ROHNERT PARK, CALIF. - On Friday, March 4th, the Sonoma State baseball team took on the Otters of Cal State Monterey Bay in the team's second CCAA series of the 2022 season. In what was a bizarre windy and cold Sonoma County afternoon, SSU would fail to capitalize with runners in scoring position and make some costly defensive mistakes allowing for the Otters to secure a big win in game one with two homers and 10 hits of their own. Seawolf pitcher Michael Benz would pick up his third loss of the season in the teams 9-2 defeat in game one of this four game series with the Otters. 

TOP 1ST:

Errors plagued the Seawolves all game long and they started right away in the first inning. Two errors and a hit would allow the Otters to jump out to a 2-0 lead. After a leadoff strikeout from Benz, an infield error would put the next batter on and then Benz would contribute to the damage and throw the ball away on a pick off attempt to allow the runner to advance to second. A two out walk to batters later would put runners in scoring position where Monterey Bay's Jacob Martin would hammer a double into deep right center field scoring both runners. Benz would get the next batter to fly out to center to end the inning. 

TOP 2ND:

A leadoff error and the third of the game for SSU would hurt them again the 2nd inning as Chris Rubottom for Monterey would crush a two run homer deep over the batter's eye in center field to extend the Otters lead to 4-0. Benz pounded the zone early and got quick outs, but defensive errors extended the inning and put runners on forcing him to change his approach early on. With the bases clean, Benz would retire the next three batters on just 11 pitches to end the inning. 

BOTTOM 2ND:

The Seawolves offense would threaten for the first time in the bottom half of the 2nd as they were able to take advantage of a two out error from the Otters defense. Logan Douglas for SSU would hit a hard ground ball down the third base line that would stay fair and allow catcher Cole Brodnansky to scamper all the way to third. Outfielder Torreahno Sweet would come to the dish looking to score SSU's first run, but instead would pop up to shortstop and end the threat. The Otters tall left hander would shut out SSU's offense and go for 6 strong innings as he picked up the win. 

TOP 5TH:

The 5th inning would put the game firmly out of reach for the Seawolves. Benz was able to give up just one run in the 3rd and 4th inning combined and settle in. However, back-to-back errors from Sonoma State's defense and a sac bunt that turned into a hit, would set the table for Chris Rubottom. Rubottom would waste no time as he went after the first pitch he saw and cranked it over the left field fence. Just like that, it was a 9-0 Otter lead as SSU left themselves with work to do. Once again, Benz would retire three of the next four batters to get out of the inning before exiting the game for good in the 6th. 

For the next everal innings the Seawolf offense would begin to rack up scattered hits but failed to put together a string of hits or connect with runners on. They did record 7 hits off the Otters starting pitcher, but pitching to contact and not cashing in with runners on base allowed him to throw a clean sheet in his 6 innings of work. 

Head coach John Goelz and his group would finally get on the board in the 7th and 8th inning. A leadoff walk and two straight hits would score their first run. Braeden Holliday would smash a double deep into the left center gap and put runners on second and third. Freshman outfielder Sean Pauly would come through and pull a single through the right side to score Joshua Medina from third. With runners on first and third and no outs, the Seawolves were set to put up a good number on the board and maike the game interesting. Instead, a pop out and a huge 5-4-3 double play from the next two batters would end the threat and get Monterey Bay out of the inning. 

In the bottom half of the 8th, the Seawolves would threaten again with a leadoff hit by pitch and two singles. However, after a single from outfielder Ezele Wicks through the right side, third base coach Zack Pace would hold Brodnansky at third as the ball came in from the right fielder. On the throw home, the ball would squirt past the Otters catcher all the way to the back stop but with the pitcher backing him up, Brodnansky had to hold up at third. Outfielder Torreahno Sweet thought Brodnansky was going to take home so he took off for third but got himself into a rundown after Brodnansky stayed put at third. Sweet would go down as the second out of the inning as SSU had runners on first and third still. Catcher Cole Brodnansky would finally come across the plate for Sonoma State's second run of the game on a wild pitch. Veteran Joshua Medina would continue his at bat and work the count to 2-2 before taking a questionable call down on the outside corner for strike three to end the threat.  

FINAL - SSU 2, CSUMB 9

One of the biggest bright spots for the Seawolves came from right handed relief pitcher Nick Roth who entered the game for Michael Benz in the 6th. Roth would make his fourth appearance of the season and tie his season high with 4 innings in relief and keep the Otters off the board for the remainder of the contest. Roth would give up just 2 hits and record three strikeouts in his efficient 43 pitches thrown. He leaves the game as one of just two eligible SSU pitchers with a sub 2.00 ERA. Hits came in bunches for Goelz and his squad, just not at the right times. Four different players recorded two hits in the afternoon's contest including Ezele Wicks, Torreahno Sweet, Braeden Holliday, and Joshua Medina. A game high 14 runners were left on base for the Seawolves as they remain winless in conference play. 

SSU drops to 3-10 overall and remains winless in conference play. The Seawolves will return to action tomorrow morning in a doubleheader with the Otters at 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM. Live stats links can be found at sonomaseawolves.com. 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