Chico State baseball lost their series against the second place UC San Diego Tritons this weekend, making the race for first place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association even closer than before.

After winning the first game and losing the second, the Wildcats lost the third and final game 4-6.

It stayed close until the end, with UC San Diego taking the lead in the third and then losing it to the ‘Cats in the top of the 5th. Senior outfielder Jerrett Maas hit an RBI double to tie the game at 1-1. Fellow seniors Casey Bennett and Sonny Cortez brought in two more runs to put the ‘Cats up 3-1.

This lead didn’t last long however as Chico State gave up a walk with the bases loaded and then a triple, putting the Tritons up by two. The ‘Cats never recovered. They eventually lost by 2 and dropping out of their first series in CCAA regular season play this year. Chico State missed out on a key opportunity in the seventh when they loaded the bases, no outs and were only able to score one run.

The Wildcats are two games ahead of UC San Diego for first place overall in the CCAA. With only ten games left it will be a fight to the finish for the regular season title.

Patrick Pace can be reached at [email protected] or @PatPaceSports on Twitter.