BOX SCORE 1 |
BOX SCORE 2 GAME 1: Sonoma State 2, Cal State Monterey Bay 1 -- Box Score
GAME 2: Sonoma State 5, Cal State Monterey Bay 3 -- Box Score
SEASIDE, Calif. -- Keisi Chinen went 3 for 3 with a double and a home run in a 2-1 win in game one, and
Katy Bihl went 2 for 3 with an RBI and a run scored in a 5-3 win in game two as the Sonoma State softball team solidified itself as the No. 3 seed in next weekend's California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Softball Championship Tournament after Saturday's sweep of host Cal State Monterey Bay in Seaside.
The Seawolves end the regular season at 35-17 overall, finishing third in the CCAA standings with a 22-14 mark in conference play. The Otters, meanwhile, see their season come to an end, finishing sixth in the CCAA at 15-21 and 27-28 overall.
Sonoma State, which won the CCAA tournament title in 2010 and 2011, will be making its third appearance in four years, and will open the 2013 CCAA Softball Championship Tournament at Arnaiz Stadium in Stockton against No. 2 seed UC San Diego on Friday at a time to be announced. Humboldt State will be the No. 1 seed and will face No. 4 seed Cal State Dominguez Hills in the other opening round game on Friday.
Stay tuned to the conference website at
goccaa.org for updated information regarding the CCAA tournament.
GAME 1: Sonoma State 2, Cal State Monterey Bay 1 -- Box Score
Just as the first two games of the series started, it was Cal State Monterey Bay to get on the board first, and in the first inning. Cori Reinhardt singled up the middle to score Angelina Orozco for the 1-0 lead.
Chinen tied the game in the third inning with a home run to left center before
Ali Palermo delivered the go-ahead RBI single, scoring
Vanessa Currie, in the top of the sixth inning.
Meanwhile,
Samantha Lipperd kept the Otters from tying or taking the lead the rest of the way, en route to her 20th victory of the year. She allowed the one run on five hits and four walks, striking out two. Offensively, Chinen recorded three of the six hits for Sonoma State in the ballgame, one of which was the home run in the third, in addition to a double in the seventh.
Reinhardt (12-17) was tagged with the loss for CSUMB, allowing the two runs on six hits and one walk, striking out two. Five different Otters had one hit apiece.
GAME 2: Sonoma State 5, Cal State Monterey Bay 3 -- Box Score
Once again, it was Cal State Monterey Bay to grab the first lead of the game. It would be a two-run home run in the third inning as the hosts took a 2-0 lead. In Sonoma's next at bat,
Danielle D'Eccliss delivered a bases-loaded, two-RBI single to score Bihl and
Olivia Lucchese;
Ancia Purdy also scored on the play, but on a throwing error by the left fielder to give the Seawolves a 3-2 lead. One batter later, Currie flew out to left field allowing D'Eccliss, who moved from first to third on the previous play, to score for the 4-2 advantage.
In the SSU 7th, Bihl came up with an RBI single, scoring Chinen to increase the Seawolf lead to three at 5-2.
Cal State Monterey Bay began to rally in its final at bat in the bottom of the seventh, plating a run with two outs, but Lipperd induced a game-ending groundout to secure the doubleheader sweep on Saturday. Lipperd improved to 21-9 this season and is just two wins away from 100 in her career. She gave up the three runs on five hits and five walks, while striking out nine.
Bihl went 2 for 3, recording just her second and third hits of the season in just her second start, both at the designated player position. Chinen went 2 for 4 with a run scored as seven other SSU players recorded a hit each.
CSUMB's Lindsey Clarkson dropped to 13-10 on the year, giving up eight hits and four runs (three earned) in four and a thirds innings of work. Bianca Noriega worked the final two-plus innings for the Otters.
