Box Score: Sonoma State 7, #27 Chico State 6
ROHNERT PARK, Calif- After surrendering six runs in the first four innings and falling behind 6-2, the Sonoma State baseball team settled down and rallied for five unanswered runs, holding on in a wild ninth inning to clinch a spot in the CCAA Championship Tournament next weekend with a 7-6 victory over No. 27 Chico State on Saturday at Seawolf Diamond. The win moves the Seawolves to 32-16 overall and sole possession of second place in the CCAA at 23-15. The Wildcats have lost eight of their last nine games, falling to 28-17 and 22-16 in the conference.
Just like Friday's game, Chico State jumped all over Sonoma State in the top of the first, loading the bases and bringing home two runs on a RBI single by Justin Manci.
The Seawolves, though, would tie the game up at 2-2 in the bottom of the second when
Cameron Cook singled up the middle scoring
Kyle Jones and
Randy Wells. Only a half inning later, the Wildcats tacked on two more runs to lead 4-2.
Chico State would eventually build its lead to four runs at 6-2 after scoring another pair of runs in the fourth off of Sonoma State starter
Kendall Davis.
That's when the tide began to turn. In the bottom of the fifth, Jones would double home O'Koyea Dickson and
Alex Todd to get within two runs at 6-4.
Garrett Gooselaw would them come up big with a RBI single up the middle to score Jones from second and Sonoma State trailed by one at 6-5.
An inning later, the Chico State defense started falling apart, allowing two runs to score, thanks to a couple of errors in the sixth.
Steven Filippi came around to score after a fielding error by third baseman Adrian Bringas and, with the bases loaded, Wells brought home a run after drawing a walk. It would give Sonoma State the 7-6 lead.
From then on, it was the
Jayson Richards show. Richards came on for Davis in the fifth and shut down the Chico State line up for four innings, allowing just three hits while striking out three. However, as Richards was dominating on the mound, so was the Wildcats' relievers Stephen Thompson and Juan Guerra. Thompson allowed the two unearned runs in the sixth, but was dominating otherwise.
As both teams began looking towards the end, a sense of tension lingered over Seawolf Diamond. Knowing the Cal Poly Pomona had lost the first game of the doubleheader with Cal State L.A. on Saturday, the winner would clinch a spot in the CCAA tournament next weekend.
That said, Chico State, which has now lost eight of their last nine games, knew they had to do something to at least tie or take the lead. Ian McKay got things started in the top of the ninth off
Brian Bordagaray, who came in to finish the game for Richards, with a double just past a diving Dickson and into the right field corner. Then, Michael Shultz bunted McKay over to third on the sacrifice bunt. With one out, Shane Kroker pinch hit for Zach Steele. That's when a suicide squeeze bunt was attempted by Kroker as McKay sprinted for home. However, the Bordagaray pitch was outside and Kroker was unable to get the bat on the ball. That, in turn, held McKay out to dry and
Kevin Cramer sprinted up the third base line after McKay and tagged him out. Now with two outs and the bases empty, Bordagaray struckout Kroker on a 1-2 pitch and the Seawolves began its on-field celebration; a "wolfpack party", if you will.
Richards (1-0) earned his first decision of the season, allowing just the three hits in four innings. Bordagaray earned the save, his first of the year, allowing just the one hit in the ninth, the leadoff double to McKay.
Offensively, Dickson went 3 for 5 with three singles and a run scores, Jones went 2 for 4 with two RBI and two runs scored and Todd had a pair of hits a scored a run. Filippi also had two hits and Cook had a hit and the two RBI.
It was an offensive showcase for much of the game, as it featured 13 runs and 24 hits -- each team scattered 12 hits. Jackson Evans, Bringas, McKay and T.J. Yasuhara had two hits each for Chico State. Thompson (2-1) was tagged with the loss.
Sonoma State and Chico State will finish the four-game series at Nettleton Stadium in Chico, as the two squads will finish the regular season with a doubleheader, beginning at Noon. The CCAA Championship Tournament, to be held at Klein Family Field on the campus of the University of Pacific in Stockton, will kick off next Friday. Seedings, times and opponents will be announced following the conclusion of conference play on Sunday night.
