CHICO, Calif. – Opening-game starter Casey Edelbrock had the stuff to go with his strut in a complete-game shutout, and Deven Braden lined a walk-off single with the bases loaded in the second game to give the Chico State baseball team two of its biggest wins of the season against Western Oregon Saturday at Nettleton Stadium, 4-0 and 6-5.
Chico State, ranked No. 4 in the West Region entering the weekend, dropped its fourth straight home game to No. 6 Western Oregon Friday night. But the Wildcats bounced back to secure nothing less than a series split. Edelbrock scattered seven hits and got four double plays in his second complete-game shutout of the season. He struck out four and did not walk a batter to improve to 5-3.
Braden, who was pulled for a pinch hitter in a crucial spot Friday night, took advantage of his chance at redemption by lining an 0-2 pitch into left field for the walk-off win in the nightcap. He may have earned that opportunity with a line single to left the inning prior that helped lead to the Wildcats’ game-tying run. Jordan Larson singled leading off the inning and then Braden singled him to third and he eventually tied the game on Kevin Seaver’s sacrifice fly.
Chico State improved to 29-16 with the wins, and in all likelihood ensured at least one more week ahead of Western Oregon in the West Region rankings.
Western Oregon, which was riding a 17-game winning streak, dropped to 27-13, including just 3-9 against teams from the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA).
The series concludes with a single game Sunday at noon.
Edelbrock possesses a strong belief in himself. He saunters to and from the mound with a slow and confident style one might expect from a closer. That’s because he is. Or at least he was. Edelbrock saved four games for the Wildcats before a need for starting pitching compelled Head Coach Dave Taylor to move him into a starting role. Edelbrock has been the badass he portrays ever since, compiling a 4-2 record, three complete games (including two shutouts), and a 2.09 ERA in six starts through Saturday.
He gave Western Oregon the full compliment of that swagger, facing three hitters over the minimum and striking out the Wolves’ best hitter, Jason Moseby, to end the game. With runners on base, Edelbrock allowed only two hits in 13 at-bats, struck out three, and induced four double-play balls. He worked out of a first-and-third jam in the first by getting cleanup hitter Kyle Boe to ground into a double play. Twin killings also ended the third and eighth innings.
Edelbrock kept his pitch count low by letting the defense work behind him, though he did strike out two straight hitters after Moseby doubled leading off the seventh to escape the inning unscathed. And work the defense did. Third baseman Adrian Bringas, shortstop Michael Murphy, second baseman Jackson Evans, and first baseman Kevin Seaver all made nice plays to roll up the rocks Edelbrock was throwing at Western Oregon.
Edelbrock also got help from battery mate Ben Manlove, who twice threw out attempted base stealers.
The Wildcats gave Edelbrock all the support he needed with two runs in the fourth. Evans and Bringas hit consecutive one-out singles and Arakawa walked to load the bases. Manlove drove in what proved to be the winning run with a bloop hit to right and Jordan Larson’s squeeze bunt plated another run to make it 2-0.
The Wildcats added to their lead in the seventh. This time Larson was the catalyst with a one-out single. Braden lined a base hit up the middle, allowing Larson to move to third, and Murphy’s sacrifice fly made it 3-0. Braden later scored on a passed ball after moving to third on Johnny Hay’s base hit to make it 4-0.
The Wildcats tagged Western Oregon stud left-hander Blake Keitzman for four runs (three earned) on 10 hits in eight innings. He struck out six and walked three and fell to 6-3 on the season.
Behind three shutout innings from game two starter Kevin Brahney, the Wildcats built a 4-0 lead in the second game against another standout lefty starter, Jacob Pettit.
Evans reached on an error, Bringas singled, Arakawa walked, and then Larson walked to force in a run, giving Chico State a 1-0 lead in the second. They added to it in the third when Murphy and Hay singled, Evans smacked an RBI-single, and Arakawa lashed a two-run double to the wall in straightaway center to make it 4-0.
Western Oregon began its comeback with Daniel Dillard’s three-run homer in the fourth and then tied the game against reliever Ian Waldron on Dillard’s two-out RBI-knock in the fifth.
The Wolves took the lead for a moment in the sixth when Devon Bouvier drew a leadoff walk and came around to score on Grant Glover’s sacrifice fly. But the bottom-half of the inning was a microcosm of the entire day. The Wildcats were in trouble, but they found a way to get out of it.
As was the case for much of the day, Larson was in the middle of the Wildcats’ rally, slapping a single to left to get things started. What followed was one of the strangest plays in the history of Nettleton Stadium. Braden followed with line single that bounced once and then ricocheted off the foot or lower leg of the left fielder Moseby and flew approximately 25 yards over the fence beyond Chico State’s dugout. The runners were awarded second and third base, though a look at the NCAA Rulebook (Rule 8, section 3-o on page 93) seems to suggest that Larson should have been awarded home and Braden third.
Though the Wildcats only got one run in the frame on Seaver’s sacrifice fly, Braden’s walk-off the next inning rendered the point moot. Bringas set things up with a leadoff single through the left side. Pinch runner Michael Schultz moved to second on Arakawa’s sacrifice bunt, and when pinch hitter Tony Hernandez reached on an error by shortstop Cesar Lopez, Larson was intentionally walked to set up the force play at every base.
Things didn’t start well for Braden. He took strike one and then swung and missed at the next pitch. Western Oregon closer Kirk Lind tried to strike him out with a high fastball, but Braden turned on it and lined it into left, setting off a wild celebration.
It also brought back rough memories for Western Oregon, which witnessed the Wildcats walk off with wins twice during their four-game series at Nettleton Stadium last season.
Jordan Lindebaum (1-1) got one crucial out for Chico State to earn the win. He entered with the bases loaded and two out in the top of the seventh of the tie game and struck out Lopez to end the threat. Scott Newberry and Scott Nartker also got key outs in relief for the Wildcats.
Lind, who saved Western Oregon’s series-opening win, took the loss to fall to 3-3.
GAME 1 BOX SCORE
GAME 2 BOX SCORE
WILDCATS NOTES – Current first baseman Kevin Seaver and former third baseman and current grad assistant Bret Ringer were awarded the National Gold Gloves they won in 2009 and 2008, respectively, during a pre-game ceremony…Braden is now 4-for-6 in his career against the Oregon State transfer Keitzman…Evans stole two bases to give him 12 in 15 tries on the season…Manlove has thrown out 47 percent (nine of 19) of attempted base thieves this season. That percentage is the best by a Wildcat since Trevor Weedon gunned down 11 of 22 during his senior season in 2006…Braden registered the 19th sacrifice bunt of his career, moving him into sole possession of fourth place on Chico State’s career list…Edelbrock is the 10th pitcher in Chico State history to register two complete-game shutouts in a season…Chico State’s next win will be Head Coach Dave Taylor’s 500th as a Chico State coach. He was the pitching coach from 1997-2004 and took over head coaching duties in 2007. With Taylor in the dugout, bullpen, or coaching at first or third base, the Wildcats are 499-188-1 for a winning percentage of .725.
