TURLOCK, Calif- After going 4-1 in the first five games of the Tournament of Champions and outscoring their opponents 40-9, the 14th-ranked Sonoma State softball team grabbed the overall No. 1 seed in the Gold Championship Bracket and will face Hawai'i-Hilo on Sunday at 11:15 a.m. The Seawolves defeated Montana State Billings (3-2) and Western Oregon (13-3) on Saturday, but fell to No. 3 Hawai'i Pacific 2-1. SSU improved to 24-8 this season.

#14 Sonoma State 3, Montana State Billings 2

Janelle Arnold got things going for the Seawolves in Saturday's opener against Montana State Billings with a double to right center field, scoring Simone Brandalise on the play after a throwing error by the Yellowjackets' Amanda Goings. Ashley Britton then singled home Arnold for the 2-0 lead after three innings of play. Vanyi added to the lead in the fourth with a solo home run deep down the left field line, giving Sonoma State a 3-0 advantage.

It would prove to be crucial as the Yellowjackets came back with two runs in the fifth after a couple of bases loaded walks brought home Stevie Howard and Whitney Whittemore. Julianne Martinez pitched herself out of the jam with a groundout to Kayla Ledford at second base.

Martinez surrendered just one hit after that (a double by Goings), earning the victory and going to 11-4 on the season. For the game, she gave up six hits and the two runs (all unearned), while walking three and striking out five.

Sonoma State managed just four hits in the game, including a double by Arnold. Britton and Vanyi had RBIs for the Seawolves.

#3 Hawai'i Pacific 2, #14 Sonoma State 1

In the much-anticipated game of the afternoon, third-ranked Hawai'i Pacific and 14th-ranked Sonoma State did not disappoint.

Hawai'i Pacific took the early lead in the top of the first on a mammoth home run by Maile Kim, a solo shot to put the Sea Warriors up 1-0. HPU added another run in the third on a sacrifice fly by Kim, who scored Ciera Senas who reached on a triple.

Sonoma State got one back in the fifth on a RBI single by Britton, scoring Arnold. The Seawolves had several more chances in the late innings, but Hawai'i Pacific pulled out of a jam each time.

With two outs in the bottom of the seventh and no runners on, Palermo sent a deep fly to dead center field, but Kozy Toriano jumped over the fence and snagged a sure home run for the final out of the game, giving the No. 3 Sea Warriors the nailbiting 2-1 victory.

The Seawolves had more hits than the Sea Warriors (8-4) and left nine runners on base. Britton led with three hits and a RBI and Kayla Ledford had two hits. Martinez relieved Samantha Lipperd in the fifth, allowing just one hit over three innings of work. Lipperd tossed four innings, giving up three hits and the two aforementioned runs.

Sonoma State, who have gone 3-1 in the first four games of the tournament, will wrap up pool play with a 6:30 p.m. game against Western Oregon. The first five games of the Tournament of Champions determine which of the three championship brackets each team will compete in on Sunday.

#14 Sonoma State 13, Western Oregon 3

Brandalise was a perfect 4-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBI and Arnold had two hits and four RBi, helping the Seawolves defeat Western Oregon 13-3 in the final game of pool play. Britton, Vanyi and Skylynn Myers added two hits each for the Seawolves, who had a season-high 17 hits in the victory.

In the circle, Lipperd (13-3) pitched the complete game, giving up nine hits, three runs (two earned) and striking out a career-high 12 Western Oregon batters.

Vanyi and Britton lead the tournament in runs batted in with 10 apiece while Sonoma State is second as a team in batting average (.347).

The winner of Sunday's quarterfinal matchup between Sonoma State and Hawai'i-Hilo, will play in the semifinals at 1:30 p.m. The championship game of the Gold Bracket is scheduled for a 4 p.m. first pitch.

To keep up to date on the tournament, visit www.warriorathletics.com/toc for more information.