SAN BERNARDINO, Calif- Down 6-4 going into the ninth inning, Sonoma State loaded the bases with no outs, but Cal State San Bernardino survived the inning, surrendering just one run to pull out the 6-5 victory over the Seawolves on Friday afternoon at Fiscalini Field in San Bernardino. Sonoma State falls to 5-4 overall while dropping its first California Collegiate Athletic Association game of the season (0-1). Cal State San Bernardino improves to 5-1 (5-0 CCAA).
The Seawolves drew first blood in the top of the fourth inning when
Austin Hogans singled in
Randy Wells for the early 1-0 lead. Cal State San Bernardino came right back in the bottom half of the inning to even the score at one apiece. Sonoma State added another run in its next at bat, but the Coyotes' Erik Ornelas smashed a three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth to pull ahead 4-2.
Cal State San Bernardino added two more insurance runs in the seventh on a RBI triple by Ornelas and a RBI single by Matthew Winn that scored Ornelas.
The Seawolves wouldn't go away, though. Down 6-2 in the top of the eighth,
Ryan Stevens smashed a RBI triple and
Max Shupe brought home Stevens on a single to close the gap to 6-4. The Coyotes had a good shot at adding to their lead after a double with one out, Brent Planck came off the bench to line into a double play to end the inning.
In the top of the ninth, Sonoma State set it up perfectly to take the lead by loading the bases on three consecutive singles. However,
Steven Filippi and
Joey Parigi were tagged out on a fielder's choice by Wells as
Ryan Morales scored to narrow the score to 6-5. The Coyotes' Andrew Schile, who earned his third save of the season, forced
Kyle Jones to fly out to center field for the last out of the ball game.
Ornelas went 2-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored and four RBI for Cal State San Bernardino. Starting pitcher Aaron Brooks went seven innings, scattering nine hits and giving up just two runs with five strikeouts in his second victory of the season.
Jones and Morales each had three hits and scored a run.
Jarrod Dumont, who made his first start of the season, went five innings, giving up four runs on six hits while striking out four.
Sonoma State will continue its four-game series with Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday with a doubleheader, beginning at 11 a.m.
Box Score: Cal State San Bernardino 6, Sonoma State 5
