LOS ANGELES—The Chico State baseball team is in the midst of a rough stretch. But Dave Taylor coached teams never stop fighting. He sure would like it if they stopped being one of their own worst enemies.
The Wildcats committed four errors Friday, continuing a recent trend of defensive miscues, in falling 9-5 in the opening game of a four-game series at Cal State LA.
Chico State out-hit Cal State LA 12-11 and scored in each of the final four innings, but could not climb back after allowing three unearned runs in the first six innings. Dustin Miller led the way with three hits, while Kyle Blakeman, Cameron Santos, and Louie Canjura collected two hits apiece. Blakeman doubled and tripled and scored one run and drove in another. Santos doubled, scored twice, and drove in a run.
Chico State fell to 16-13 overall and 12-11 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. Cal State LA is now 17-9 overall and 14-7 in the CCAA.
Wildcats starter Casey Costello allowed five runs (four earned) in five-and-a-third innings to absorb just the second loss of his Chico State career. He fell to 3-2.
Three of those hits came in the first inning as the Golden Eagles jumped out to a 1-0 lead. It could have been more, but Brian Pozos threw out a runner at home from left field to end the inning.
The Golden Eagles tacked on another run with a leadoff homer in the second. Costello settled in from there and did not allow another hit until the sixth. However, Cal State LA upped its lead to 3-0 in the fourth thanks to an error and sacrifice fly.
The Wildcats fought back in the sixth. Blakeman led off with a triple and scored on a Santos single. He eventually scored on Miller's base hit to make it 3-2.
The Golden Eagles put together the decisive rally in the bottom half of the inning, bashing a two-run homer and then scoring two unearned runs with the help of a Wildcats error.
Chico State tried to chip away, getting a run in the seventh on Blakeman's RBI-grounder, a run in the eighth after Miller singled and eventually scored on an error, and a run in the ninth on Alex DeVito's RBI single. But the crooked number evaded the Wildcats, and Cal State LA tacked on two insurance runs in the eighth.
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