ROHNERT PARK, CALIF. - On Friday, February 11th, the Sonoma State baseball team came away with a decisive 7-2 victory over the Urban Knights of Academy of Art in a beautiful and sunny Sonoma County day. The Seawolves came into the contest 1-2 after dropping two of three to PacWest foe Holy Names. After picking up the third game of that series, head coach John Goelz and his group have now won two straight and they did it today with some power hitting and great pitching. The junior right hander, Michael Benz, made his second start of the season and would pick up the win after going five strong innings giving up just one run on one hit and no walks. Benz had everything going in his outing today as he finished with just 50 pitches giving up zero free passes and finishing with a season high 6 strikeouts. Benz was flawless through four innings as he retired all 12 batters he had faced in the game. After giving up a leadoff triple to start the 5th, Benz would give up just that one run after retiring the next three batters before exiting the game for good. He would leave with SSU up 2-1 through five innings of play. 

The Seawolves would get the power going early as veteran infielder Joshua Medina would hit a solo shot to left field that just crept over the fence to make it 1-0 in the first. Medina provided a well needed spark after the Academy of Art starter retired the first two Seawolf batters via strikeout. The solo homer would be Medina's second of the year. Both pitchers would find a groove through the second and third inning but SSU would strike again in the fourth. Medina would stay hot and leadoff with a single, his second of his three total hits in the contest. A seven pitch walk to Holliday the very next at bat would put runners at first and second. After a pop out in the infield the Urban Knights pitcher would get called for a balk, sending Medina to third and Holliday to second. The Seawolves were now in business for a big inning with power hitter Otis Statum at the dish. Statum was off to a rough start in his season debut as a Seawolf but would breakout of that slump here as he came away with a clutch RBI single on a hard hit ball through the left side to plate Medina. Academy of Art would induce a well needed double play to end the inning and limit the damage to just one run. 

SSU would seize control of the game in the sixth inning where they would record 4 hits and 2 runs to extend their lead to 4-1. Medina would get his third hit of the game on another leadoff single. A poor throw back into the pitcher from the Urban Knights would roll all the way to the back stop allowing Medina to advance to second. From there, Braeden Holliday and Logan Douglas would follow up with back-to-back singles of their own. Douglas's single would plate Medina and advance Holliday to second. Head coach John Goelz would then bring in pinch hitter Josh Lopez to the plate. Lopez would contribute right away on a ball smashed through the left side. Though not deep enough to score a run, Lopez would help load the bases with no outs. After a pitching change from the Urban Knights, they would yet again induce a crucial double play allowing only one run to score and keeping the game within reach. A ground out the following at bat would end the threat and keep it a three run game. 

In the 7th, another key pinch hitter from coach Goelz would help put the game to rest. Freshman Jared Esparza would come to the plate after a lead off walk and stolen base from Desmond Gates. The two-way player would showcase his talents as he launched one deep to right field well over the fence for the two run bomb. Esparza has also appeared as a pitcher for the Seawolves earlier this season in a game against Holy Names where he threw two innings in relief. The two run shot got the Seawolf bench fired up as that would be the first of his career. Cole Brodnansky would tack on another insurance run in the bottom of the 8th as he singled in Douglas to make it 7-2. 

After coming in relief in the middle of the 8th, Sophomore pitcher David Newman would throw 1.2 innings to close out the game and even get credited with the save since he came into the game when SSU was up by four in the 8th. The hard throwing right hander had the fastball slider combination going as he did not give up a hit in his appearance and only allowed one walk. The save would be Newman's first of the season. Medina, Douglas, and Brodnansky would all combine for 7 of the Seawolves 11 hits on the day as Medina led the way going 3-4 from the plate. Tanner Ivey also came in relief initially after Benz departed and gave up just one run on two hits in his 2.1 innings of work.

Sonoma State gets back to .500 with their 7-2 victory over Academy of Art. The Seawolves will return to action tomorrow morning as they will play a double header to conclude their three game series with the Urban Knights. Live stats and stream links can be found at sonomaseawolves.com and all games can be streamed live on the CCAA Network. Be sure to follow your Seawolves on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to get all the latest SSU athletics updates and information. Sonoma State athletics also has launched a new fan app in partnership with From Now On. Download the free app today in both the Apple and Google Play stores by searching Sonoma State Seawolves in the app store. @SonomaSeawolves | #NomaNation