ROHNERT PARK, CALIF. - On Friday, April 21st, the Sonoma State baseball team kicked off a four game set with Cal State San Marcos in entertaining fashion as the game would be decided in 11 innings. The nearly four hour affair would end with a 2-run 11th inning as the Cougars held on for the 8-6 comeback victory. The Seawolves held a 6-4 lead in the 5th but they would surrender a pair of runs in the 9th and 11th to drop the series opener.
1ST AND 2ND INNING:
The SSU offense would get started early with three hits in the first two innings, plating a pair of runs for a quick 2-0 lead. After a one out double in the first from
Kenny Decelle,
Mark Hernandez would single up the middle in a tough five pitch at bat for his 9th RBI of the season. In the second, a leadoff walk and then single would allow catcher
Lucas Townsend to knock home
Elijah Munoz from third with a fielder's choice ground ball, extending the Seawolves lead to 2-0.
5TH INNING:
Junior right hander
Nik Kamages would make his 6th start of the season and team leading 11th appearance. Kamages would grind through four innings of work to allow just one run but run into trouble in the 5th. After two quick outs, a pair of singles and a costly error would keep the inning alive and also plate a run for the Cougars to tie the game up at two. After loading the bases with a 7-pitch walk, San Marcos would plate another two runs with a clutch single up the middle, forcing Kamages out of the game. Sophomore right hander
Chase Banks would get the next batter to fly out to left to end the threat.
The Seawolves would pick up Kamages though in the bottom half with a huge four run inning to retake the lead, 6-4. Center fielder
Kenny Decelle would get the scoring started with his 3rd homer of the season to leadoff the inning. Decelle returned from injury recently and had a big day at the plate, finishing with two hits, two runs scored and an RBI.
Later in the inning,
Mark Hernandez would slap a single down the right field line and then
Joey Loveless would draw a walk to put runners on with one out. A crucial two out walk from Munoz would then load the bases for
Daniel Monti in a big spot for SSU. The six-foot junior from Italy would rip a 2-2 pitch into right center to plate Hernandez and Loveless. The Cougars right fielder would bobble the line drive off the bounce and allow Munoz to hustle his way from first and score with a head first slide into the plate. Monti would record his 7th and 8th RBI's of the season with the bases clearing hit as the Seawolves took a 6-4 lead.
9TH AND 11TH INNING:
Chase Banks would go on to pitch three straight scoreless innings, retiring 8 of the next 10 batters he faced to maintain the Seawolves two run lead. Banks would stay in to finish the game in the 9th but a pair of singles and a two out walk would load the bases for San Marcos. The next batter would jump on the first pitch and send a single down the left field line. Two runs would come in to score as the Cougars rallied late to knot things up at six and force extra innings.
After the Seawolves went down in order in the 9th and 10th, San Marcos would take advantage of a leadoff walk and an error on a sac bunt to put the first two runners on. Another sac bunt would be retired but move the runners over to second and third. A line out to center would plate one run and then a hard single to center field the next at bat would plate a second run as the Cougars claimed an 8-6 lead in the 11th.
Daniel Monti would record his 4th hit of the day with a hard one out single off the pitcher, but the Cougars pitcher would get the next two batters to end the inning and secure the two run victory. Monti's four hit game went down as a career high for him as well as the most hits by an SSU player this season. Decelle and Hernandez also recorded a pair of hits each, accounting for the rest of the team's 8 total hits in the game.
| Sonoma State |
Teams |
Cal State San Marcos |
| 6 |
Runs |
8 |
| 8 |
Hits |
11 |
| 2 |
Errors |
1 |
| 7 |
LOB |
12 |
| 7 |
BB |
7 |
| 7 |
SO |
3 |
LOOKING AHEAD:
The Seawolves fall to 14-19 overall and 8-17 in CCAA play. Games two and three of the series will be played in a doubleheader tomorrow, starting at 11:00 AM. 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
