SAN MARCOS, Calif. – Following an exciting, 4-2 late-inning win in game one, Sonoma State struggled to find their offense in the night cap, dropping the second game of their doubleheader with Cal State San Marcos by a final of 5-0.
GAME 1
In a tight game one, Sonoma State found the go-ahead runs they needed in the top of the ninth inning, and held on for an eventual 4-2 win over Cal State San Marcos.
Matthew Richards, who had gone 1-3 in the game thus far, worked a leadoff walk before Josh Lenney singled to left center, moving the right fielder into scoring position. Two batters later,
Nathan Mann worked his way aboard with four balls, loading the bases for
Rayson Romero. Romero promptly flied out to center field deep enough to score the lead runner and take a 3-2 lead.
Bryce Nagata knocked a two-out base hit up the middle, loading the bases again before
Mitch West took a ball to the body, driving in the second run of the inning, and padding the Seawolf lead 4-2.
The visitors called on
Grant St. Martin to close out the game and he did not disappoint. The senior right-hander allowed one baserunner, inducing a pair of grounders and a fly out to center to close out the 4-2 win.
The Seawolves played small ball through much of the game, collecting three of their four runs on sacrifices and not knocking a single runner in with a base hit. Their first run came in the top of the third as Romero, who hit a lead-off double down the right field line, stole third and came home on a sac fly to center off the bat of West.
The Cougars responded in the bottom of the frame with a homer to right-center by the inning's leadoff batter, Cabot Van Til. However, the round tripper did not faze starter
Dominic Garihan, who worked out of a precarious bases-loaded jam following the home run.
Back-to-back knocks threw runners on first and third in the top of the fourth inning for the Seawolves, before Josh Lenney hit a sac fly of his own to right, reclaiming a one-run lead.
Garihan would go on to pitch six complete innings of one-run ball, but would not factor into the decision as the Cougars tied things up in the seventh.
A single, wild pitch, walk and another wild pitch placed runners at second and third with nobody out, as San Marcos primed their comeback attempt in the seventh inning.
Nicolas Vega, however got a big first out on a called third strike, before ceding a single run on a groundout to the second baseman. However the pitcher limited the damage, inducing a foul out to end the inning.
GAME 2
Game two would prove a different story for the Seawolves, however, as they were shutout 5-0 in seven innings. San Marcos jumped on the board in the top of the first Van Til continued his hot day with a leadoff single before stealing second, advancing to third on a sac bunt and coming into score on an error by the left fielder.
The score would hold at 1-0 before the Cougars added two more in the third inning. A two-out single by Marcus Wilhite scored Tyler Place from third before Wilhite himself would come in and cross the plate on an RBI single by Isaias Torres to left.
The Cougars tacked a final pair to the board in the fifth before their starter MR Lopez finished what he started with a seven-inning, complete game shutout.
With the Friday split, the Seawolves now move to 10-10 and 6-8 in CCAA play on the season. They return to CSUSM Baseball Field tomorrow afternoon at 3pm for the third game of this four-game set.
