ATHERTON, CALIF. - On Tuesday, February 13th, the Sonoma State baseball team headed south of San Francisco to take on the Menlo Oaks in a single non-conference game. With the regular season around the corner multiple Seawolves would get playing time in the single non-conference contest as the team gears up for their first regional series with Fresno Pacific this weekend. Starters Nik Kamages, Tanner Fonoti and Blake Janowicz would piece together the first four innings giving up just three runs and SSU put together a four run third inning to jump out to a 6-1 lead. 

The Seawolves lead would grow by as many as seven runs after tacking on another pair in the fourth but Menlo would bounce back with 12 combined runs in the 7th and 8th inning. The Oaks would snatch the three and a half hour, 27-run affair 18-9 to hand the Seawolves their first loss of the 2024 season.

SSU got off to a hot start offensively putting up runs in each of the first four innings including a four run 3rd inning which was highlighted by a 2-run shot from Braeden Holliday. Holliday would record his third RBI of the day with a triple the very next inning that gave Sonoma State a 7-1 lead. Daniel Monti would ground out to short the very next at bat to score Holliday from third, extending the team's lead to 8-1. 

Menlo would take advantage of SSU's bullpen and tack on five combined runs in the 4th and 5th inning which included a 2-run homer in the 5th. The Seawolves lead was cut to two and finally erased in the 7th inning with another 2-run home run for the Oaks to tie the game at eight apiece. The 7th inning would continue to be the downfall for the Seawolves as they went on to give up 8 runs off 6 hits and trail 14-8 at the conclusion of the inning. 

Second year outfielder Kenny Decelle would get one back with a solo shot in the top half of the 8th but the Oaks would put up another four runs in the bottom half of the inning to seal the win 18-9. Walks proved killer for the Sonoma State pitching staff as they gave up a game high 13. Not one pitcher went more than two innings for the Seawolves so they will look to stay fresh and turn things around this weekend as they take on Fresno Pacific, their first in region opponent of non-conference play. 

LOOKING AHEAD

The Seawolves fall to 4-1 overall after suffering their first loss of the season to Menlo College. They will hit the road to take on Fresno Pacific in a three game series starting on Friday, February 16th with first pitch slated for 2:00 PM. Live stats and stream links can be found at sonomaseawolves.com.  

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