma doubling down the right field line. He advanced to third on a Snitko groundout and then scored on a wild pitch to give the ’Cats a 1-0 lead.

The ’Cats would build off that momentum in the fifth inning by putting up five more runs. 

Coloma and Nachreiner both walked in a run. Foley came through with the bases loaded and quickly cleared them with a double down the right-field line, increasing the lead to 6-0.

The ’Cats went on to add a trio of runs in the sixth inning, led by a double to left field by Hodges to score Ranallo. Then, a Coloma triple scored Hodges, and a wild pitch allowed Coloma to score from third to increase the ’Cats’ lead 9-0.

The ’Cats added one last run in the eighth as Nachreiner grounded out to third,  scoring sophomore infielder Brady Wright before the ’Cats took the series finale 10-0. 

Foley had his best series performance yet, totaling five hits, six RBIs and a huge bases-clearing double in the fifth inning to secure the series finale for the ’Cats. 

He thought that he was seeing the ball at the plate very well, which allowed him to have a huge offensive performance.

“I was just looking for a fastball early in the count to get something to drive,” Foley said. “Especially with runners on, just looking early, get a pitch to put in play, especially with two outs.”

Foley believes he can stay hot going into the next series because of the team’s confidence and ability to bounce back after a rough game two and three.

“This one was big for us taking to the next week on the road at Pomona,” Foley said. “It’s just big momentum for us on the bus ride, so it kind of just takes our energy into next weekend.”

Foley thinks the biggest improvement needs to be made after the series was pitching.

“Just knowing strikes as our pitching staff, our pitching staff has been good,” Foley said. “Just not trying to walk as many batters and just having quality at-bats for the team.

Head Coach Dave Taylor believed a positive takeaway from the series was getting to the Toros bullpen early.

“Friday night, we got to the starter early, which is important, because then you get to the bullpen, use up arms,” Taylor said.

Taylor believes that the offense also needs improvement after being held to a combined six runs in games two and three.

“I think offensively, we just haven’t hit our stride,” Taylor said. “We’re just not very sustainable with good bat-to-ball skills.”

Despite this series marking the start of CCAA conference play, Taylor doesn’t feel like the players felt the added pressure of conference play.

“It’s just another baseball series, and you’ve got to play the game,” Taylor said. “Nothings different if the Dodgers came in and played us. We’d play the same way, we would approach it the same way. So it doesn’t matter who we’re playing.”

He added that the biggest focus going into their first away series is to take things day by day and be ready to play.

“First time we’ve gone on the road, really, we went to Jessup early. That was to and from in one day, so we haven’t done the hotel, we haven’t done all that stuff,” Taylor said. “It’ll be 25 new guys, another learning experience for us, but once we get on the field and start playing, then it’s go time. So yeah, it’s the first time on the road, so we got to make sure we are ready to play.”

The ’Cats continue CCAA conference play next week with another four-game series at Scolinos Field against Cal Poly Pomona, starting on Friday at 6 p.m.

For information about all Chico State athletics or to keep up with the game live, visit the Wildcat home page, or watch through FloSports.

Jamison Leung can be reached at [email protected]