Game One Box:  Cal State San Bernardino 3, Sonoma State 2
Game Two Box:  Sonoma State 7, Cal State San Bernardino 3

ROHNERT PARK, Calif-  After dropping the opener by a single run, the Sonoma State baseball team stormed back for a 7-3 win in the nightcap to force a doubleheader split with Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday afternoon in Rohnert Park.  The split preserves the 24th-ranked Seawolves' half game lead over the Coyotes in the conference standings as they improve to 29-15, 20-14 CCAA.  The Coyotes go to 22-19, 19-14 CCAA.


Game One:  Sonoma Bats Silenced By Coyote Hurlers

The opener saw the Coyotes jumped on Seawolf starter Kenny Arnerich for four hits and two runs in the first inning.  From that point, though, Arnerich would calm down and pitch five shutout innings to keep his team in the game. 

Trailing 2-0, the Seawolves cut the lead in half in the third when O'Koyea Dickson hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score Garrett Schwartz, who had reached on an error.  It would be one of 12 errors in the doubleheader by the Coyote defense.

The Sewaoves tied the game up in the fourth after Justin Serrao followed a Randy Wells double with a two-out single to left. 

Thanks to quality relief work by both clubs, the score would stay tied 2-2 until the ninth when the Coyotes took advantage of Sonoma error to push across the game-winner. After an error by Serrao put the leadoff hitter on, Ian Ocon retired the next two batters.  However, the next batter, Mike Newell, who had been 0-for-7 in the series to that point, ripped a double down the left field line to score the run. 

Sonoma State would put a runner on third base against star closer Josh Pond, but the big right-hander got Jackson Stogner to chase one up in the zone for strike three, nailing down his league-high 16th save of the year. 

Brandon Day had a pair of hits for the Coyotes, including a ground-rule double in the first, and Matt Winn drove in a pair.  Josh Lee got the win after throwing a third of an inning.

Ian Ocon pitched well in relief of Arnerich, but he was tagged with a loss due to the unearned run in the ninth.  Wells had two of the Seawolves' four hits in the game.

Game Two:  Seawolves Take Advantage of Porous Coyote Defense

After seeing San Bernardino commit five errors in the first game, the Seawolves never could have imagined they'd be given even more gifts in the nightcap.  However, that happened to be the case as the Coyotes committed seven errors to gift the Seawolves a 7-3 win in game two.

Sonoma came out strong, plating a run in the first when Kyle Jones hit a sacrifice fly that scored Cameron Cook.  However, the Coyotes were quick to answer. 

In the second, CSUSB got to Sonoma starter Kendall Davis for four hits and three runs to take a 3-1 lead.  The big hit was a two-run single by Mike Newell.

The Seawolves got one back in the bottom of the second when Kevin Cramer singled in a run, the second of his three hits of the game. 

Already having a tough day in the field, the wheels came off for the Coyotes in the fourth as they committed four errors, allowing the Seawolves to score four runs.  Cramer had a two-run single and Wells plated a run on a fielder's choice. 

An insurance run was scored by Sonoma in the sixth when a Kyle Jones single up the middle plated O'Koyea Dickson.

Joey Van Cleave got the win for the Seawolves, following an outstanding four-inning relief performance.  The Windsor native allowed just two hits and didn't walk a batter to improve to 3-1 on the season.  Cramer finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs and both Jones and Cameron Cook had two hits. 

Brandon Day and Chris LeFay had two hits apiece for the Coyotes.

The Seawolves and Coyotes will conclude their four-game series on Sunday with a single game, starting at 11:00 am