CHICO, Calif. -- The Sonoma State Softball team did not open up its final regular season series the way it envisioned on Friday afternoon, dropping the first two games of a four game series against Chico State by scores of 5-1 and 8-6. The Seawolves drop to 35-17 on the year and 25-13 in the CCAA, falling to fifth place in the conference standings with two regular season games to play, while the Wildcats improve to 34-13 overall and 24-12 in the CCAA, good for fourth place in the standings.
 
Runs were hard to come by in game one for the Seawolves, not scoring their first and only run until the seventh inning on a RBI groundout from Madison Barto. Brielle Vidmar got the start in the pitching circle and started the bottom of the first out strong, striking out the first two batters. A two out error would go on to haunt Sonoma, as the following batter would hit a two run home run to give the Wildcats the lead.
 
Chico State would tack on two more runs to their lead in the fifth inning after hitting back-to-back RBI doubles. An RBI double in the sixth inning off of Teresa Dandenberg would increase the Wildcats lead to 5-0, before Sonoma would score their only run the following inning.
 
Scoring runs was not an issue for either team in game two of Friday's doubleheader with both teams combining to score a total of 14 runs. The Seawolves got on the board early, scoring one run on a two out single by Sarah Langley. That 1-0 lead would not last long for Sonoma, as Chico State would plate two runs on four hits off of Brigid Ruiz in the bottom of the inning.
 
The Seawolves would come roaring back in the top of the second thanks to some help from the Chico State defense. Ruiz helped herself out by being able to reach on an error by the shortstop. She would advance to second on a sacrifice bunt by Alison Strycula, and eventually score on a single from Karly Macadangdang. Jenny Collazo was also able to reach on an error, this time by the third baseman, then promptly stole second. Jordann White knocked in Macadangdang on a groundout, and Alyssa Cuffia plated Collazo on a single through the left side. Langley continued to stay hot at the plate, this time with an RBI double, her second RBI of the day, to put Sonoma in front 5-2 heading into the bottom of the second.

Looking for the shutdown inning, Ruiz quickly got the first two Wildcats out on a groundout and a fly out. Then, the wheels began to fall off in the inning. Back-to-back singles for the Wildcats plated a run, and then a two run home run tied the game once again, this time at five apiece. The Wildcats carried this momentum into the third inning, scoring three more runs, this time off of Gabby Dupree.
 
Now trailing 8-5, the Seawolves tried their best to chip away at Chico's lead. SSU would get one of those runs back in the fourth inning on a RBI single from White. However, that would be the last run either team would score in the contest, despite various opportunities in the late innings. White tripled with one out in the sixth inning, but was left stranded, and two more runners were stranded in the seventh inning to end the game at 8-6.
 
The Seawolves will be back in action in Chico on Saturday afternoon as they will conclude the regular season with a doubleheader against the Wildcats starting at 12:00 PM.