ROHNERT PARK, CALIF. - On Saturday, March 30th, the Sonoma state baseball team was able to squeeze in the final two games of their conference series with Stanislaus State. The Seawolves would leave a season high 12 runners on base in game one as the Warriors held on for the 7-4 victory. Second year pitcher
Tanner Fonoti would get the nod in game two though and go 6+ innings allowing just two runs.
Christopher Wright belted the go-ahead 3-run homer in the 5th to help give SSU the 4-2 win and a crucial series split.
GAME ONE SSU 4-7 STAN
Freshman
Luke Ivanoff got another start for the Seawolves in Saturday's first game but the warriors jumped on him early and took advantage of four walks in the first two innings. Stanislaus State homered in the 2nd and combined to score 5 runs in the 2nd and 3rd inning. Another solo shot over the batter's eye in the 4th inning would extend their lead to 6-0.
Despite the 6-run deficit, SSU would get runners in scoring position in the final three innings with multiple chances to cut into the Warriors lead. The Seawolves would load the bases in the 7th with a pair of walks and a hit-by-pitch but strikeout to end the threat. They would put runners on second and third in the 8th and also fail to capitalize with a fly out to end the inning.
In the 9th, singles from
Kenny Decelle and
Mark Hernandez would put runners on first and third with the Seawolves needing five runs to push the game to extras. After back-to-back outs, head coach
John Goelz would put lefty hitter
Jared Esparza in to pinch-hit and he would come up with a clutch 2-out single up the middle to score Hernandez and Decelle, cutting the deficit to three runs. The Warriors pitcher would get
Chris Ortiz to fly out the very next at-bat though to hang on for the 7-4 victory.
Sonoma State certainly had their chances throughout the game and got a great relief outing from freshman
Ethan Glassman who quietly kept them within striking distance. The lefty from Los Angeles threw three perfect innings retiring all nine batters he faced including a strikeout. Glassman made two appearances this series and retired all 12 batters he faced showing his effectiveness out of the bullpen. Decelle had another two hits in the game and Ortiz led the team with three hits including his 4th home run of the season.
GAME TWO SSU 4-2 STAN
The Seawolves 7-inning specialist in
Tanner Fonoti would get the ball in the series finale and put together a vintage performance with 6+ innings of work, allowing just two runs. Fonoti has been off to a slow start this season after leading the conference in ERA in 2023, but looked like his vintage self pitching with pace and getting great defense behind him. Sonoma State turned four double plays in four straight innings to end key threats from the Warriors.
With the game tied at one heading into the 5th,
Christopher Wright recorded his 6th hit of the series and a big one with a go-ahead 3-run home run to give the Seawolves a 4-1 lead. That would go down as Wright's team leading 6th homer of the season as he has recorded hits in 6 of his last 7 games, raising his average to .287 on the season.
Fonoti came out for the 7th but a 1-out home run would end his day and make way for senior right hander
Nik Kamages. Kamages would get a strikeout and then work around a 2-out walk to get the last batter to fly out and pick up his second save of the season. Since moving to the pen, Kamages has recorded two wins and two saves to give the Seawolves some much needed consistency and length in relief.
LOOKING AHEAD
Sonoma State improves to 14-15 overall and 8-11 in conference play after their series split with Stanislaus State. The Seawolves will head south for their first Southern California road trip of the season to take on Cal State San Marcos. Game one of the series is scheduled for Friday, April 5th at 3:00 PM. Live stats and stream links can be found at sonomaseawolves.com and you can stream the game LIVE on the CCAA Network.
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