ROHNERT PARK, CALIF. - On Saturday, February 3rd, the Sonoma State baseball team did everything they could to complete their season opening series with Simpson College and that's exactly what happened. The Seawolves took down the Red Hawks 3-2 and 7-5 on Saturday to start the season 4-0. Christopher Wright had the go ahead homer in the 8th inning in game one and center fielder Kenny Decelle had three hits and a pair of RBI's in game two to lead the way. First year pitchers Marcellus Henry and Luke Ivanoff would get credit for their first wins as Seawolves with their relief appearances on the day. 

GAME ONE SSU 3-2 SIMPSON

Senior right hander Blake Janowicz got the start in game one of Saturday's doubleheader. Janowicz was a consistent starter for the Seawolves in 2023 and will remain in that role again this season. Janowicz battled through five innings giving up just one run off of three hits. Janowicz would depart with SSU down 0-1 but the offense would get on the board in the 6th with a sac fly from Braeden Holliday. In the very next inning, Mark Hernandez would continue his stellar weekend with a two out double to score center fielder Kenny Decelle all the way from first, giving the Seawolves a 2-1 lead. 

The Red Hawks would tie the game up in the 8th after a deep RBI double off the center field fence would score the runner from first. Despite giving up the run, Long Beach City College transfer Marcellus Henry would get out of the jam with a pickoff and a strikeout to end the threat and get into the bottom half of the 8th. 2023 All-CCAA Second Team selection Christopher Wright would lead things off in the bottom half of the 8th and belt his first homer of the season to regain a one run lead heading into the 9th. Henry would start the 9th but Orange Coast College transfer Jackson Ouellette would come in to record the final two outs and earn his first save as a Seawolf.   

GAME TWO SSU 7-5 SIMPSON

In the series finale, head coach John Goelz would approach the game with his bullpen and have second year right hander Caleb Davis start the game. Davis went two innings, giving up a pair of runs in the first, before handing things off to lefty Ethan Glassman. The second inning would prove to be the difference in the game as the Seawolves recorded five runs on four hits with RBI's from Tyler Crudo, Sean Pauly, Kenny Decelle and Mark Hernandez. They would load the bases with no outs and piece together two runs with a walk and a fielders choice. Decelle and Hernandez would then record back-to-back RBI doubles to score three more runs giving Sonoma State a 6-2 lead. 

Simpson would get a pair of runs across in the 3rd and another in the 5th to make things interesting but Decelle would come up clutch again with an RBI single through the left side in the 6th to help seal the 7-5 victory and series sweep. Freshman right hander Luke Ivanoff went two and a third to earn his first career win and Regis transfer Colt Wuelfing put away the final two batters to record his first career save. Decelle finished 3-3 from the plate with two RBI's and Niko Tejada also recorded two hits and scored a run. Decelle and Hernandez combined for four RBI's on the afternoon. 

LOOKING AHEAD

The Seawolves start their 2024 campaign 4-0 with a series sweep over Simpson College. They will take a week off before taking on Menlo College on Tuesday, February 13th. Live stats and stream links can be found at sonomaseawolves.com.  

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