TURLOCK, Calif- After suffering a 4-1 loss to the Wildcats of Chico State earlier in the day, the Sonoma State softball team rebounded with a vengeance, beating previously undefeated Cal State San Marcos, 8-0, in five innings to conclude the Seawolves' weekend at the Best of the West Invitational in Turlock. SSU will head into conference play next weekend with a 3-2 overall record.

Box Score: Chico State 4, Sonoma State 1

After three and a half scoreless innings on Sunday morning, CCAA-foe Chico State broke through with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 2-0 lead. Sonoma State would cut the lead in half when Rachel Gaber poked a single to center field in the fifth, scoring Rochelle Vanyi from second base to trail 2-1.

The Wildcats would then score a couple of insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth by way of a defensive miscue that would put Chico State up 4-1 with three outs remaining.

In the top of the seventh, Kayla Ledford would lace a one-out double to left field, giving the Seawolves a shot to close the gap, but two consecutive foulouts would doom the comeback attempt, giving the Wildcats the victory.

Chico State starting pitcher Sam Baker (1-1) allowed just four Sonoma State hits, including Gaber's pinch hit RBI single in the fifth. She struckout nine in her winning effort. Julianne Martinez (1-1), who was tagged with the loss, gave up five hits, four runs (two earned) while striking out just one.

Five different Wildcats had at least a hit, while four had at least an RBI.

Box Score: Sonoma State 8, Cal State San Marcos 0 (5 innings)

Cal State San Marcos came into Sunday afternoon's matchup with Sonoma State as the tournament's best team, outscoring its opponents 39-3 in the Cougars' first six games this season. It didn't faze the reigning CCAA tournament champions, though.

After holding the previously unbeaten Cal State San Marcos team scoreless in its first three at bats, thanks to seven strikeouts by Seawolf starting pitcher Samantha Lipperd, Sonoma State started making its move. Brittanie Verissimo, Brittany Martinez and Ali Palermo all had RBI in the bottom half of the third, knocking CSUSM ace Brenna Sandberg from the game.

After Lipperd held the Cougars to another 1-2-3 inning, the Seawolves brought their bats out again, bringing five runs across the plate, thanks two a pair of two-RBI singles by Palermo and B. Martinez, giving Sonoma State a comfortable 8-0 lead and three more outs to force the eight-run mercy rule upon Cal State San Marcos.

Lipperd (1-1) took control, recording the first two outs of the inning. She surrendered two consecutive singles, but Lipperd fired her ninth and final strikeout of the afternoon, completing the 8-0 upset victory for the Seawolves. She gave up just three hits and didn't walk a batter.

Palermo and B. Martinez both went 2 for 3 with three RBI, while Verissimo and Gaber both notched RBI as well.

Sonoma State will take on CCAA competition for the next three weeks, starting with a four-game series with Cal State East Bay on Friday and Saturday at the Seawolf Softball Field. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for Noon in Rohnert Park.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Sam Baker, Chico State, P
Brenna Sandberg, Cal State San Marcos, P
Kristan Burns, Cal State Stanislaus, P
Sarah Locarnini, Cal State Stanislaus, P
Alyssa Dronenburg, Cal State San Marcos, IF
Brittany Martinez, Sonoma State, OF
Britt Wright, Chico State, OF
Alex Miller, Cal State San Marcos, IF
Alyssa Esquibel, San Francisco State, OF
Samantha Lipperd, Sonoma State, P
Brittani Weatherford, Cal State Stanislaus, P
Brittanie Verissimo, Sonoma State, IF