Heat rises

The new iteration of the Chico Heat won the Great West League championship with a 1-0 road win over the Medford Rogues on Aug. 14.

The local baseball team last played in 2002, in a professional league, but reformed this season as part of a collegiate circuit. The Heat finished the season with a record of 36-23, according to a team press release.

For the championship, the Heat faced Medford in a best-of-three series starting on Aug. 12. The Rogues won the first game at Chico’s Nettleton Stadium, 12-4.

The Heat answered with a 9-3 victory the next day in Medford, forcing a tiebreaker in which Chico State recruit Stuart Bradley pitched a complete-game shutout, allowing four hits, no walks and striking out six. Infielder Kyle Kramer, a fellow Chico State player, drove in the game’s only run with a single in the third inning.