Chico State Rallies in Ninth to Take CCAA Baseball Game, 5-4
April 2, 2004

Courtesy Chico State Sports Information Office

Complete Box Score

The Chico State baseball team rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to come from behind and beat Cal State Dominguez Hills, 5-4, in the opening game of a four-game CCAA series.

The Wildcats (23-12-1, 14-9-1) trailed the entire game before pinch hitter Jay Hayland led off the ninth inning with a single. Scott Thomson laid down a sacrifice bunt and heads up base running by pinch runner James McCabe found him third base with one out. Jeff Walker plated McCabe on a base hit and advanced to third on a single by Josh Levin. Walker scored the winning run when the next batter, Joseph Ramos, hit a hard ball to the left side of the infield. The Toros tried to get Walker at the plate, but the throw was off line.

Dominguez Hills (10-34, 5-20) held a 4-0 lead through five and half innings, scoring three runs in the second on a David Leos single and a two-run double by Zac Cort. The Toros added on an unearned run in the third, as Chico State committed two of its three errors in the game to prolong the inning.

The Wildcats got on the board in the sixth inning on back-to-back homers off back-to-back pitches by Ryan Wulfert and Ryan Mathes to cut the lead to 4-3. Wulfert was 3-for-3 in the game. Levin also had three hits in the game and Thomson ended the game 2-for-3.

Brian Kroll (W, 6-2) recorded his fourth complete game in his last five outings, giving up four runs, three earned, on 13 hits, while striking out eight and walking two. The 13 hits are the most by Kroll this season and the eight strikeouts ties his season high.

Reliever James Dodson (L, 1-3) came on in the sixth inning and shutdown the Wildcats over the next two innings before Chico State exploded in the ninth.

Dominguez had four players with multiple hits, three for Ruben Salazar and two a piece for Cort, Jason Flores, and Frankie Valle.

The series continues tomorrow with a doubleheader beginning at 1:00.