BOX SCORE No. 23 Sonoma State 4, No. 7 Cal State Monterey Bay 0  --  Box Score

STOCKTON, Calif. -- Harmen Sidhu and George Asmus combined for a six-hit shutout as Sonoma State took the first game of the 2013 CCAA Baseball Championship, 4-0 over top-seeded Cal State Monterey Bay on Thursday afternoon at Banner Island Ballpark in Stockton.  The Seawolves managed just two hits, but some aggressive baserunning and porous Otter defense helped the Seawolves advance into the winner's bracket. They will take on No. 28 Cal State L.A. at 6:00 pm on Friday for the right to move onto the championship game on Saturday.

The win lifts the fourth-seeded Seawolves to 33-18 on the season.  The Otters drop to 37-14.

Sidhu didn't appear to have his best stuff early on.  However, despite two walks and two hits in the first two innings, he was masterful at keeping the Otters off the scoreboard.  Sidhu retired 14 of the final 16 batters he faced, allowing just one runner past first base after the second inning. 

His six shutout innings lowered his ERA to 0.84 as he leapfrogged teammate Glenn Wallace (0.86) for the NCAA lead. 

As good as Sidhu was, the Otters' Will Anderson was just as dominating.  Anderson allowed just one hit over seven innings, but yielded a crucial unearned run in the fifth inning after Sam Montgomery was hit by a pitch, stole second, advanced to third on a throwing error, and came home on a Scott Harkin sacrifice fly.

The score remained 1-0 until the eighth inning when the Seawolves blew it open.  Following a walk to Justin Serrao, Jackson Stogner hit what looked like a double play ball.  Instead, the ball shot through the legs of shortstop Jason Merjano and into left field.  The blown double play would be a sign of things to come. 

A few batters later, with the bases loaded, second baseman Ronnie Fhurong muffed a grounder on a possible double play ball off the bat of Devon Zenn.  He recovered to get one out, but in the process a run came in, pushing the lead to 2-0. 

Perhaps more importantly, the misplay extended the inning because the next batter, Marcus Kimura, really made the Otters pay.  With runners on second and third, Kimura hooked a single to left field to score two and push the score to 4-0.

Kimura's two-run single would be one of just two hits for the Seawolves.  Thanks to superb pitching by Sidhu and reliever George Asmus, who pitched the final three innings, it would be enough.

The Seawolves were also shrewd on the base paths, stealing six bases - three by Jackson Stogner, two by Sam Montgomery, and one by Scott Harkin.

Sonoma State is hoping to win the CCAA Tournament for a league-record sixth time. 

Friday's game will be broadcast on the Seawolf Sports Network.  Tune in by clicking the link at sonomaseawolves.com/live.