The Chico State Wildcats’ softball team concludes the regular season, taking three games in a four-game series against No. 12-ranked Cal State East Bay Pioneers. The ’Cats’ took games one, two and four with scores of 1-0, 4-3 and 5-4. The Pioneers narrowly avoided a series sweep by taking game three, 3-2.

Game 1: May 1, 1 p.m.

Needing a strong start against a ranked team, the ’Cats turned to senior ace right-handed pitcher Amelie Valdez, who has a season ERA of 2.70.

“I want to finish on the mound with my fellow seniors,” Valdez said.

Both offenses were kept silent as Valdez and Pioneers’ junior ace, Marissa Quintero, who owns a record of 25-4 and an ERA of 1.17, dominated both offenses early.

The Pioneers had an opportunity to score in the second, as freshman catcher Macie Mead was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a single by senior outfielder Sarissa Block. 

Fortunately for the ’Cats, the Pioneers couldn’t take advantage of having two runners on base.

Senior infielder Jeslyn Cuellar singled to left field, but Mead rounded third trying to score, and was thrown out at home with a strong throw from ’Cats senior outfielder Hannah Levy. 

Levy’s heroics kept the game scoreless. 

“I remember my first at bat that I got my freshman year,” Levy said. “I got thrown into the game, like, randomly, and it was the most nerve-wracking thing ever.”

The ’Cats had an opportunity of their own to score in the fourth inning as junior infielder Aiyana Curry led off the inning with a hit by pitch and advanced to second with a sacrifice bunt from Levy. Curry then stole third with only one out in the inning. But the ’Cats couldn’t bring her home as senior outfielder Mia Santos grounded out to shortstop and junior infielder Italia Abrenica flew out to center to keep the game scoreless.

After spending all last season injured and in recovery, Santos notes how good it felt to be back on the field with her teammates.

Again, the Pioneers had a chance to take the lead in the sixth inning.

With two outs in the inning, junior infielder Mariah Hopkins singled to left field and advanced to second on a single by sophomore infielder Ava Benavides.

But again, they couldn’t score as sophomore infielder Reagan Hallett singled down the left field line, but Hopkins was thrown out at third.

The ’Cats finally broke the deadlock in the sixth inning.

Senior infielder Itzell De Los Rios led off the inning with a double to center field. Freshman outfielder Lindsey Hubbard came in to pinch run and scored on a single by Levy, as the ’Cats concluded the inning up 1-0.

The Pioneers made things interesting in the seventh and final inning as Cuellar doubled to left-center with two outs.  

But Valdez crushed their hopes, getting junior infielder Jasmyn Morales to pop the ball up to Abrenica and securing the opener for the ’Cats, 1-0.

Game 2: May 1, 3 p.m. 

After opening the series with an upset, the ’Cats handed the ball to junior left-handed pitcher Bella Tavares. The ’Cats struck first in the third inning by adding two runs.

Senior utility Kennedy Gustin singled to left and advanced to second on a single by junior first baseman Ali Lewis. Both runners attempted a double steal, as Gustin was thrown out, but Lewis made it to second.

Senior catcher Brianna Swihart doubled to right field to score Lewis and Curry singled up the middle to score Swihart, giving the ’Cats the lead, 2-0.

The momentum carried into the fourth inning as they added another run on the board.

Levy led off the inning with a double to center field, Santos walked on five pitches and junior infielder Tiana Johnson was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out in the inning. Gustin then hit a sacrifice fly to left field and scored Levy, as the ’Cats increased the lead to 3.

Santos notes her time on the team with the close relationships she has. “I know that all the friendships that I have with the girls are gonna be like lifelong friendships,”  Santos said.

The Pioneers responded by scoring their first run of the game in the fifth inning.

Freshman utility Brynn Gentry singled to center and advanced to second on a single by junior infielder Rylee Gomez. They then loaded the bases as a pitch hit Morales.

 “I think our pitchers work their butts off, and do so well against a really good hitting team,” Gustin said.

Senior outfielder Cynthia Carrillo gave the Pioneers their first run of the game with a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Gentry as the inning concluded, 3-1.

Seeing a run go on the board was the motivation the Pioneers needed to get back in the game, as they tied the game in the seventh inning.

