BOX SCORE Box Score: Sonoma State 14, Western Washington 3 (5 innings)

LAS VEGAS -- Three home runs, including Keisi Chinen's second grand slam in as many days, propelled the Sonoma State softball team to a blowout 14-3 victory over Western Washington and capture the 2012 MSUB Desert Stinger title on Sunday afternoon at Majestic Park in Las Vegas, Nev.  The win continues the Seawolves' best start in program history with an unblemished record of 7-0.

Sonoma State outscored its opponents 48-17 in five games at the 28-team tournament this weekend, smashing 11 home runs.  Samantha Lipperd took care of business in the pitching circle, earning four of the five wins to improve to 5-0 this season.  Ciara Becerril also did her part in the circle, allowing just two earned runs (eight runs overall) in 13 innings of work.

Offensively, Samantha Lepp was unstoppable, going 9 for 14 at the plate (.643) with three doubles, a home run, six RBIs and six runs scored.  Chinen hit two grand slams, going 5 for 10 with nine RBIs and seven runs scored and Ali Palermo, who is now the program's all-time home run leader with 20 career home runs, hit three over the fence this weekend, including one that hit off the scoreboard on Sunday, one pitch after Chinen's base-clearing home run.

The Seawolves fell behind almost immediately on Sunday, allowing three runs after a couple of errors on defense in the top half of the first inning.  However, it didn't take long for Sonoma State to rebound, plating four runs in its first at bat of the day, thanks to a suicide squeeze by Vanessa Currie to score Ancia Purdy, a two-RBI double by Lepp, who then later scored on a wild pitch to take the 4-3 lead.

After Lipperd retired the Vikings in order in the top of the second, the flood gates opened on Western Washington pitchers.  Currie singled to bring home Purdy, Lepp walked with the bases loaded, then after the Vikings got two quick outs on getting a force out at home, the bases remained loaded for Chinen to come up big again, sending a moon shot deep over the center field wall to give the Seawolves a 10-3 lead.  On the next pitch, Palermo smashed the ball over the left center field fence and off the scoreboard to put SSU ahead by eight runs at 11-3.

Again, after a 1-2-3 inning for Lipperd, Skylynn Myers made a mark of her own, exploding a 3-2 pitch over the right field fence, bringing home Currie and Megan Konieczka for the 14-3 lead.  It would be all the Seawolves would need.

All in all, Sonoma State scored 14 runs on 10 hits, including two hits by Konieczka, Currie and Lepp each.  Lipperd got her fifth victory of the season, four of which came this weekend in Las Vegas, allowing only two hits and three runs (one earned) while striking out three.  Becerril came in for the fifth and gave up a hit before forcing Western Washington's Rachelle Berry to pop out to force the eight-run mercy rule.

Sonoma State will return home on Friday and Saturday to face Cal State Monterey Bay.  The Otters are 7-2 this season and went 4-1 this weekend at the MSUB Desert Stinger.

Both doubleheaders between the Seawolves and Otters on Friday and Saturday at the Seawolf Softball Field can be heard live on the Seawolf Sports Network at sonomaseawolves.com/softball_live.

Also, sign up for text message alerts to get immediate updates and results for all of Sonoma State's games this season by going to sonomaseawolves.com/textalerts.