Thanks to Dustin Miller’s clutch three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth, the Chico State baseball team was able to secure the series win against Northwest Nazarene Saturday afternoon. They won by a score of 6-5, and it was a close game throughout.

The Wildcats bats started off a little slow, but quickly came to life later on in the game. Designated hitter Alex DeVito brought in the first run of the game with a fielders choice groundout, and shortstop Casey Henderson tripled to deep right center to give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead at the end of the third inning.

Northwest Nazarene battled back in the top of the fourth, however, to tie the game at 2.

After back-to-back RBI singles in the top of the seventh inning, Northwest Nazarene had widened its lead to 5-2.

However, the Wildcats weren’t finished yet. They had saved their best for last, and the seventh inning was just the beginning of it.

in the bottom of the seventh, designated hitter Alex DeVito picked up his second RBI of the day with a single to left center. This brought the game a little closer, with the Wildcats still trailing 5-3.

The moment of truth, however, would come in the eighth inning. With two runners on and two outs on the board, center fielder Dustin Miller absolutely crushed a three-run shot over the right field wall. This instantly brought the fans to their feet and sent the Chico State fan base into an absolute frenzy.

It was the Wildcats very first home run of the season, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. When asked about his approach going into that at-bat, Miller said, “The count was in my favor. He left the pitch over the heart of the plate and I was able to barrel it up.”

The Wildcats will look to continue their success against Stanislaus State next weekend. They will play their first two games in Turlock, and then return home on Sunday to play their final two games. The Sunday games are scheduled to start at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Austin Schreiber can be reached at [email protected] or @aschreiber94 on Twitter.