CHICO, Calif. -- The matchup between two ranked opponents lived up to its billing on Saturday as the No. 16 Cal State Monterey Bay baseball team and the No. 23 Chico Wildcats played an epic doubleheader at Nettleton Stadium.

GAME 1: CHICO STATE 17, CAL STATE MONTEREY BAY 9
Game one of Saturday's doubleheader was one to forget for the Otters as the Wildcats chased CUSMB starter Jorge Alvarado out of the game after two and one–thirds innings. Trailing 6–1 after three innings, the Otters tried to cut into the deficit with a run in the forth. However, Chico could not be stopped, lighting up the Otter pitching for 21 hits and 17 runs.

The Otters managed to plate nine runs on 15 hits with Justin Flores (Fresno, Calif. / Clovis West HS) and Jeffery Amaral (Sunnyvale / Saint Francis HS) smacked three hits, while Kevin Davidson (Yucaipa HS) and Brian Bostjancic (Forest Knolls, Calif. / Sir Francis Drake HS) collected two hits. Davidson also hit his sixth homerun of the season.

GAME 2: CAL STATE MONTEREY BAY 5, CHICO STATE 4 (F/12)
Game two of the afternoon was much more high–stress than the first. In the game that was originally scheduled for seven innings, ended up going a full 12 as the Otters and Wildcats battled back–and–forth in what became an instant classic.

Chico State scored early once again, but the Otters answered and tied it at 1–1 after the second inning. The Wildcats scored once in the third inning and once in the fifth to grab a 3–1 lead heading into the final inning. Down to their last out, Amaral, Bostjancic, and Matt Urakami (San Jose, Calif. / Branham HS) hit three consecutive singles for CSUMB. Urakami's came up clutch as it drove in two runs to tie the game and send it to extra innings.

Myles Hager (Tarzana, Calif / Chaminade College Prep) showed up in the tenth inning with a solo shot to give CSUMB a 4-3 lead. However, Hager followed his homer up with an error in the bottom of the inning, allowing Chico to stay alive and re-tie the game at 4-4.

Fast–forward to the 12th inning, and after William Rosado (Clovis East HS) singled to start the inning, Flores came up two battlers later and became the Otters
hero with an RBI single to take a 5–4 lead. Drew Kozain (Redondo Union High School) got the win by coming in in the 10th inning and threw three scoreless innings in relief for his second win of the season (2–0).

The Otters improve to 13–2, 2-1 CCAA. Monterey Bay will go for the series win on Sunday in the finalé. First pitch is set for noon.