Cleveland State’s Colin Sullivan prepares to slide safely into second base while Zach Zarzour awaits the throw in the bottom of the fourth inning as Chattanooga State hosts Cleveland State in the first game of a doubleheader Sunday.Making the plays when needed — that’s what made the difference for the Chattanooga State baseball team in its first two league games of the season Sunday.
Two days after they were supposed to open TCCAA play, the Tigers finally got on the field against visiting Cleveland State and pulled out 8-6 and 6-2 victories. The teams play a nine-inning game today at 1 p.m.
“Chattanooga State played really well,” Cougars coach Mike Policastro said. “They got two-out hits — two-strike two-out hits — and they didn’t make an error all day. And they took advantage of plays we did not make. Against a good team like this you’ve got to make plays.
“We had opportunities on offense, but their pitching stepped up. They deserved to win two games today, and we didn’t.”
Chattanooga State (16-4) outhit the visitors only 18-16 in the two games, but Cleveland State (8-6, 0-2) made three errors in the opener and another in the rematch, when they barely missed catching three extra-base hits that all turned into runs.