Gomez led off the inning with a single up the middle and advanced to third on a double by Morales. With a tie threatening, Tavares got the next two batters to ground out as neither runner was able to score.

Needing one out to get out to end the game, things fell apart.

Benavides hit a grounder to third base, but the throw to first was wild, allowing Morales and Gomez to score and knot the game at 3.

The ’Cats were unable to score in the bottom of the seventh inning, as the game went into extra innings. They had a chance to win the game in the eighth inning, but couldn’t get it done.

Tavares got on base with a hit by pitch, but was thrown out at second on a fielder’s choice, as Santos reached first.

Santos then took second due to a wild pitch and advanced to third on a single by freshman Mia Brady. Looking to walk off the Pioneers and steal another game, Gustin came up to bat.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t get it done, flying out to left field and sending the game into the ninth inning.

Momentum seemed to shift in the Pioneers’ favor as they got two runners on base to start the ninth inning. 

Morales singled up the middle and Carrillo walked, to give the Pioneers runners on first and second.

With things not looking great for the ’Cats, Valdez replaced Tavares, fresh off throwing 98 pitches just a few hours ago. Somehow, Valdez got out of it. 

She got Hopkins to ground out to her, Benavides to ground out to third and sophomore catcher Marissa Farias to foul out to first, without letting either runner score from second and third base.

With another shot to walk off, the ’Cats sent out their number two, three, four and five hitters to the plate.

Lewis led off the inning with a hit by pitch and advanced to second on a bunt single by Swihart. Curry struck out looking and De Los Rios stepped up to the plate.

She hit a grounder to third base as the Pioneers’ third baseman threw the ball, hoping to get De Los Rios out at first.

Instead, the ball was thrown away as Lewis rounded third and scored on the error, securing the win for the ’Cats, 4-3.

Game 3: May 2, noon

The ’Cats started the morning by celebrating their six seniors for senior day: Mia Santos, Brianna Swihart, Amelie Valdez, Kennedy Gustin, Hannah Levy and Itzell De Los Rios. 

Looking to secure the series win, the ’Cats handed the ball back to Valdez, pitching her third straight game.

“I was just trying to stay composed and keep it together,” Valdez said.

The ’Cats immediately struck early, adding two runs on Gentry in the first inning. Gustin led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Lewis. Swihart walked to give the ’Cats runners on first and second with one out. 

Curry stepped up to the plate and hammered a double to center field, giving the ’Cats an early lead, 2-0.

Swihart notes what she will miss most about this team: “All the girls and friendships that I made, they’re incredible,” she said. “I wouldn’t change that for the world.” 

The Pioneers responded with a run in the second inning.

Benavides led off the inning with a single to left center and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Mead. Block doubled to left field, scoring Benavides and cutting the lead in half, 2-1. They would add another run in the fifth inning.

Morales singled up the middle and advanced to second on a wild pitch. The bases then became loaded as Carrillo was hit by a pitch and freshman outfielder Isabel Mercado singled to first base. Benavides hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Morales and tying the game at 2.

The momentum rolled into the sixth as they took the lead with another run.

Cuellar and Gomez both drew back-to-back one-out walks. Morales flew out to left field, giving the ’Cats a chance to escape the inning. But Carrillo was hit a second time in the game, loading the bases for the Pioneers.

Unfortunately for the ’Cats, they couldn’t keep them off the board as Mercado singled to the pitcher, allowing Cuellar to score and giving the lead to the Pioneers, 3-2.

The ’Cats were unable to score in the sixth inning, giving them one more chance to tie the game in the seventh inning.

Johnson pinch-hit for Brady and drew a four-pitch walk to start the inning. Freshman NeVaeh Scheper came in to pinch-run for Johnson and advanced to second as Gustin was hit by a pitch. 

Sensing the danger, the Pioneers replaced senior right-handed pitcher Jaidyn Gamble with Quintero in hopes of keeping the ’Cats from tying the game.

Quintero immediately threw a wild pitch, bringing the tying run to third and the winning run to second. But Quintero got Lewis to strike out and Swihart to line out to give the ’Cats one last shot.

Curry came to the plate, but the Pioneers immediately walked her on four pitches, not wanting to deal with the player who scored both runs for the ’Cats in the game.

