CHICO, Calif. -- After falling behind by four runs early in game one, the Sonoma State baseball team rallied for a 7-6 win in 11 innings to open the day, but host Chico State rebounded with a 3-1 victory in game two as the two rivals split a Saturday doubleheader at Nettleton Stadium in Chico. The Seawolves moved to 16-23 overall and 14-14 in the CCAA as the Wildcats are now 27-14 and 17-12 in conference play.
Ryan O'Malley,
Grant St. Martin and
Daniel Caresio recorded RBI singles in the third and fourth innings to close a four-run deficit to just one. Chico responded with two runs in the fourth to regain a three-run advantage at 6-3, but the six runs would prove not to be enough for the host 'Cats in game one.
Bryant Cid lifted a sacrifice fly in the sixth to score
Spencer Neve,
Rayson Romero singled home Caresio in the eighth, and Cid scored on a throwing error in the top of the ninth to even the ballgame at 6-6. In the 11th,
Matthew Richards plated the go-ahead run on a wild pitch and Chico couldn't recover.
As close as the score was, the Seawolves nearly tripled the Wildcats' hit total, spraying 16 hits around the field while the SSU pitching staff held Chico to just six hits. O'Malley, Neve and
Trevor Abrams all had three hits each while Caresio and Romero had two.
Jackson Zarubin (1-1) was credited with the win, allowing two hits and striking out three in 2.2 innings of work before giving way to
Cody Bennett, who notched his fourth save of the season with a scoreless bottom of the 11th.
In the nightcap, the Seawolves again fell behind early, but couldn't overcome the three-run deficit after three innings.
Tyler Glenn was able to double home Richards in the sixth, but that was all Sonoma could muster in the 3-1 loss. The Seawolves managed just four hits, two from Richards and two from Glenn.
Ryan Luna (3-3) went the distance for Sonoma in the seven-inning affair, tossing six frames, allowing three runs on eight hits and one walk, striking out six.
Sonoma State will wrap up the four-game series with Chico State on Sunday with a single game beginning at Noon.
