BOX SCORE Sonoma State 5, UC San Diego 2 -- Box Score

STOCKTON, Calif. -- Ali Palermo went 3 for 4 with two doubles, a home run and five runs batted in and Samantha Lipperd earned her 100th career victory in the pitching circle as the Sonoma State softball team earned a 5-2 win over UC San Diego to open up the 2013 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Softball Championship Tournament on Friday evening at Arnaiz Stadium in Stockton. 

The No. 3 seed Seawolves (36-17) advance to play top-seed and fifth-ranked Humboldt State (45-12) on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. for the right to move on to Championship Sunday.  The No. 2 seed Tritons (31-22) will play in a loser-out game on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. against No. 4 seed Cal State Dominguez Hills (34-20).

With five RBI's against UC San Diego on Friday, which tied a career-high, Palermo broke the single-season RBI record and now has 53, the second-most in the conference behind Humboldt State's Hannah Williams, who has 56 this season.  For her career, Palermo now has 36 home runs (13 this season) and 144 RBI's, both all-time records in SSU softball history.

Lipperd, the CCAA's Pitcher of the Year for the second time in as many seasons, improved her career record to 100-38 in 157 career appearances in the circle for Sonoma State.  She rose to 22-9 after allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits and three walks, striking out just one of the 28 batters she faced in the ballgame.

Both offenses remained quiet against Lipperd and UCSD's Jennifer Manuel for the first three innings, but in the fourth, that would all change.  Danielle D'Eccliss laced a 3-2 pitch through the right side of the infield, then moved to second on a four-pitch walk to Vanessa Currie.  That's when Palermo did the damage, a three-run bomb over the left field fence to put SSU up 3-0.

UC San Diego began to rally in the bottom of the fifth as Lipperd threw eight straight balls to lead off the inning, putting two runners on with no outs.  A single to left field by Mckenna Clewett scored Mya Romero to cut the deficit to two runs at 3-1, and the Tritons evenually loaded the bases later in the frame.  However, Lipperd came up with her only strikeout of the game, getting Callie Grant to go down swinging, leaving the bases loaded.

In their next at bat, the Tritons put another run across the board on an RBI groundout by Nicole Spangler, but the Seawolves would cling to the 3-2 lead going into the seventh.

Palermo came up big again, this time in the top of the seventh when, with the bases loaded, she delivered a two-run double off the top of the fence in right field, but a base running miscue would end the inning.

With a three-run lead in the bottom of the seventh, Lipperd took control, retiring the side in order to secure the 5-2 win over UC San Diego.

When the dust settled, Palermo had a 3 for 4 day with three extra base hits and all five of SSU's runs batted in.  Samantha Beauchamp was perfect at the plate, going 3 for 3 and D'Eccliss added a pair of hits in the victory with a run scored.  Currie and Olivia Lucchese also had a hit, totaling 10 on the day.

UC San Diego's Manuel (11-3) was tagged with the loss; she went just four innings, giving up five hits, including the three-run homer to Palermo in the fourth.  Alexis Edwards worked the final three innings for the Tritons, also giving up five hits, as well as the two-run Palermo double in the seventh.

Kirsten Willmon had two of the four UCSD hits in the game, both bunt singles.

While Sonoma State is just 1-4 against Humboldt State this season, the Seawolves are outscoring the Lumberjacks, 23-20, albeit 17 of the 23 runs scored by SSU came in a 17-3 blowout of HSU on Apr. 13 in Arcata.  The only neutral site game the two teams played in this season was back on Apr. 7 in the Gold Bracket Quarterfinal of the Tournament of Champions in Turlock -- it was the 'Jacks that squeezed out a 1-0 win that day.

Humboldt State will go into Saturday's contest after a 4-1 win over Cal State Dominguez Hills in the earlier game on Friday.  The 'Jacks hit three jacks, two off the bat of Hannah Williams and the other from Chrissy Stalf, this year's CCAA Most Valuable Player.  HSU, as a team, has now hit 100 home runs in 2013, which leads the nation.

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2013 CCAA Softball Championship Tournament
Arnaiz Stadium -- Stockton, Calif.

Friday, May 3
GAME 1:  No. 1 Humboldt State 4, No. 4 Cal State Dominguez Hills 1
GAME 2:  No. 3 Sonoma State 5, No. 2 UC San Diego 2

Saturday, May 4
GAME 3:  No. 1 Humboldt State vs. No. 3 Sonoma State -- 1:00 pm
GAME 4:  No. 2 UC San Diego vs. No. 4 Cal State Dominguez Hills -- 3:30 pm
GAME 5:  Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 -- 6:00 pm

Sunday, May 5
GAME 6:  Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 5 -- 12:00 pm
GAME 7:  If necessary