BOX SCORE 1 | BOX SCORE 2 Game 1:  Sonoma State 9, UC San Diego 7 | Box Score
Game 2:  UC San Diego 7, Sonoma State 3 | Box Score

LA JOLLA, Calif. --  Sonoma State's spirited drive through the CCAA Championship Tournament ran out of gas in the seventh and final game, as the Seawolves dropped a 7-3 decision to host UC San Diego on Sunday in La Jolla.  Sonoma had forced game seven with a thrilling 9-7 win in the first game of what turned out to be a championship doubleheader.  The loss will end the Seawolves' campaign at 28-25 overall.  The Tritons receive the CCAA's automatic bid to the NCAA West Regional with their fourth straight tournament championship.

UC San Diego entered Saturday's action needing just one win to claim the championship.  However, early in the first game, Sonoma State proved that it would be easier said than done.  Tied 1-1, the Seawolves exploded for five runs in the bottom of the third.  The big blast came in the form of a three-run home run down the right field line by sophomore Jackson Stogner. 

Sonoma State would stay on cruise control for a while behind a nice effort from starting pitcher Joshua Nervis before the UCSD bats came alive.  The Tritons would score three times in the seventh and three times more in the eighth to pull even at 7-7. 

Despite scoring just one run since the five-run outburst in the third, the Seawolves' bats weren't quite finished.  With one out, Danny Dworkin singled to left field.  Following another out, Garrett Schwartz was hit by a pitch to give Sonoma State two base runners with two outs.  The next batter, Steven Filippi, brought them both home with a laser to right field that nearly cleared the wall.  Filippi had to settle for a double, but it would mean a 9-7 SSU lead. 

UCSD got a pair of singles with just one out in the ninth, but Taylor Herbert was able to close the door with the help of shortstop Justin Serrao, who made a pair of nice plays.

Nervis struck out six and allowed just three hits in six innings, but was not a factor in the decision.  Herbert got the win after a two-inning relief effort.  Stogner and Jeff Johnson each had three hits for Sonoma State as they pounded out 11 as a team. 

Following a 30-minute intermission and a switching of dugouts, the teams hit the field around 3:30 for the winner-take-all finale.  It appeared, at least in the early going, that the momentum had stayed with Sonoma State.  

Garrett Schwartz staked the Seawolves to a 2-0 lead when he left the yard with a towering shot to left.  Unfortunately, the Tritons would have an answer in their half of the frame as they would score three times, to take a 3-2 lead.  

UCSD's advantage would be pushed to 7-2 over the middle innings before the Seawolves finally got one back when Joel Thys scored on a passed ball in the seventh.  It would be too little, too late, however, for the Seawolves as the UCSD bullpen pitched two near-flawless innings to erase any chances of a Sonoma celebration. 

Joey Van Cleave gave up six runs (five of them earned) in 4 1/3, before giving way to Ian Ocon, who allowed just one unearned run in 3 2/3 innings.  The Seawolves would get three hits from Schwartz and two from Thys in their final game of the 2012 campaign. 

Despite the loss, the Seawolves finished the season with a winning record for the 14th time in the last 16 years.