TURLOCK —
Erik Colombini makes the difference again on Saturday as he belted another homer to lead the Warriors to a 3-2 win in the opener of the Saturday doubleheader. Chico State got a gem out of hurler Hunter Haworth in the nightcap for a 6-0 decision to earn a split.
Colombini's two-run bomb in the seventh proved to be the difference as southpaw
Ryan Paramo turned in another great outing as Stanislaus State (24-23, 15-20 CCAA) looks to finish the year with a winning mark on Senior Day and Mother Day in Sunday's season finale.
For Chico State, the Wildcats let out a sigh of relief by clinching a CCAA postseason berth with the second game win. The Wildcats, at 31-18 overall and 21-16 CCAA, remain in a four-team battle for three tournament berths in the CCAA North Division.
With the game at 1-1 through six innings, Chico State nearly took a lead in the top of the seventh on a single to right by Sonny Cortez. Cody Bistline tried to score from second on the play but was gunned down at the plate by
Kyle Nixon for the second out. Paramo recorded a flyout to end the Chico rally.
That momentum swung the way of the Warriors in the home half of the seventh as Colombini broke the tie with a leadoff homer to left on a 2-2 pitch from Dalton Erb. The Stan State rally continued with a double by
Patrick Mulry, who later scored on a single through the right-side by Nixon to make it 3-1.
Good thing for the insurance runs because Chico State got a run back in the eight to make it 3-2.
Nick Voumard recorded four outs for his second save to secure the Warriors' second straight win over the Wildcats.
Paramo's final numbers were seven innings allowing just a run on four hits. More impressively, the lefty limited the Chico State offense, which had feasted on southpaws this season hitting at a .346 clip.
Mulry finished with a 3-for-5 game, Nixon had two hits and
Nick Ippolito extended his hitting streak to seven games in the first game.
The nightcap belonged to Haworth as he threw the six-hit, seven-inning complete game shutout. Haworth fanned six and walked two Warriors in the process. His offense gave him a 2-0 lead early and built on it for a 5-0 lead after three innings as he improved his personal record to 4-0.
Aldo Koutsoyanopulos and
Michael Chavarria each had two hits for Stanislaus.
Chris Senn threw solid in relief of
Robbie DeVries, going four innings and gave up just a run on four hits with three strikeouts.
Andru Cardenas went 3-for-4 as part of Chico's 11-hit game.
