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LOS ANGELES – San Francisco State is heading back to the CCAA Baseball Tournament Championship after earning a 14-8 win over Chico State in an elimination game.
 
The Gators (34-20) scored four runs in the first and two more in the second to take the lead. They would put up runs in six of the first eight innings to record the highest scoring output thus far in the CCAA Tournament (14).
 
Every starter for the Gators had a hit, and the top three batters each scored three runs. Michael Cunningham went 2-for-5 with a double and a home run. He walked once, scored three times, and had three RBI. Nicholas Allred added a pair of hits, including a double and two RBI. He scored three times, as did Daniel Murillo, who had two walks and a single.
 
Stephen Espinoza drove in three runs and capped off the first inning with a two-out single. Derek LaFerriere was 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored.
 
While the Gators were scoring early and often, the Wildcats stayed within striking distance. They answered SFSU’s four-run first inning with a two-run bottom half of the inning, then put up two more in the third and another in the fourth to close the gap to 6-5.
 
SF State would bat around in the fifth, scoring three runs on a single by Allred, a sac fly by Espinoza, and an error to extend the lead back to 9-5. They would add two more in the next inning on a double by Allred and a two-out single by LaFerriere.
 
Scott Bauman earned the win as he went the final four innings, allowing three hits and one run. He entered the game in the sixth after Chico State had already scored two and was threatening for a big inning with two runners still in scoring position.
 
Bauman got a line out to the second baseman and a strikeout for the first two outs. With Jeremy Keller at the plate on a 0-0 count, Phoenix Casias attempted a steal of home and was thrown out to end the inning.
 
That play seemed to shift the momentum to the Gators' side as they would put up runs each of the next two innings, and Bauman was able to hold the Wildcats to one run after the seventh.
 
Troy Kent went 2-for-4 with a double, a triple, and three RBI. Carson Case was 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored. Michael Baker added two RBI on a two-run double in the first inning.
 
San Francisco State will advance to the championship game to play Cal State Monterey Bay at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 10.