SAN BERNARDINO, Calif- Despite three home runs in the opener, including one by
Ali Palermo for her team-leading eighth of the season, Sonoma State dropped a pair of games at Cal State San Bernardino on Friday afternoon, 7-5 and 6-2. The Seawolves, ranked 12th in this week's National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division II poll and second in the NCAA Division II West Region poll, stumbles to 32-11 overall and 18-8 in CCAA play. The Coyotes rise to 23-21 (15-10 CCAA).
Cal State San Bernardino 7, #12 Sonoma State 5
After falling behind 2-0 early in the game,
Skylynn Myers and
Ashley Britton smashed solo home runs in consecutive innings to tie the game up at 2-2 in the fourth. However, the Coyotes got a run in the bottom half of the fourth and three more in the fifth for the 6-2 lead.
In the sixth, Palermo, who hit four home runs in last week's four-game series against Cal State Stanislaus, blasted a two-run shot and
Brittany Martinez added a RBI single up the middle to narrow the Coyote lead to 6-5.
However, Cal State San Bernardino added an insurance run in the bottom half of the sixth before Brianne Godfredson retired the Sonoma State side in the seventh for the 7-5 victory and her second save of the season. Cassidy Lee (8-4), who started the game for the Coyotes, got the win after pitching five and a third innings, giving up five hits and four runs with two strikeouts.
Felicia Cervantes was perfect at the plate for Cal State San Bernardino, going 3-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored.
For Sonoma State, Palermo, Britton,
Rochelle Vanyi, B. Martinez, Myers and
Simone Brandalise accounted for the six hits in the opener. Starting pitcher
Samantha Lipperd tossed five innings, scattering nine hits and giving up six runs (only two earned), thanks to four SSU errors.
Cal State San Bernardino 6, #12 Sonoma State 2
Brandalise and B. Martinez had RBI singles in the third and sixth innings, respectively, as Sonoma State tied the nightcap at 2-2. The flood gates blew wide open in the bottom of the sixth for the Coyotes, though, on a RBI fielder's choice by Jamie Leffingwell and a three-run home run by Britney Butler that doomed the Seawolves.
The Seawolves tried to start a two-out rally with runners on first and second, but Godfredson (8-5) forced Palermo to groundout to end the game and complete the Coyote sweep of the 12th-ranked Seawolves at Coyote Softball Park.
Brandalise and B. Martinez had two hits and a RBI each for Sonoma State in the game two loss.
Julianne Martinez went the distance, giving up nine hits, six runs and four walks while striking out three.
Despite the two losses on Friday, the Seawolves still hold a slight one game lead over Cal State Monterey Bay atop the CCAA standings after the Otters lost two games at Cal State Dominguez Hills on Friday as well.
Sonoma State and Cal State San Bernardino will wrap up their four game series tomorrow with a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m.
