The Chico State Wildcats played host to their conference rival, the Humboldt State Lumberjacks, Tuesday in a two-game back-to-back matchup. The Wildcats put on a full display of their home-field dominance by winning both games and increasing their home record to 7-1.

Game one saw Humboldt strike first after an early walk got batted in by a double. But Chico State came right back with a run of their own after an RBI from Ari Marsh allowed Kristin Worley to score.

Chico State proceeded to go on a scoring rampage in the second inning. A Bailey Akins RBI started the scoring frenzy and was followed by a Wendy Cardinali walk with the bases loaded. Chico State scored twice more in quick succession after a single hit down the infield line by Amanda Flores allowed Worley and Reilani Peleti to take home.

The Wildcats effectively ended the game in the fourth after a single to left field by Brooke Larsen allowed two more runners to take home, making the score 8-1. The Lumberjacks added two runs to their score in the sixth and seventh inning but were never within striking distance. The game ended with Chico State winning 8-3.

The second of the two-game fixture, once again, saw the Lumberjacks take an early lead. With a run scored in both the first and second inning, coupled with some stingy defense, the Lumberjacks were looking ripe for an upset. However, the Wildcats found their stride in the bottom of the fourth with their first run coming from a Peleti RBI that drove in Shelby Burdette. Some scrappy defense of their own allowed them to close out the game with a 3-0 run and win with a final score of 4-2.

Chico State is statistically the better team, and their place in the standings reflects the message coach Angel Shamblin was preaching all game.

“These are games that we should win, that we are supposed to win,” Shamblin said. “I’m happy with how we responded from yesterday. Wish we could have scored earlier in that second game. But I’m happy that we were able to come together and rally in order to get that second win.”

Comments from coach shamblin after chico softball takes both games against Humboldt. #orionsports #chicostatesoftball @theorion_sports pic.twitter.com/Re2Uk9JOYw

— SPORTS FROM NOAH (@SPORTSFROMNOAH1) February 20, 2019

The Wildcats now 9-2 sit squarely in third place in the CCAA rankings behind Cal State San Bernadino and Sonoma State. They’ll be looking to overtake Sonoma this weekend when they travel to Rohnert Park to face off in another doubleheader.

Noah Andrews can be reached at [email protected] or @SPORTSFROMNOAH on Twitter.