Rohnert Park, Calif. - After rain forced the cancellation of one of their three scheduled games against the UC San Diego Tritons, the Sonoma State Seawolves found themselves in a rare Sunday doubleheader at Seawolf Diamond against the Tritons.
In two tightly contested games, the Seawolves late comeback in the opener was thwarted by the Tritons, but tremendous pitching in the second game helped the Seawolves into first place in the CCAA North.
Game 2 - Sonoma State 1, UC San Diego 0
One of the best starting pitching performances of the season and shutdown relief work made a single run from Sonoma State hold up, as they defeated the Tritons to earn a doubleheader split.
Haydon Turpin went a season-best 7 1/3 innings, allowing only three hits and two walks while striking out seven. He had a string of 10 consecutive batters retired and was able to get out of a jam in the third inning, where the Tritons had runners at second and third, only for Turpin to coerce a flyout to end the inning.
After Turpin was
Cody Bennett, who endured a throwing error by
Jackson Leslie to put runners at second and third. He then got a groundout for the second out, and then after an intentional walk loaded the bases, Bennett got Christian Leung to ground out to end UCSD's biggest threat of the game.
After a scoreless ninth, Bennett had his third save and the Seawolves were in first place before the first of two key North Division doubleheader showdowns with Cal State Monterey Bay.
Sonoma State got their run in the seventh as
Bryant Cid led off the inning with a single. He moved to second on a Leslie groundout and then went to third on a
Brett Sesma single. Then
Rayson Romero ended a hard fought at bat with a sacrifice fly to center field, bringing home Cid for the only run of the game.
Cid and
Matthew Richards had two hits each to lead the Seawolves offensively.
Ryan O'Malley went 1-for-3 with a walk.
Game 1 - UC San Diego 3, Sonoma State 2
In the doubleheader opener, Sonoma State tied the game in the eighth inning only to see the Tritons come through with a run in the ninth to slip away with a victory.
With two out in the ninth, Gradeigh Sanchez took the first pitch he saw from
DeVon Golden back up the middle for an RBI single, giving the Tritons the lead for good.
Sonoma State had trailed 2-0 heading into the fourth before
Ryan O'Malley singled and stole second. He then came home on
Adam Manzer's single, cutting the deficit to 2-1.
In the eighth,
Spencer Neve singled with one out before
Tyler Glenn came through with a double to left-center field that went almost to the wall, allowing Neve to come all the way around from first to tie the game.
While he had early struggles,
Ryan Luna settled down and notched a quality start, allowing two runs in six innings on five hits with three walks and seven strikeouts.
Aldo Severson (1-1) took the loss, but he was brilliant before allowing a baserunner to begin the ninth, striking out five Triton hitters in a row at one point.
O'Malley went 3-for-5 in the game and 4-for-8 in the doubleheader, reaching base five out of nine times in all. Glenn, Neve and
Daniel Caresio all had two hits, with Caresio adding a double and a walk.
UP NEXT: The first of two crucial doubleheaders with Cal State Monterey Bay takes place on Monday, as the Seawolves welcome the Otters to Seawolf Diamond at 11 a.m. Game two will begin approximately 30 minutes after the end of game one.
