BOX SCORE #30 Sonoma State 3, #6 Chico State 2 (10 innings) -- Box Score

CHICO, Calif. -- If Friday night's game was any indication of how the rest of the series will pan out, buckle your seatbelts.  Tied at one going into the 10th inning, Sonoma State capitalized on a wild pitch and a throwing error to take a 3-1 lead before Chico State rallied with two outs in the bottom of the 10th, scoring a run and threatening with runners on the corners, but Scott Harkin, who moved from short stop to the mound an inning earlier, struckout the side to secure a 3-2 victory on Friday night at Nettleton Stadium in Chico. 

The Seawolves, ranked at No. 30 in the nation and at No. 3 in the NCAA Division II West Region rankings, improves to 28-15 and 20-13 in the CCAA, as the Wildcats, ranked sixth nationally and second in the West, have lost four of their last seven, dropping to 32-9 (25-8 CCAA).

Until the seventh inning, SSU's Taylor Herbert and Chico's Nick Baker went punch for punch, as the two combined to allow just five hits through six innings.

Chico State almost took the early lead in the fifth when Cody Slader laced a double to right center field with Ben Manlove on first.  Manlove went flying around the bases and tried for home, but the relay from Garrett Schwartz to Jackson Stogner to Steven Moen was in time to nail Manlove at the plate to end the inning.

Still scoreless in the seventh, Sonoma State broke through with an RBI single off the bat of Sam Montgomery, scoring Devon Zenn, who led off the inning with a double.  The lead would be shortlived, however, as the Wildcats struck back with a run in the bottom of the seventh to knot the game at 1-1.

The hosts would make things interesting in the bottom of the ninth, putting two runners on with one out.  The Seawolves called upon the short stop Harkin to shut the door, and that's what he did.  The flame-thrower blew fastball after fastball past the next two Wildcat batters, getting a pair of strikeouts to send the game to extra frames.

In the 10th, Garrett Gooselaw delivered a pinch-hit, one-out single, then moved to second on a bunt single by Stogner.  Scott Templeton came in to run for Gooselaw at second base and moved to third when Steven Filippi walked, loading the bases with just one out.  All three runners moved up a base on a wild pitch by Sean Martin, effective allowing Templeton to score the go-ahead run.  Justin Serrao was intentionally walked, bringing up Zenn, who flew out to right field, but not deep enough for the runners to advance.  However, Stogner was caught off third base for a moment and Chico's attempt to throw him out hit off of Stogner's helmet, allowing Stogner to advance home and score what would be a crucial insurance run for Sonoma.

Harkin came back out for the bottom of the 10th and struck out the first two batters he saw, but a walk, two hits and an error would bring home a run and put the tying run on third base and the game-winning run on second.  That's when Harkin came up big again, forcing Blake Gibbs to strike out, ending the game.

Harkin (2-0) allowed one run on two hits and a walk, but struckout five of the eight batters he faced, including the first four.  Steven Zaharias worked an inning and a third after taking over for Herbert, who went seven innings and allowed six hits and one unearned run.  Zenn led the offense with two hits; seven other Seawolves recorded a hit as well.

Sonoma State and Chico State will play two games on Saturday, starting at Noon, before the series shifts to Raley Field in Sacramento on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. for the 2nd Annual Capital City Clash.  For more information about the Capital City Clash and how to reserve your tickets, visit sonomaseawolves.com/capitalcityclash.