BOX SCORE 1 | BOX SCORE 2 Box Scores:  Game One  |  Game Two

ROHNERT PARK, Calif. -- After winning 61 percent of the 1,473 games he has coached in at the NCAA Division II level, you'd think that winning comes easy for Sonoma State head coach John Goelz.  Thursday proved otherwise, but the Seawolves wouldn't let the tradition of Rock Force Baseball disappoint the man in charge. 

Rallying from a two-run deficit late in the game to tie the game at 4-4, then loading the bases with no outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Garrett Gooselaw delivered the game-winning RBI single down the third base line to give Coach Goelz a milestone 900 coaching victories in a thrilling 5-4 win over Cal Poly Pomona in the series opener at Seawolf Diamond on Thursday.

The Broncos (17-8, 10-8 CCAA), however, played the role of spoiler in the nightcap, taking the 5-1 win over the Seawolves to split the twinbill.  The Seawolves move to 13-9 overall, but still remain atop the CCAA standings at 11-3.

Game One:  Sonoma State 5, Cal Poly Pomona 4 -- Box Score

Despite not playing a game since Mar. 10, Sonoma State got off on the right foot in the opener, scoring a run on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by Devon Zenn, scoring Evan Warner to lead 1-0 early.  However, Cal Poly Pomona starting pitcher, Erick Ruvalcaba, got out of his bases-loaded, one-out jam to allow just the one run in the inning.

The Broncos fought back in the third, scoring a run on an RBI single by Mike Santora to even the game at 1-1.  In the Sonoma State fourth, Joel Thys put the home team on top once again, blasting a solo shot to right field to give the Seawolves a 2-1 advantage.  It didn't last long, though, as CPP countered with a run in its next at bat to knot the game at 2-2.

SSU starting pitcher Thomas Lee, who struck out 10 batters in his complete-game effort, ran into a bit of trouble in the top of the seventh, and because of a defensive error to lead off the inning, Cal Poly Pomona was able to bring in two unearned runs to take a 4-2 lead.

With two outs in the eighth inning, the Seawolves began their comeback when Thys came through again, smashing an RBI double down the right field line to score Scott Templeton from first base and get SSU within a run at 4-3.

After Lee overcame the threat of two base runners with just one out to keep the Broncos off the scoreboard in the top of the ninth, the Seawolves' offense finished what it has started in the eighth.  Danny Dworkin got on base, thanks to a defensive error, then Stogner doubled to score Dworkin from first and tie the game at 4-4.  With no outs and the game-winning run on third base, Cal Poly Pomona head coach Randy Betten elected to intentional walk Warner and Steven Filippi to create a force out situation at home.  Betten then put five Broncos in the infield to better his team's chances to sneak out of the inning, but Gooselaw ripped a 1-0 pitch fair, inside the third-base line, allowing the game-winning run in Stogner to scamper home.

Lee (4-0) earned the victory as the pitcher of record for Sonoma State after pitching all nine innings; he gave up eight hits, four runs (two earned), walked one and struck out the aforementioned 10 batters.  Gooselaw went 3 for 4 at the plate, including the game-winning hit in the ninth.  Thys went 2 for 4 with the eighth-inning home run and a pair of RBI's.

For Cal Poly Pomona, Allen Rodarte (2-1) suffered his first loss of the season after replacing Ruvalcaba at the beginning of the Seawolf ninth inning.  In eight innings of work, Ruvalcaba allowed eight SSU hits and three runs while walking four and striking out six.  Joseph Eusebio and Chris Curtis each went 2 for 4 at the plate for the Broncos in the game one loss.

Game Two:  Cal Poly Pomona 5, Sonoma State 1 -- Box Score

It was all Cal Poly Pomona in game two, as the Broncos jumped on Sonoma State starter Taylor Herbert for four runs in the first three innings to lead 4-0.  The Seawolves got a run back in the fourth on a Dworkin RBI single up the middle to score Warner, but it would be all the offense that SSU could muster up, falling 5-1 to suffer the doubleheader split on Thursday.

Herbert (2-2) tossed the first five innings before giving way to Ian Ocon in the sixth.  Herbert scattered six hits and allowed four runs (three earned) with three walks and a pair of strikeouts.  Ocon gave up just five hits in his four innings of work, allowing one run to cross the plate in the eighth inning.

The Seawolves recorded just five hits offensively in the nightcap, one by five different guys -- Warner, Gooselaw, Dworkin, Paul Anaya and Jeff Boulware.  They were shut down by the pitching of Cal Poly Pomona's Geoff Broussard, who went the distance to remain undefeated at 7-0 as the pitcher of record this season.  He struckout 12 Seawolves and allowed just the one run (which was unearned).  Jenzen Torres, Donald Walter and Chris Miller each had two hits to pace the Broncos in game two.

Sonoma State and Cal Poly Pomona will go right back at it on Friday with a doubleheader at Seawolf Diamond.  First pitch is scheduled for 11:00 a.m.