ROHNERT PARK, CALIF. - On Friday, May 25th, the Sonoma State baseball team fell 8-0 to Cal Poly Pomona in an 11-inning pitchers duel that went the Broncos way. Despite the giving up the game deciding 8-spot in the 11th inning, SSU went toe-to-toe with the Broncos with a fantastic start from junior transfer and former University of San Francisco pitcher Nick Roth. Roth would record his 3rd start of the season and end up with a no decision after throwing 6 scoreless innings. Roth would run into trouble in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th innings as he allowed multiple baserunners and a couple doubles but was able to get out of the jam each and every time with quick and effective pitches. Roth would pitch to contact and induce fly outs to end the 3rd and 4th, and then a ground out to second to end the 5th. After a quick 1-2-3 6th inning, Roth would exit with the game scoreless after his season high 6 innings of work and make way for fellow USF teammate Michael Benz as he made his 7th appearance of the season.

Benz leads the Seawolves rotation with 5 starts but Roth would act as more of the opener in today's contest to allow for a deeper rotation throughout the game. After a leadoff single and a 2-out walk to put runners on first and second, Benz would induce a fly ball of his own to get out of the jam and move the game into the bottom of the 7th with SSU looking to grab a lead. 

Senior outfielder Desmond Gates would provide some light for Sonoma state in the bottom half of the 7th with a leadoff walk, his team leading 14th of the season. Shortstop Nick Simmons would come to the dish and flirt with a potential bunt. A few pitches later, Simmons would show bunt but pull back and slap a low liner to the right side. The Pomona second baseman would pick the ball and throw Simmons out at first. However, the second base umpire felt the ball was caught in the air and therefore, doubling up Gates at first. After a long debate with the umpire crew and both coaches, the play was overturned and the ball was ruled to have hit the ground first, allowing Gates to remain at second. Power hitters Joshua Medina and Braeden Holliday would follow as SSU looked to break the scoreless drought and take control of the game. 

Six pitches is all that the Broncos starter would need after the long break with the debated play in the previous at-bat. Medina would strikeout looking and Holliday would ground out to short to end the threat and move the game into the 8th. Cal Poly Pomona starter Will Rudy would put on a dominant showing as he ended up throwing the full 9 innings, recording a game high 12 strikeouts and allowing just 1 hit and 1 walk to the Seawolves offense. Rudy would finish with 115 pitches and retire the SSU batters in order in the 9th to force the game into extras.

Benz would power through the 9th and 10 innings with good control and location, forcing several contact outs and letting his defense do the work. The 11th inning though would prove detrimental as the game would get turned on it's head with an 8-run explosion from the Broncos offense. A leadoff walk and back-to-back singles would load the bases with nobody out. The next batter for Pomona would pull a hard hit single down the right field line and plate 2 runs to break the scoreless tie. Things would get worse for Benz and the Seawolves as he would plunk the very next batter on the first pitch to reload the bases. Casey Slattery for the Broncos would come to the plate next and launch the 0-1 pitch over the right field fence for a grand slam and to give CPP firm control of the game with a 6-0 lead in the 11th. 

Benz would depart for David Newman who would make his 7th appearance of the season. Newman would struggle initially as he would give up back-to-back singles and a 1-out walk to load the bases once again. After getting an infield fly the very next at-bat to make it 2 outs, Newman would give up a 6-pitch blooped single down the left field line to plate another 2 runs and give Pomona an 8-0 lead. The next batter would ground into a fielder's choice to end the inning as SSU had one last chance in the bottom half of the 11th. Sonoma State would go down in order with three pinch hitters as the Broncos would take a wild game one of this four game series, 8-0. Outfielder Desmond Gates would record the lone hit of the game for SSU all the way back in the 4th inning as Rudy and the Broncos bullpen would hold the Sonoma State offense to just 1 hit on the day. 

The Seawolves fall to 6-16 overall and 3-10 in CCAA play after the grueling 11-inning defeat. SSU will take on Cal Poly Pomona in a doubleheader tomorrow, March 26th, with first pitch at 11:00 AM. 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