BOX SCORE Chico State 9, Sonoma State 7 -- Box Score

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — At the first ever Capital City Clash, pitting longtime rivals Sonoma State and Chico State against each other, the Seawolves held control for the majority of the afternoon.  However, the Wildcats had other plans, rallying for eight runs in the top of the ninth inning to take the 9-7 lead, and the eventual victory in front of 1,217 fans at Raley Field in Sacramento on a warm Sunday afternoon.  With the loss, SSU drops to sixth place in the CCAA with a 17-15 conference record and 19-21 overall. 

Taking three out of four games from the Seawolves in the series, Chico State improves to 19-13 in conference play (29-13), moving into a tie for second place with Cal State San Bernardino in the standings.

Sonoma State ace Thomas Lee got the start and was his normal self on the mound.  He pitched seven strong innings, allowing one run on six hits, while striking out seven batters. However, Chico State would retaliate in its final at bat with the SSU bullpen on the hook.  The Wildcats forced Seawolf head coach John Goelz to go to his pen four times in the final two innings.  At the start of the ninth, Michael Garber would replace Glen Wallace after Wallace came in for Lee in the eighth.  Garber gave up six runs on six straight hits and was relieved by Mike Guglielmo before even recording an out.  Guglielmo (0-1) came on to try and stop the bleeding, but then allowed two more runs on one hit and was tagged with loss, as he was responsible for the go-ahead run. 

Freshman Luke Barker started for Chico State, pitching five and one-third innings, surrendering 10 hits and seven runs.  Morgan Yee (2-0) was the third pitcher for the Wildcats, receiving the win after pitching two innings, only allowing two hits.  Mike Botelho came in in the bottom of the ninth to close out the game, notching his ninth save of the season.

Sonoma State started the game with a run in the first inning on a Devon Zenn RBI double, scoring Steven Filippi.  The Seawolves tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to give them a 4-0 lead.  Justin Serrao singled through the left side, scoring Kevin Cramer.  Jackson Stogner followed with an RBI double, scoring Garrett Gooselaw.  Serrao advanced to third on the play and was allowed to score on a fielding error by Chico State right fielder, Ian McKay, for the four-run lead.

Two innings later, in the bottom of the sixth, SSU put three more runs on the board, seemingly putting the game away, going ahead 7-0.  Serrao tallied his second RBI of the game when he singled in Gooselaw.  Zenn hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Jeff Boulware from third base.  Serrao scored on the play off of the throwing error by McKay from right field.  McKay would redeem himself in the bottom of the seventh, however, when he got the Wildcats their first run of the game on a single through the left side, scoring Roger Bouldin. 

With a six run lead at 7-1, Sonoma State turned to its bullpen.  After being held silent by reliever Glen Wallace in the eighth, the ninth inning was a different story.

Jordan Beck got things started with an RBI single, scoring Eric Angerer.  Abel Alcantar hit a pinch-hit double, plating two more runs to cut the lead in half at 7-4.  Cody Webber then singled in another run for the Wildcats putting the score at 7-5.  Guglielmo came in for Garber and recorded the first out of the inning, via a strikeout, but the majority of the damage had already been done.  After his strikeout, Guglielmo would then hit Blake Gibbs with a pitch to load the bases. 

Guglielmo was able to get Boulden to hit a groundball right back to him and quickly threw the ball to Joel Thys at home for the force on T.J. Yasuhara, the second out of the inning.  Thys then tried to complete the double play with a throw to first, but the ball glanced off of Boulden's helmet, ending up in the stands.  The throwing error allowed Webber to score on the play, bringing the Wildcats to within one run at 7-6.  After a pitch hit Angerer, loading the bases again, McKay singled in the tying run.  Still in the top of the ninth, Chico State plated two more runs, including one run off of a catcher's interference ruling.  After the eight-run ninth inning, Chico had the 9-7 lead, putting Sonoma State with their backs against the wall.

The Wildcats closer, Botelho, came in in the bottom of the ninth and after allowing a lead-off walk to Filippi, made quick work of the Seawolves to complete the comeback win for Chico State, 9-7

Offensively for the Seawolves, Cramer had a three-hit day at the plate, Zenn had two RBI's and Gooselaw scored two runs.  Serrao had a monster day at the plate, going 3 for 4, knocking in two RBI's and scoring twice. 

For the Wildcats, McKay had three hits and two RBI's.  Beck also had two RBI's and Alcantar notched two RBI's off the bench.  Angerer scored two runs in the comeback victory.

After winning only one of their last 12 games, Sonoma State will begin the fight for a CCAA playoff spot next weekend, starting with a four-game home-and-home series against Cal State Stanislaus.  The series will begin with a doubleheader in Rohnert Park on Saturday (Apr. 28); first pitch is set for 11:00 a.m. at Seawolf Diamond.