BOX SCORE 1 | BOX SCORE 2 GAME 1:  Sonoma State 6, San Francisco State 2  --  Box Score
GAME 2:  Sonoma State 5, San Francisco State 0  --  Box Score

ROHNERT PARK -- Ali Palermo smashed three home runs, added a double and brought home five runs, propelling the Sonoma State softball team to an electrifying sweep of visiting San Francisco State on a warm, sunny Saturday afternoon at the Seawolf Softball Field.  Two of Palermo's bombs came in a 6-2 win in game one, adding the third in a 5-0 victory to help the Seawolves (8-3, 3-1 CCAA) take three out of four from the Gators (5-4, 1-3 CCAA) this weekend.

In the four-game series with SF State, Palermo recorded astronomical numbers, going 7 for 11 at the plate (.636) with three doubles, three monsterous home runs and seven RBI, reaching base two other times on a walk and a hit by pitch, posting a ridiculous 1.727 slugging percentage.

Meanwhile, freshman pitcher Amanda Llerena (4-1) was just as dominant in the circle, earning a pair of shutout victories, allowing just six hits and no walks in 11 innings of work, striking out nine Gators.  She went the distance in the series finale on Saturday, scattering just three hits over seven innings of work, adding five K's.  Samantha Lipperd (4-2) got the victory in the opener, allowing eight hits, two runs and five walks, fanning four batters and leaving 12 San Francisco State runners stranded.  She rebounded from the series-opening loss on Friday in which Sonoma State lost 4-1. 

GAME 1:  Sonoma State 6, San Francisco State 2  --  Box Score

While the Gators wasted no time to put a run up on the board against Lipperd in Saturday's opener -- on an RBI single by Courtney Gravel -- the Seawolves responded in the bottom of the second with the first of three home runs on the day by Palermo.  It was a solo shot to left center field, knotting the game at 1-1.

Not long after, SF State plated a run in its next at bat on an RBI single by Sarah Catania.  However, the 2-1 lead for the Gators only lasted for so long as Ancia Purdy came up in the bottom half of the third and delivered a game-tying RBI single that scored Danielle D'Eccliss,

The Gators continued to threaten throughout the ballgame, but Lipperd dug in and got the outs when she needed to most and kept the visitors scoreless the rest of the way.  Meanwhile, Sonoma State would get the go-ahead run in the fifth on an RBI single by Megan Konieczka, scoring D'Eccliss, who was able to extend the inning by reaching base on a SFSU error with two outs.

In the bottom of the sixth, Palermo would deal a blow to the Gator faithful, rocketing another blast over the fence in almost the same spot she sent one out in the second.  This time, it brought home three insurance runs to give SSU the 6-2 lead and the eventual winning score.

Sonoma State recorded seven hits off of SF State starter Marisa Ibarra (4-1), who suffered her first loss of the season.  Palermo was untouchable, going 3 for 3 with the two home runs, adding a double somewhere inbetween.  The four RBI of the game put Palermo, the program's best all-time run producer, over 100 for her career (she now has 103 RBI in 170 career games played).

Offensively for the Gators, Gravel pounded out three hits, going 3 for 4 and Brittany Barcellos made her 2013 debut with a 2 for 3 effort, both combining for five of SFSU's eight hits off Lipperd.

GAME 2:  Sonoma State 5, San Francisco State 0  --  Box Score

Palermo's home run derby continued in the nightcap, as she put Sonoma State on the board in the bottom of the third with her third home run of the day.  This time, she took SFSU starter Emily Gibson the other way, sending the ball over the right field fence and into the Seawolf Soccer Field.  The solo shot put SSU up 1-0 before Vanessa Currie doubled home Keisi Chinen from first base to go up 2-0.

Two more runs came across the plate in the Seawolf fourth.  D'Eccliss brought home Holli Brown, who led off the inning with a double to right center field, on an RBI single up the middle, followed by an RBI double to straight away center field by Hayley Condon, scoring D'Eccliss.

In the bottom of the sixth, Sonoma State struck again.  Ally Bryant delivered a pinch-hit RBI single up the middle to score Purdy for the fifth and final run of the game for SSU.

The Seawolves pounded out 11 hits against Gibson (1-2), including three from Brown, who went 3 for 3 at the plate with a double and a run scored in the nightcap.  D'Eccliss went 2 for 3 and six others recorded one hit.

On the other side, San Francisco State's offense fell dormant against the freshman Llerena, as Llerena allowed just three hits in seven innings; only one base runner advanced beyond first base.

Sonoma State will travel south to La Jolla to face off with No. 2-ranked UC San Diego, who reached the national championship game last year for the second straight season.  The four-game series will begin Friday with a doubleheader starting at 1:00 p.m.  After the series at UCSD, the Seawolves return to Rohnert Park for 14 consecutive home games.