Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 CHICO—Bouncing back to the winning way they started the season, the SF State Gators took the first game Saturday afternoon 9-0 in six innings, but couldn't carry the momentum over to the nightcap, falling 5-4 to Chico State. The split puts the Gators 6-7 overall, 2-6 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, while the Wildcats stand at 6-7 on the season, 4-4 in conference.  

"We came out aggressive and got back to our game plan on offense and saw the success that we have been seeing in the past," said head coach Cristina Byrne. 
 
Ashley Huff led the Gators at the plate with a 3-for-6 performance at the plate, scoring two runs and adding 4 RBIs. Gabby Reta and Jennifer Lewis grabbed two hits a piece in the first game, with Reta scoring one run and grabbing an RBI while Lewis added two RBIs. Marisa Ibarra held the Wildcats to just three hits in the first game, grabbing her second shutout of the season.

"In the first game, Marisa Ibarra pitched great and we went after lead runners on defense," said Byrne. "We were back to playing our type of softball and got the win."
 
After struggling to produce hits against the Wildcats yesterday, the Gators came out strong from their very first chance at the plate. Huff opened the top of the first with a powerful triple down the left field line. In the next play, Reta singled to send Huff in for the first run of the day. 
 
With no outs, Courtney Gravel sacrificed a bunt to push Reta to second and a single to center field from Lewis scored Reta to give SF State an early 2-0 lead.
 
The Gators played tough defense to keep the Wildcats from responding, but despite posting two hits in the top of the fourth—from Lucy Fernandez and Catania—SF State couldn't put more runs up until the sixth.
 
Holding onto their 2-0 lead over the host 'Cats, the Gators opened up the floodgates with an explosive sixth inning on offense. With one out, Frenandez reached on base off a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch from McConnnell—who Friday held the Gators to just two hits. 
 
Catania blasted a triple to right field, giving Fernandez the green light to score. Cara Spence swung and missed her third strike, but the pitch snuck past Brynn Lesovsky to allow Spence to stay alive on first. 
 
With runners at first and third, Kelsey Murakami sent a sacrifice fly to left field to score Catania, but the outfielder mishandled the ball to put Spence at third and Murakami at second. Spence gave the Gators a 5-0 lead after crossing the plate on Huff's single through the right side. Huff stole second and Reta walked to load up the bases with still only one out. 
 
Gravel stepped up to the plate and drilled a double to center, scoring two runners in the process. Kylie Grabowski followed with a single to left, scoring Reta at third to put the Gators up 9-0 before Chico State could find two outs to end the inning.
 
Needing at least two runs to keep the game alive due to the eight-run rule, the Wildcats could only grab one hit in the bottom half of the inning to drop the first game 9-0. 
 
In the nightcap, Chico State prevented the Gators from making another strong start and found the first runs of the game in the bottom of the first. The Wildcats grabbed a 3-0 lead before SF State could produce offensively.

The Gators scored all four of their runs in the top of the fourth to put the game in their hands. With one out and Lewis on first, Fernandez singled down the left field line to join Lewis on base. Spence walked to load the bases, putting the tying runs on base. The Wildcats tried to prevent Lewis from scoring, but mishandled the putout to allow Lewis to score an unearned run. Huff cleared the bases with a triple to centerfield, sending all three runners to score and put the Gators ahead 4-3.

"We came out slow on offense and made some mental errors on defense to fall behind early," said Byrne. "We came back and went ahead but once again, we had some defensive lapses that cost us the game."

Chico State answered in the bottom half of the inning with the tying run off one hit and added the go-ahead run in the fifth to take the lead 5-4. Although the Gators posted hits, SF State couldn't send the tying run in, ending the game 5-4 to settle for the split on the day.

"I'm very happy with our work in the circle and that the pitchers are challenging hitters and keeping their walks down," said Byrne. "When we consistently play at our level, within our game plan and the players trust their work, we do great things. It's just about us finding our consistency and we will do well."

SF State is back out on the road at Cal State Stanislaus for a four-game CCAA series, beginning next Friday at 12 p.m. Saturday's doubleheader will also begin at noon.