An explosive offense led the way for Chico State as they tallied 19 runs to sweep Saturday’s doubleheader and capture the series win over Cal Poly Humboldt.
The first game of the doubleheader kicked off when Amelie Valdez returned to the mound to redeem herself after lasting just two innings from her previous outing against the Lumberjacks.
The Lumberjacks struck first with two runs in the second inning. The Wildcats responded with a run in the third and kept the momentum going, adding two runs in each of the following innings.
Kennedy Gustin, Gracie Dunning, Marissa Anderson and Hannah Levy each recorded two hits with an RBI for the 7-3 win. Valdez powered through 123 pitches for her ninth complete game and picked up her eighth win.
The Wildcats dominated the final game of the series with a strong offensive performance and another impressive outing by Kylie Loertscher. The freshman allowed four hits, one run while also contributing at the plate with two RBIs.
After Humboldt took an early 1-0 lead in the second inning, the Wildcats took over from there. They scored five runs on three hits in the third, then added seven more runs in the fourth. They showcased a lot of discipline at the plate, drawing nine walks across both innings.
Levy continued her excellent performance at the plate, going 3-for-3 with three RBIs.
“I was honestly just looking for my pitch the whole time,” Levy said. “Literally the first at-bat I was like ‘I’m just going to drive it in,’ then I kept having that approach every at-bat.”
A double by Brianna Swihart cleared the bases to extend the score 12-1, causing the double digit lead to cut the game short at five innings.
“I think they did a better job of working the counts, taking the walk when they gave it to us and putting people in scoring position,” head coach Angel Shamblin said. “And we had those people in scoring position. We got those timely hits today.”
The Wildcats outscored Humboldt 23-7 after being shut out in the series opener. The three straight wins improve their record to 16-10 as they will face San Francisco State on Friday starting at 1 p.m.
For more information about all Chico State athletics or to keep up with the game live, visit the Wildcat home page, or watch through FloSports.
Rebecca Gonzalez can be reached at orionmanagingeditor@gmail.com.
