By Paul Gadbois - redbluffbaseball.com

Tuesday, April 18 - @ Chico

The Red Bluff varsity baseball team scored in each of the first three innings, building a six-run lead behind sophomore starter E.J. Stanton to defeat Chico, 8-2, on the road Tuesday afternoon.
Stanton worked six innings for his third win, giving up one earned run on eight hits with one walk and one strikeout. Daniel Zelwick finished the game in relief.
Zelwick was also instrumental in kick-starting the offense, banging a leadoff double and scoring on Lucas Sandow's base hit in the first inning.
Stanton drew a leadoff walk in the second and Ben Redfield singled to put a pair of runners on with no outs. Cody Gappa sacrificed his teammates into scoring position and Stephen Collins rapped a RBI single to make the score 2-0.
The Spartans generated four more runs in the third to take a commanding lead. The rally began with another base hit from Sandow. Sandow stole second base and went to third on Simon Villalvazo's single. Chris Jones, who ran for Villalvazo, stole second and Lance Zazueta delivered a crushing blow to the Panthers — a two-run double to extend Red Bluff's lead to 4-0. Redfield singled to put runners at the corners and Gappa advanced Redfield with a come-backer to the mound, but Zazueta was frozen at third. Chico's first baseman booted Collins' grounder with two outs, however, to plate two unearned runs for the Spartans.
The Panthers got on the board in the fourth inning but Red Bluff added two runs in the sixth to seal it. Zelwick was hit by a pitch with one out; he stole second and Jones was issued a base on balls with first base open. Sandow flew out to center for the second out and Villalvazo drove in Zelwick and Jones with a clutch two-run double.
Both teams had nine hits, but while Red Bluff was able to get the big hit in every key situation, the Panthers couldn't and stranded 11 runners as a result.

Red Bluff 114 002 0 — 8 9 1
Chico 000 100 1 — 2 9 1

RED BLUFF IP H R ER BB SO
Stanton (W, 3-1) 6 8 1 1 1 1
Chico 1 1 1 1 2 1

Top hitters:
Zelwick 1X3, 2B, SB, 2 R; Sandow 2X3, 2 SB, RBI, R; Collins 1X3, RBI; Villalvazo 2X4, 2B, 2 RBI, R; Zazueta 1X4, 2B, 2 RBI, R: Redfield 2X3, R