FRESNO, CALIF. - On Saturday, February 18th, the Sonoma State baseball team dropped their series finale to PacWest member Fresno Pacific 5-4, surrendering the winning run for the Sunbirds in the bottom of the 9th. 

Senior right hander Blake Janowicz made his second start and went a season high six and two thirds giving up five hits and just two runs. The Seawolves jumped out to a 3-0 lead with RBI hits from Mark Hernandez and Christopher Wright, two of the team's top hitters from 2023.

Janowicz would take his quality start into the 7th inning but give up a two out RBI single to cut their lead to two, forcing him to exit for freshman right hander Luke Ivanoff. Ivanoff would get the next batter to ground out to end the threat and take a 4-2 lead into the 8th. 

The Sunbirds would take advantage of a pair of walks and get two more runs in the bottom half of the 8th to tie the game at four. They would go through the heart of the Seawolves order, retiring Decelle, Hernandez and Holliday to preserve the tie and give them a chance to walk it off in the bottom half of the 9th. 

Despite retiring the first two batters of the inning, FPU would do all their damage with two outs as they recorded back-to-back hits and a hit batter to ultimately load the bases with the game on the line. The next batter would pull a ball down the left field line to score the winning run from third and walk it off, giving Fresno Pacific the 5-4 come from behind win and the series victory.      

Center fielder Kenny Decelle went 3-5 from the dish to lead all hitters. Wright recorded a pair of RBI's with his double back in the 5th and Janowicz would get the no decision in his quality 6+ inning start. 

LOOKING AHEAD

The Seawolves drop their non-conference series with the Sunbirds two games to one and fall to 5-3 overall. They will open up conference action this weekend at home against Cal State Monterey Bay. First pitch is slated for Friday, February 23rd at 2:00 PM. Live stats and stream links can be found at sonomaseawolves.com.  

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