With the bases loaded and one out, De Los Rios came up to the plate with a chance to walk it off for the ’Cats. She took a ball outside the zone for ball one. She then fouled off a pitch to even the count. She took another ball outside to make the count 2-1.

On the fourth pitch at the at bat, De Los Rios flew out to right field, allowing the Pioneers to escape the game with a close win, 3-2.

Game 4: May 2, 3 p.m.

Trying to secure the series win again, the ’Cats handed the ball back to Tavares.

The ’Cats got into trouble right as the game started, loading the bases with only one out.

Cuellar reached on a fielding error by the ’Cats shortstop and stole second. Morales walked on a seven-pitch at bat and Carrillo reached on the ’Cats’ second error of the inning, loading the bases.

Miraculously, the Pioneers were unable to score as Benavides reached on a fielder’s choice, as Cuellar was thrown out at the plate and Hallet grounded out to third to end the inning.

The ’Cats offense then demonstrated to the Pioneers how to score with the bases loaded, as Gustin led off with a walk and Lewis and Swihart were hit by pitches. 

“Coming to Chico has been really great for me,” said Gustin, noting her career at Chico State.  “Every weekend’s been something new and something great.”

Gamble replaced Gentry and managed to get the next two batters out without scoring a run as Curry flew out to shallow right field and Levy reached on a fielder’s choice while Gustin was thrown out at the plate.

Levy is a four-year player for the ’Cats and she recalls how nervous she was as a freshman and sophomore. “Nothing makes me really nervous anymore,” said Levy. “And just like knowing, like, I can do whatever, that is just the biggest growth that I’ve noticed, like, throughout my four years.” 

Hoping not to spoil a golden opportunity to capture the early lead, De Los Rios stepped up to bat.

After taking a strike and fouling off a pitch, she singled up the middle, scoring Swihart and Lewis, giving the ’Cats an early lead, 2-0.

The Pioneers would answer back with a run in the second inning.

Block and Cuellar both singled up the middle with two outs to give them runners on first and second. Then Gomez singled up the middle to score Block and cut the ’Cats’ lead in half, 2-1.

The Pioneers continued their hot hitting into the third inning by adding three more runs.

Carrillo led off the inning with a walk as sophomore pitcher Kylie Loertscher replaced Tavares. Loertscher managed to get the next two batters to fly out, but gave up a single to Mead, to give the Pioneers runners on first and second with two outs.

Unfortunately, that came back to bite her.

Sophomore utility Jennavee Campos came to the plate and hammered the fourth pitch of the at-bat to left field and out of the park. Campos first home run of the season gave the Pioneers the lead, 4-2.

Despite the huge momentum swing, the ’Cats battled back by getting a run back in the third inning.

Curry led off the inning with a double to left field and scored on a De Los Rios single up the middle, as the ’Cats closed the gap 4-3.

The Pioneers refused to go away, getting two runners on with two outs in the fourth inning. 

Valdez then made her fourth consecutive appearance and took over for Loetscher, and managed to get Benavides to ground out to end the threat.

With the momentum swinging in favor of the ’Cats, the Pioneers put Quintero back in the game in the fourth inning.

While it appeared to benefit the Pioneers at first, it quickly came back to haunt them.

Quintero got the first two batters out but hit Lewis with a pitch. She then gave up a single to Swihart, which got past the centerfielder and allowed Lewis to score. Curry gave the ’Cats the lead with a single up the middle as they closed the inning with the lead, 5-4.

The Pioneers fought back as Gomez singled to right-center with two outs in the sixth inning. Morales then doubled down the right field line to move the tying run to third base and the winning run to second base.

After falling behind in the count 3-1, Valdez managed to get Carrillo to ground out, neutralizing the Pioneers’ threat to tie the game.

Making one last push in the seventh and final inning, Mead singled up the middle with two outs. 

But it didn’t matter as Valdez got Campos to fly out to right field and the ’Cats won a hard-fought series against the No.12 team in the nation. 

“I felt pride,” De Los Rios said. “Like I felt like, kind of a sense of like, knowing that like to be free and like, just be present, just to enjoy here, being on the field, being with the girls.”

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

Note: Aiyana Curry is the sports editor for The Orion. She did not take part in the editorial process for this article.

Jamison Leung and Maya Vanlaningham can be reached at [email protected]