CHICO, Calif. – Comfort has not brought out the best in the Chico State baseball team this season. Saturday, for the first time all season, the Wildcats will find out how good they can be with their backs against the wall. The Wildcats dropped a 4-3 heartbreaker to Western Oregon Friday night at Nettleton Stadium for their fourth straight home loss, and suddenly, their place among the top four teams in the West Region seems to be in serious danger.
Western Oregon, ranked No. 6 in the West Region and now riding a 17-game hitting streak, rallied for two runs in the ninth against the Wildcats, ranked No. 4 in the West but only 14-14 since a 13-2 start to the season. Four teams from the West will advance to the NCAA Championship Tournament West Regional. Wildcats ace Michael Gleason started the ninth in search of a complete game. But Devon Bouvier doubled leading off the frame, came around to score on Gleason’s throwing error, and Grant Glover later drove in what proved to be the winning run with a single to left field.
The Wildcats had won all 10 of Gleason’s starts this season and were on their way to another. Gleason struck out a career-high 11 through the first seven innings.
Meanwhile, the Wildcats rallied for two runs in the seventh and another in the eighth against Wolves ace Michael Ward to take a 3-2 lead. Pinch hitter Hunter Buckmore lined a two-run single through the right side in the seventh to tie the game, and Jackson Evans’ two-out RBI single put the Wildcats ahead 3-2 in the eighth.
After Bouvier’s line-drive double to right center leading off the ninth, Gleason attempted to throw him out at third on Cesar Lopez’s sacrifice bunt. Instead, Gleason’s throw, which would not have been on time anyway, glanced off the glove of Adrian Bringas, allowing Bouvier to score and Lopez to move to second. Lopez then moved to second on Cody Reeves’ sacrifice and then scored on Glover’s line drive to left to put the Wolves in front for good.
Ward allowed just three runs (two earned) on four hits in eight innings to improve to 5-1. He struck out eight and walked a pair. Kirk Lind pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his fourth save of the season.
Gleason (6-1) allowed four runs on nine hits in eight-and-a-third.
Western Oregon opened the scoring in the sixth when Jason Moseby notched his third straight double
against Gleason leading off the inning and came around to score on Kyle Boe’s double.
Lopez led off the seventh with a double and later scored on Garrett Breda’s two-out single to make it 2-0.
The series continues with a doubleheader Saturday at noon and concludes with a single game Sunday at noon.
BOX SCORE
WILDCATS NOTES – Chico State first baseman Kevin Seaver and former third baseman Bret Ringer – now a graduate assistant in the program – will be presented their National Gold Gloves from last year and the year before, respectively, in a pre-game ceremony Saturday scheduled to begin at 11:45…Buckmore’s pinch hit was his sixth of the season, tying him with Ryan Wulfert (2003) for the second most in Chico State single-season history. He needs one more to tie Ryan Watson (2000) for the most…Another pinch hitter, Danny Dyer, laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to set up Buckmore’s two-run single in the seventh…Gleason has struck out 48 hitters over his last five starts spanning 39-and-two-thirds innings…Western Oregon’s win was just its eighth in 58 tries against Chico State all-time…Chico State, in need of losses by Cal State L.A. and Cal State Stanislaus this weekend to clinch a spot in the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Tournament, is halfway there. Sonoma State beat Cal State L.A. 8-6 in 10 innings Friday. Cal State Stanislaus beat Cal Poly Pomona 1-0.
