CHICO, Calif-  In a matchup of two of the conference's top pitchers, Sonoma State southpaw Matt Means got the upper hand as he pitched the Seawolves to a CCAA Tournament opening win over Cal State Stanislaus on Thursday, 5-1.  The win lifts the Seawolves into the winner's bracket, where they'll play the winner of tonight's Chico State/UC San Diego game.

Means (8-1) allowed just one run over seven innings as he outdueled CCAA Pitcher of the Year, Marquis Fleming. 

SSU's senior ace received all the run support he would need in the fifth inning when the Seawolves finally broke through against Fleming.  The right handing pitching Fleming had a no-hitter going until that inning.  David Adler got the rally started with a single.  A few batters later, Ian Bridges delivered a sacrifice fly.  The next batter up, Konrad Thieme, came through in the clutch with a two-run double and the Seawolves were off and running.

The Seawolves added to their lead in the seventh with two more runs.  Kris Haycock scored on a fielder's choice and Thieme came across on an RBI single by Mark Pestorich.

Means lasted seven innings before giving way to Travis Babin, who went the final two innings.

Dave Herman led the Seawolves' seven-hit attack with a pair of hits. 

The Seawolves will know their opponent in tomorrow's 3:00 pm game later tonight.

Box Score