On the first day of action at the 24-team Tournament of Champions in Turlock, the Wildcats won two of three games, with play continuing Saturday.

In game one Friday, the Wildcats jumped out to an early lead on Montana St.-Billings. A single from first basemen Desiree’ Gonzalez and a double by catcher Tori Zimmerman moved the score to 3-0 in the bottom of the first inning.

A fierce comeback in the top of the seventh brought the score within one run, as starting pitcher Brooke Langeloh pitched out of the jam for a complete game victory, 8-7.

In the second game against Western Oregon, starting pitcher Alex Molina pitched a four-hit shutout for her ninth win of the season. Gonzalez hit a home run and was three for three in the game with two RBIs and two runs scored to help Chico State seal the win, 5-0.

The third game against Central Washington saw the Wildcats fall behind for the first time Friday. Central Washington jumped out to a 1-0 lead on starting pitcher Langeloh after three innings.

After Chico State fell behind 3-0 in the top of the fourth, shortstop Emily McEnaney and Gonzalez hit back-to-back solo home runs to bring the score 3-2. In the bottom of the sixth left fielder Amanda Cordeiro hit a two-run double to put the Wildcats up 4-3.

Two home runs from Central Washington in the top of the sixth inning proved to hurt the Wildcats, losing 7-4.

The Wildcats as a team had a total of 26 hits on the day for the three games, with Cordeiro picking up six hits on the day and Gonzalez smashing five, including two home runs.

The wins move the ‘Cats record to 19-15 on the season. Play continues Saturday with a game against Simon Fraser at 11 a.m and followed by Western Washington at 3:45 p.m in Turlock.

Chance Keenan can be reached at [email protected] or @chancelikelance on twitter.