ROHNERT PARK -- The Sonoma State baseball team held off No. 8 Cal Poly Pomona with a game-ending double play to win 4-3 over the Broncos in game two of a Saturday doubleheader. The win split the doubleheader after the Seawolves lost the opening game, 9-6. The Seawolves saw their CCAA record go to 7-8 and 12-11 overall. The Broncos' record is now 7-4 in the conference and 15-6 overall.
GAME 1: #8 Cal Poly Pomona 9, Sonoma State 6Cal Poly Pomona strung together four runs in the first inning and never looked back in game one. The Seawolves were able to get the lead down to two runs on two separate occasions when
Cameron Merriwether reached on an error in the third inning that allowed
Alex Crosby to score from third and make the score 4-2. The second time coming within two runs was in the fifth inning when
Cody Morris hit a groundball to shortstop that scored
Daniel Caresio to make it 5-3. A three-run eighth inning blew the game open for the Broncos and made it 9-3.
The Seawolves would make it interesting in the ninth when they pushed across three runs to cut their deficit in half. Merriwether got an RBI on a groundball to short,
Jourdan Weiks scored on a passed ball and
Philip Ramos knocked a single to left-center to score the sixth and final run for the Seawolves.
Crosby went 3 for 5 and scored two runs. Weiks went 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Haydon Turpin took the loss (0-2) for Sonoma State.
Steven Nagy was impressive in relief, going four innings and allowing an earned run on four hits.
Richie McWilliams picked up the win (1-0) for the Broncos, going 3 1/3 innings and allowing an earned run on two hits. Michael Zidek was 2 for 4 with three RBI's.
GAME 2: Sonoma State 4, #8 Cal Poly Pomona 3Sonoma State didn't waste any time in putting the game one loss behind them in scoring three runs in the first inning. The inning was highlighted by an
Eric Ehlow double that scored two runs and made it 2-0.
Dustyn Macaluso hit a sacrifice fly that scored Ehlow for the third run. Crosby thrilled the crowd when he sent a third inning pitch over the right field wall for his second home run of the season to make it 4-0.
The nationally-ranked Broncos got a run in the fifth and two in the sixth to cut the Sonoma State lead to 4-3, but
Tyler Sanders,
Mitch Coombs, and
Devin Bradley would come in relief to hold the Broncos at three runs over the final 1 2/3 innings.
The starting pitching of
Ryan Luna supported the early offensive outburst from Sonoma State as he allowed only two hits over the first four innings. He finished with 5 1/3 innings of six-hit ball with two earned runs and six strikeouts in getting his second win of the season against two defeats.
Caresio went 2 for 3 with a run. Ehlow went 2 for 3 with an RBI.
Chris Powell pitched all six innings for Cal Poly Pomona allowing four earned runs and five hits in taking the loss (3-1). Christian Kelly and Mike Philp each had two hits and an RBI for the Broncos.
The Seawolves will go for the series win at 11:00 am Sunday in the series-finale at Seawolf Diamond.
