SAN BERNARDINO – Timely hitting and quality pitching are the essentials to successful baseball and the Coyotes used both plenty of both in earning a sweep over No. 15 Chico State, winning 9-1 in the opener and holding off the Wildcats in the second with a 7-6 win.

CSUSB improved to 16-12 overall and 13-10 and handed the Wildcats (26-12, 16-11) their doubleheader sweep this year.

The series finale is set for 11 a.m. Saturday in a nine-inning contest.

Game 1: Coyotes 9, Chico State 1 (box score)
In the opener, CSUSB grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second. Darren Dworak singled through the left side and moved over to third on a double from Paul Eshleman. Matt Haney drove in Dworak on a sacrifce fly to center. Jake Pilkerton added an RBI-single to right.

In the fourth, Eshleman ripped a solo home run to left and Matt Haney later stole home on a first-and-third situation.

After Chico State scored its only run of the game in the fifth, the Coyotes answered with one of their own in the fifth on Brandon Day's single to center that scored Ethan Chapman.

The Coyotes put the game away in the sixth with four runs -- two that scored on balks, one on an error and the other on a wild pitch.

Chapman and Pilkerton each had three hits, while Dworak, Eshleman, Haney had two hits apiece.

Coyotes LHP starter Mike Mudron (3-0) threw seven innings and gave up just three hits. He had five strikeouts, four walks and hit two batters. Reliever Kyle Krogman threw two innings and gave up only a hit with a walk.

Game 2: Coyotes 7, Chico State 6 (box score)
CSUSB then went on to earn the sweep, but things did not look so good in the early going. Chico State's Cody Webster laced a grand slam in the first inning off RHP Bryant Hollingsworth.

Edwin Mendoza cut the deficit in half when he ripped a two-run home run over the left-center wall. Then in the third, CSUSB scored four runs on five hits.

Consecutive singles by Eshleman, Haney put Pilkerton up with one out. He delivered a single to center that scored Eshleman and Mendoza responded with another RBI-single to tie the game at 4-4.

Mike Newell gave the Coyotes the lead for good with a two-run double and CSUSB led 6-4.

Chico added a run in the fourth on Ian McKay's solo home run, and looked to tie the game in the sixth. With two outs, Shane Kroker raced home from third on a wild pitch from Tony Guerra. But the ball bounced off the back wall to catcher Eshleman, who threw to Guerra covering the plate for the out.

CSUSB went back on top by two runs from Chapman, who led off with his sixth triple of the season, then scored on a wild pitch.

Chico came back and got to within a run on Cody Webber's double that scored Blake Gibbs. Webber moved to third on a ground out from Myles Dempsey.

The Coyotes then brought in Josh Pond, who struck out Austin Prott to end th game. It was Pond's third save this season.

Hollingsworth earned the win. He threw five innings, struck out three and scattered seven hits and allowed five runs.