ROHNERT PARK, CALIF. - On Friday, February 17th, the Sonoma State baseball team kicked off their final non-conference series of the 2023 season against PacWest member Fresno Pacific. The Seawolves would climb back from an 8 run deficit with a 3-run homer from
Kenny Decelle to highlight a 4-run 7th inning but ultimately fall 9-5 after the three hour contest.
Despite the loss, the headline would rightfully belong to the Seawolves right handed pitcher
Marika Lyszczyk who entered the game in the top of the 9th inning and made history as the first ever female baseball player in both school and conference history, totalling 85 years since the CCAA was founded and 62 years since the opening of Sonoma State University. Marika would retire three batters to complete the inning and give up just one unearned run before being swarmed by her teammates as she re-entered the dugout.
7TH INNING:
Sophomore right hander
Ross Goldschlag would get the nod in game one of the weekend series and make his first start of the season. Goldschlag would continue his solid start and keep his ERA under 2.00 with a quality three innings of work, giving up just one run off one hit while striking out two Sunbird hitters. FPU would slowly chip away and build their lead with runs in the 2nd, 4th and 5th innings.
Fresno Pacific's pitchers held the Seawolves offense in check for the early portion of the game as they only gave up a pair of hits in the first 6 innings. The Sunbirds would add on in the 7th as SSU got deeper into their bullpen, tacking on 5 more runs off 4 hits before
Michael Panichi would come in to record the third out. The left hander from Aliso Viejo would make his second appearance of the season and face just the single batter to end the top half of the 7th.
With their backs against the wall, Sonoma State would get some well needed life from first year player
Cooper Callison and second year member
Niko Tejada as the two recorded back-to-back singles to start the bottom half of the inning. A walk would eventually load the bases and then a wild pitch would put the Seawolves on the board.
The SSU offense would finally get the big hit they were looking for with runners on and it would be first year member
Kenny Decelle to deliver the blow with a booming 3-run homer off the scoreboard in left center. Decelle has stormed onto the scene this season as the sophomore center fielder currently holds a .500 average and 1.418 OPS to lead the team in both categories. Decelle would lead SSU with three hits for his second 3-hit game of the season and record his first home run of the season with his 3-run blast in the 7th.
FINAL SSU 5-9 FPU:
Sonoma State would tack on one more run in the bottom half of the 8th to make things interesting off a slapped single down the left field line from sophomore lefty
Cooper Callison. Callison would score junior first baseman
Christopher Wright who led the inning off with an opposite field double. Wright owns a .300+ average to start the year as the second year player from Trinity Christian HS continues to build off of a solid 2022 campaign.
Enter sophomore right hander and native of British Columbia,
Marika Lyszczyk to pitch the top of the 9th for the Seawolves in just a 3-run game. Lyszczyk induced a deep fly to center to the first Fresno Pacific batter she faced, retiring her first ever batter as a Sonoma State Seawolf. Two batters later, Lyszczyk would get a ground ball out up the middle to put two away in the inning. Following a 2-out RBI single after a defensive error to put on the scoring runner, Lyszczyk would record another fly ball out to left field to complete her first inning as a Seawolf while making history in the process.
Lyszczyk would get swarmed by her teammates as she came off the mound, becoming the first female baseball player in school and conference history to pitch in an NCAA game. Lyszczyk has been nothing short of an inspiration to her teammates all year long and after battling to make the fall team and compete, she has earned her way onto the spring roster and pitched in her first game as a Seawolf.
"It means the world to me and I feel beyond blessed that I had the opportunity to make history today with my brothers. My coaches and team push me everyday to be the best I can be and support me through it all. I truly couldn't ask for a better program to do this with" (Lyszczyk).
The Seawolves would load the bases and put runners on again in the bottom of the 9th but a line out and strikeout would end the game with the Sunbirds on top, 9-5.
Cooper Callison would finish with a pair of hits with Decelle recording his second 3-hit game of the season. Four other SSU players would record a hit in the contest.
BY THE NUMBERS:
| Sonoma State |
Team |
Fresno Pacific |
| 5 |
Runs |
9 |
| 9 |
Hits |
13 |
| 1 |
Errors |
0 |
| 11 |
LOB |
11 |
| 8 |
Walks |
3 |
LOOKING AHEAD:
The Seawolves drop their second straight game in non-conference action and fall to 3-2 overall. They will conclude their three game series with the Sunbirds on Saturday in a doubleheader starting at 11:00 AM. Due to additional home events on the campus of Sonoma State that day, there will be no live stats or live stream for tomorrow's games. Full recaps and box scores will be available after the games 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
