ROHNERT PARK, Calif. – Sonoma State Baseball kicked off a four-game homestand Friday afternoon against Cal State Monterey Bay, but the Seawolves struggled to match the #13 Otters, falling 11-2 at Seawolf Diamond.
 
Sonoma State and Monterey Bay each posted a first inning run—the Otters' coming on an RBI groundout, the Seawolves coming on a Joshua Lenney single to right center—before the visitors peeled away in the third.
 
The Otters led off the frame with a pair of singles, placing runners at the corners with Hayden Duer coming to the plate. Duer then crushed a ball tight down the left field line that snuck just inside the foul pole for a three-run homer.
 
The Seawolves also singled twice to start the home half of the third, and while Zach Guardino did not replicate Duer's home run, he did drive a ball deep enough to center to score Bryce Nagata on a sac fly. Sonoma State looked to add on in the inning, however Joshua Lenney and Grant St. Martin each suffered swing-and-miss strikeouts to strand runners at the corners to end the inning.
 
A two-RBI double by Darren Kriz in the top of the fifth put Monterey Bay in front by four before they opened up their lead with a five-run sixth. Max Sanderson hit an RBI single up the middle before Aaron Garza lifted a sac fly out to left. With the score 8-2, Jacob Tonascia put the game out of reach with a three-run jack, pushing the Otters' lead to 11-2.
 
With the loss, the Seawolves fall to 22-17 and 18-15 in CCAA play. They return to Seawolf Diamond tomorrow at 11:00 am for the double-dip of the series.