CHICO -- In a wild contest that saw seven home runs and six lead changes, it was host and No. 10 Chico State that earned the best of both worlds on a windy Sunday early afternoon as the Wildcats answered a 3-run 9th inning by visiting Cal State Dominguez Hills with a 6-run bottom half of their own that Jacob Jablonski ended with a 3-run walk-off blast to set off a wild celebration in Nettleson Stadium.

The Toros finished their northern California road trip splitting the four games, remaining in third place in the CCAA standings and 2.5 games behind Chico State.

Holding a 2-1 lead entering the bottom of the 4th after a Wildcat error and the first of two bombs off the bat of Kevin Moscoso, the hosts erupted for five runs to take a 6-2 lead.  Showing the fight that has come to define the 2022 squad, the Toros clawed back with two in the 5th on a wild pitch and Anthony Accordino homer, and added three more in the 6th on a 3-run bast from Emilio Barrera to take a 7-6 lead.  

Moscoso gave the Toros another run in his second homer of the game, only to have Chico tie the game at 8-8 on a 2RBI single from Jeffrey Ray.

Not to be outdone, CSUDH used a pair of doubles off the bat of Accordino and Alberto Luevano to bring in three runs in the 9th, and almost had it wrapped up when Caleb Ellis looked to duplicate his diving catch from the other day on a low liner with two on, two outs and the Toros up 11-9.

This time, however, the ball became dislodged when Ellis hit the ground to bring home a run, setting up an RBI single to tie the game one batter later, and Jablonski's blast to end it.

The two teams combined for 29 hits, with Eric Smelko and Moscoso each tallying three hits for the Toros, and Barrera, Accordino, Luevano and Moscoso each bringing home at least two runs.

CSUDH gets a chance to make inroads next wekeend as league-leader Cal State Monterey Bay visits Carson this week for a four-game set, with first pitch on Thursday set for 3 pm at Toro Field.