Breaking News
Chico State's independent student newspaper

The Orion

Chico State's independent student newspaper

The Orion

Chico State's independent student newspaper

The Orion

Baseball has to battle to keep post season in reach

Published 2009-04-29T00:00:00Z”/>

archives

Shane Zanze

The Chico State baseball team took on Cal State Stanislaus last weekend in Chico State’s final home-game series at Nettleton Stadium, going 3-1 in the pivotal series, which had huge playoff implications for the Wildcats.

Sunday’s game was Senior Day, and the team honored its 12 seniors who have served their team well over the past four years. The seniors received a standing ovation for their accomplishments from the crowd at Nettleton Stadium.

<strong>Mickartz goes one away from complete game, leaves mark in record books</strong>

The ‘Cats received another brilliant performance from ace sophomore Pete Mickartz, who came within one out of throwing a complete game.

Mickartz battled through adversity throughout the contest as he gave up 13 hits. But Wildcat defense but consistently got him out of trouble, stranding nine Warriors’ runners on base.

He also won his 20th career game and moved into sixth all time on the Chico State career-wins list.

Offensively, Chico State struck early when senior Josh Meagher doubled home. The Warriors answered back in the third with a run of their own but Chico State broke the game open in the third. Meagher, senior Eric Stephens and junior Adam Arakawa each hit singles, loading the bases. Junior Kevin Seaver got an RBI, thanks to a bases-loaded walk. Then, junior catcher Cody Dee laid down a squeeze bunt to make the score 3-1. Next up was senior Bret Ringer who singled in two more runs. The ‘Cats took a commanding lead and never looked back, winning game one in the four game series, 6-4.

<strong>Pitching pulls through win in game two</strong>

The ‘Cats followed up their opening-game win with two more victories in Saturday’s double-header, behind senior starter Joel Garcia and junior reliever Ian Waldron.

Garcia threw a complete-game shutout in what would be his final home start of his Wildcat career. Chico State won the contest 5-0. Garcia gave up just seven hits and retired 14 of the Warriors’ hitters in a row.

Garcia showed command on the mound and used all of his pitches very well, said catcher Cody Dee.

“It was a gutsy performance by Joel,” Dee said. “He really went after the hitters.”

The ‘Cats offense was led by right fielder Jimmy Dodos, who had two hits and two RBIs to power the Chico State offense. The first inning was big for the ‘Cats, in which Dodos doubled, scoring two runs.

Game two of the double header would prove to be troublesome for the ‘Cats, when starting pitcher, Andrew Pluta was roughed up early in the game and was later replaced by junior Ian Waldron.

Waldron got out of a tough jam in the fourth, thanks to a base-running blunder by the Warriors. The Warriors scored a run with the bases loaded on a sacrifice fly hit into left field. However, the ‘Cats appealed to the umpire, arguing that the runner left too early on the tag up. They were awarded the call and the inning was over with minimal damage.

Waldron then found his groove and retired all of the Warriors he faced in the final three innings of the game, assisting in the wing against the Warriors in game two, 3-2.

<strong>Chico State drops final game in home series</strong>

The ‘Cats wanted to sweep the series to keep their hopes alive of making the California Collegiate Athletic Association tournament, but were outmatched in game four by the Warriors, 8-4.

The Warriors came out swinging and knocked Wildcat starter Mike Robbins out of the game early, as they scored four runs on Robbins in two innings. Freshman Jordan Lindebaum entered the game in the fourth and kept Chico State in the game by giving up only four runs in seven innings.

The ‘Cats rallied back and eventually got the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth. The ‘Cats loaded the bases and got senior outfielder Nick Victor to the plate. However, Victor struck out swinging to end the game.

Now, in order to make it to the CCAA Championship Tournament, the Wildcats &- who are 32-20 overall and 17-15 in the CCAA &- must now win four consecutive games next weekend at Cal State Monterey Bay.

The ‘Cats also need Cal State Stanislaus to sweep a four-game series against Cal State Dominguez Hills on the final weekend of the regular season. The Warriors &- now 30-18 overall and 15-16 in the CCAA &- were eliminated from the CCAA Championship Tournament when Cal State Dominguez Hills beat Cal State Monterey Bay on Sunday.

If the Wildcats fail to reach the post season, it would be a huge disappointment for the team that came into the season with such high hopes.

Chico State has not missed the post season in more than a decade, and the team is still hoping to get there this year, said assistant coach Chris Pfatenhaur.

Although the road will be a tough one for the Wildcats, players are staying motivated, Mickartz said.

“If we do make it to conference playoffs or regionals, we’ll do all right,” he said. “Getting there is the tough part; playing is the fun part.”

Shane Zanze can be reached at<a href= “javascript:void(location.href=’mailto:’+String.fromCharCode(115,122,97,110,122,101,64,116,104,101,111,114,105,111,110,46,99,111,109)+’?subject=re%3A%20’Cats%20hope%20to%20pitch%20to%20playoffs’)”>[email protected]</a>

  1. Baseball team hopes to pitch to playoffs
  2. Baseball team hopes to pitch to playoffs
      Leave a Comment
      More to Discover

      Comments (0)

      All The Orion Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *