ROHNERT PARK, CALIF. - On Sunday, March 26th, the Sonoma State baseball team concluded their four game series with CCAA rival Chico State as they were able to take the series finale with a clutch 2-out 2-RBI double from
Joey Loveless, earning them the series split with the Wildcats. Quality pitching was the theme all day as the Seawolves got solid starts from
Jake Dent in game three and
Tanner Fonoti in game four.
Fonoti would go 5.1 innings allowing just 1 run from a runner he was responsible for when he left the game.
Michael Panichi and
Chase Banks were able to combine for the next two outs and give up just 1 run on a sac fly to maintain the Seawolves 2-1 advantage. A crucial insurance run off an RBI single from
Kenny Decelle in the bottom half of the 6th would prove to be the game winning run as Sonoma State held off the late Chico State rally to win the series finale 3-2.
GAME 1 SSU 3-4 CHICO STATE:
In game one of Sunday's doubleheader, senior right hander
Jake Dent would make his 2nd start of the season and his 5th appearance. He would go 4.2 strong innings giving up 3 runs and striking out a season high 5 batters. Dent made just a couple costly mistakes in the start as he gave up a 2-run homer in the first and then a solo shot to deep left field in the 5th. A 2-out walk and single would force Dent out of the game but fellow senior
Nick Roth would come in and field a ground ball on the very first pitch he threw to end the Chico State threat.
In the bottom of the 6th,
Christopher Wright would waste no time and smash a home run to the deepest part of the yard, making it just a 1-run game. The solo shot would go down as his 3rd of the season to tie the team lead.
The Wildcats would pick up an insurance run in the top of the 9th off an RBI single up the middle, extending their lead to 4-2. The Seawolves would battle though and make things interesting in the bottom half of the 9th as
Joey Loveless would record a 2-out RBI single to score
Shane Callison from second, cutting the lead to just one run once again. The 9th inning rally for SSU would come up short as
Cooper Callison would ground out the very next at bat to end the game in a tough 1-run defeat.
Christopher Wright,
Chris Ortiz, and
Jared Esparza all finished with two hits a piece.
Nick Roth would complete the second half of the game in great form as he went 4.1 innings and allowed just 1 run off 2 hits.
GAME 2 SSU 3-2 CHICO STATE:
The series finale would feature a fantastic pitchers duel but Sonoma State's
Tanner Fonoti would come out on top and record his 2nd win of the season in his team leading 5th start. Fonoti would go 5+ strong innings before departing in the 6th with runners on.
Michael Panichi and
Chase Banks would work their way out of the jam and allow just 1 run to score, maintaining SSU's 2-1 lead.
Back in the 5th, the Seawolves would get a huge 2-RBI double from
Joey Loveless, good for his 3rd RBI of the day. Loveless would lace the 3-2 pitch into the left center gap, scoring Tejada and Hernandez to ignite the SSU bench and give them a 2-0 lead.
After the Wildcats got one back in the 6th, outfielder
Kenny Decelle would grab a big insurance run in the bottom half, sending the first pitch he saw back up the middle to score Cabral from second and give the Seawolves a 3-1 lead heading into the 7th.
The Wildcats would make some noise in their final at bats as they would draw a walk and then a 1-out single to put runners on. Two batters later they would cash in on a run with an RBI single just past the diving Cabral in the 5-6 hole.
Chase Banks would remain in the game and get the next batter to fly out to right, earning himself his first career save and securing the 3-2 victory.
Decelle, Loveless, and Cabral would each record two hits in the game with big RBI's from Loveless and Decelle. Fonoti would hang on to get credit for the win and the four out save would go to Banks. The Seawolves got some solid pitching performances to earn themselves a series split with a talented Chico State team, as they grabbed their 2nd win in conference play.
FINAL STATS:
| Sonoma State |
Teams |
Chico State |
| 3 |
Runs |
2 |
| 8 |
Hits |
8 |
| 0 |
Errors |
1 |
| 8 |
LOB |
9 |
| 1 |
BB |
4 |
| 9 |
K's |
3 |
LOOKING AHEAD:
The Seawolves improve to 8-9 overall and 2-7 in CCAA play after their series split with Chico State. They will hit the road next weekend and head south to take on nationally ranked Cal State San Bernardino on Friday, March 31st. Live stats and stream links can be found at sonomaseawolves.com and you can stream the game 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
