BOX SCORE #23 Sonoma State 11, #20 Cal State L.A. 2 – Box Score  |  Archived Video Broadcast

Post-Game Press Conference

ST. GEORGE, Utah – Devon Zenn recorded a pair of hits, including a three-run double in the second inning, and ended the day with five RBI's, while Harmen Sidhu struckout nine in eight innings of work to push Sonoma State into the winner's bracket of the 2013 NCAA Division II Baseball West Regional with a decisive 11-2 victory over No. 20 Cal State L.A. on Thursday afternoon in St. George, Utah.

The No. 2 seed and 23rd-ranked Seawolves (35-20) will play the winner of the upcoming game between No. 3 seed Dixie State and No. 4 seed Grand Canyon Friday night at 6:00 pm Pacific Time (7:00 pm Mountain).  The Dixie State/Grand Canyon game will be streamed live at dixieathletics.com/showcase.

The fifth-seeded Golden Eagles (35-21) will play an elimination game against CCAA-foe Cal State Monterey Bay, which lost earlier in the day to Chico State, 14-3.

For more information regarding the NCAA West Regional, hosted by Dixie State University in St. George, Utah, is available at the official tournament central at dixieathletics.com.

Jackson Stogner got the ball rolling for Sonoma in the bottom of the first inning after reaching on a single to left center before moving to second on a sacrifice bunt by Marcus Kimura.  Steven Filippi later singled to center, moving Stogner to third and two batters later, Zenn plated Stogner with an RBI single for the 1-0 lead.  Sam Montgomery followed with another RBI single to score Filippi and the Seawolves, took a 2-0 lead into the second inning.

In the bottom of the second, SSU put some distance between itself and Cal State L.A. when Filippi brought home Stogner for his second run of the game, and the third for Sonoma State.  Garrett Schwartz came up with a single to load the bases, then Zenn delivered a deflating three-run double to straight away center field to put the Seawolves up 6-0.  All four runs scored by SSU in the second, however, went down as unearned due to a fielding error on what should have been the third out of the inning during Kimura's at bat that proceeded Filippi's run-scoring single.

Cal State L.A., which tallied 49 hits in its three previous games, started to make its comeback with one out, recording back-to-back-to-back hits to load the bases.  A passed ball would get the Golden Eagles on the board, but Sidhu would induce an inning-ending groundout to end the threat.

In the next frame, CSULA got three more singles, including an RBI base hit from Scott Masik to put the visitors on the scoreboard down by four at 6-2, but Sidhu would begin his stretch of retiring seven straight batters.

Meanwhile, Golden Eagle starter Jordan Sechler settled down on the mound and retired 10 in a row until Scott Harkin ended the string with a leadoff infield base hit in the sixth, then moved to second on a sacrifice by Steven Moen.  Justin Serrao then ripped a 1-0 pitch down the left field line, scoring Harkin from second, putting Sonoma back up by five at 7-2.

The streak of seven consecutive retired batters ended for Sidhu in the seventh when Casey Ryan singled to lead off the inning.  He later advanced to third base on a stolen base and a passed ball, but would be left stranded there when Sidhu struckout a couple of batters to end the top of the seventh.

The Seawolves put another insurance across the plate in the bottom of the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Zenn, his fifth RBI of the ballgame, to put SSU up 8-2.  Another run scored on a leadoff home run by Scott Harkin in the eighth, but it would come off of Jordan Cavazos, who came on in relief of Sechler just moments prior to Harkin's deep blast over the fence and trees in left center field.  Two more runs came home in the inning on a throwing error, giving Sonoma an 11-2 lead.

Sidhu would take his seat for the ninth, opening the door for Jayson Richards, who came in to retire the side in order, securing the Seawolves' 11-2 blowout victory to open regional competition.  Sidhu improved to 10-1 on the year, giving up two runs on seven hits and one walk, striking out nine through 128 pitches.

Zenn led the way offensively for SSU with a game-high five RBI's on a 2 for 4 effort at the plate, including the aforementioned three-run double in second inning.  Filippi, Schwartz and Harkin had a pair of hits – Stogner and Filippi scored three times.

Sechler (7-3) lasted seven innings, allowed 10 hits, eight runs (three earned) while striking out three.