Box Score
STOCKTON — The Cal State San Bernardino faithful must feel like the Mudville fans in “Casey at the Bat” after CSUSB gave up 11 runs in the final two innings in a 16-15 loss to Chico State in the losers' bracket game of the CCAA Championship.
The Coyotes (29-17) led 15-5 heading into the bottom of the eighth and that's when the seams started to come loose. CSUSB had scored 15 runs on 21 hits and ended with 23 hits, the most a Chico team has given up since 1996, but it still wasn't enough to stop the Wildcats (35-17) from scoring six runs in the eighth and five in the ninth to stun the Coyotes.
After Chico cut it to 15-11 in the eighth and gave up just one hit in the ninth, the Wildcats began to chip away in their final at bats. A leadoff single and double put runners at third before Adam Arakawa doubled down the left field line to make it 15-13. Arakawa moved to third on a wild pitch and Seaver was plunked to put runners at first and third. Hunter Buckmore singled to right, scoring Arakawa to pull the Wildcats within one and put runners at first and second. Tony Hernandez then singled to right to load the bases.
CSUSB then pulled the corners in and the middle infield set back for the double play. That's all Chico needed to tie the game as Kyle Leon grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. That left Buckmore at third and the Coyotes intentionally walked Jordan Larson, who was already 4-for-4 on the day, to put runners at the corners. Michael Murphy then delivered the final blow with a single up the middle to end it.
It was all CSUSB through the first seven innings. The Coyotes broke the game open in the top of the second. After the Wildcats retired the first batter of the inning, CSUSB got four straight hits to take a 2-0 lead. Andrew Harrison doubled before Ryan Hulbert, James Kono and Brent Planck all singled with Kono's and Planck's hits driving in a run each. Ethan Chapman then cleared the bases with a two-out, three-run shot to right center, his 14th home run of the year, to put the Coyotes up 5-0.
CSUSB continued to pile it on with two outs.
Erik Ornelas followed Chapman's home run with a double down the right field line and Cody Madison singled to left to score Ornelas. Bryant Veiga made it 7-0 with a triple down the right field line to drive home Madison.
The Wildcats got on the board in the bottom of the second to make it 7-1, but Hulbert pushed back out to a seven-run lead with his seventh home run of the season in the top of the third. Robert Archuleta pushed another run across in the third with a single to right center as CSUSB climbed to a 9-1 lead.
Chico made it a 9-2 game in the third and added a run in the fourth, but CSUSB kept the bats going as Ornelas made it 10-3 in the fifth with a sac fly to score Archuleta.
Hulbert hit his eighth home run, and second of the game, in the sixth to make it 11-3 before Archuleta singled to left to put CSUSB up 12-3. Chico hung two more on the scoreboard in the sixth to make it 12-5, but the Coyotes continued the offensive onslaught with a two-run triple off the center field wall by Harrison in the top of the seventh. Harrison then scored to make it 15-5 with a ground out before the devastating rally by Chico.
Darren Dworak (1-1) took the loss for the Coyotes after coming on to relive Andrew Schile. Aaron Brooks started on the hill for the Coyotes and gave up 11 runs on 16 hits in 7 2/3 innings of work.
The loss severely crippled the Coyotes' chances at making the NCAA West Regional after the May 5 West Region Rankings had CSUSB at No. 5.
