CHICO — Against the ace on one of the best teams in the West Region to start the conference season is no small task — and the up-start Warriors were up to the challenge. However, the 37th ranked Chico State hung-on and stopped a late Stanislaus State charge, to preserve a 4-3 decision at Nettleton Stadium Friday afternoon.

Wildcats ace Hunter Haworth threw a complete game, gave up seven hits and struck out seven for his club. He also got himself out of his final jam in the top of the ninth to help Chico State up its record to 8-4 overall and 1-0 in league play.

The Warriors saw their nine-game winning streak end, losing for the very first time since Opening Day 2017. Stanislaus State is now 10-2 overall and 0-1 in CCAA play.

Stanislaus State is still without its ace, Jordan Kron, who is sidelined with a sore elbow. The Kron-Haworth match-up would have been a nice pitching duel.

Trailing 4-1 going into the eighth inning, the Warriors got a run closer with a RBI double by Kert Woods which scored Austin Fitzpatrick, who had led off the inning with a double down the left field line. After Haworth got out of that jam, the Warriors went to work again in the ninth. After loading the bases with one out, Gino Franceschetti scored on a Charlie Gaff groundout to make it 4-3. However, Haworth got the final out — a long fly to center off the bat of Fitzpatrick — to end the game.

Woods finished the game with two doubles and drove in two scores. He also doubled in Fitzpatrick in the sixth inning. Fitzpatrick also had two hits and scored twice.

Robbie DeVries had a decent start for the Warriors and he tossed six innings and gave up three runs on six hits. Ian Chandler, the fourth Stan State pitcher of the game, threw a 1-2-3 eighth to give Stanislaus a chance in its final at-bat.

The two teams square-off again in Chico on Saturday with a single game at Noon.