CHICO, Calif. – The Sonoma State softball team opened their series with Chico State on Friday by sweeping both games of the doubleheader, 8-2 and 1-0. The Seawolves moved to 5-3 in CCAA play with the wins and improved to 8-7 on the season.
SSU never trailed on the day, scoring first in both games and never surrendering the lead. Pitchers
Bailee Reed,
Nichole Sarra and
Charlie Johnson combined to allow just two total runs in 14 innings. The Seawolves wasted no time getting on the board in the opener, plating a pair of runs in the first inning.
Rylee Nishimoto singled and eventually scored on a wild pitch for the first run of the contest, followed by
Lauren Mirtoni driving in the second run on a triple to left.
Chico State got one run back in the bottom of the 1
st off starter
Bailee Reed before she struck out three straight to end the threat. In the bottom of the 2
nd, Sonoma State was back at it offensively.
Carissa Marquez scored the first run on an error as
Melissa Felix stole 2nd and moved over to 3rd. Felix then scored on a squeeze bunt single by
Anna Zoia-Buescher to make it 4-1. Two innings later,
Taylor Rapp opened the inning with a single before
Jade Costa replaced her to run. Felix then followed with a double down the line to score Costa for the 5
th run.
Reed did the rest from there, allowing just one more run to keep it at 5-2 entering the 7
th inning. SSU put the game away in the top of the inning, scoring three more runs to make it a 6-run lead. Rapp plated the first run with a RBI double before pinch hitter
Jocelyn Robles added a RBI on an error. Nishimoto ended the scoring with her third single of the day to score Rapp.
Felix, Rapp and Nishimoto finished with three hits apiece while Zoia-Buescher added two hits and three steals. Reed earned her 3
rd win of the season with a complete game performance while striking out five.
The second game was a pitchers' duel from the start with Sarra and Chico State starter Katelyn Oldwin putting up zeros on the scoreboard. Sarra allowed just two hits through the first five innings while Oldwin help the Seawolves without a run. In the top of the 6
th, Sonoma State was able to break through.
Giana Hays led off with a single and moved to second on a wild pitch. The Wildcats went to relief pitcher Amelie Valdez who walked Mirtoni to give SSU two baserunners. Three batters later with runners on 1st and 2
nd, Robles came through with the biggest hit of the game. Her single to centerfield score Mirtoni and put the Seawolves on top 1-0.
Sarra was replaced by Johnson with two outs in the 6
th and a pair of runners on. She got her first batter to ground it back to her for the easy final out and send the game to the 7
th. The Wildcats put a runner on base in the 7
th after reaching on an error and sliding into 2
nd. After moving to 3
rd on a groundout, Chico State had the tying run just 60 feet away with two outs. Johnson's pitched then got past Rapp and went to the backstop. Rapp retrieved the ball and made a headfirst dive back to the plate with her glove extended to tag out the runner trying to take home. The play ended the game and sealed the Seawolves 1-0 victory.
Sarra earned her first win of the season with 5.2 scoreless innings while Johnson recorded her first save with 1.1 innings of relief. Hays finished with three hits while Robles picked up her first career multi-hit game in her first career start.
The Seawolves and Wildcats will meet again tomorrow for another doubleheader to close out their season series. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 pm with live stream available on the CCAA Network.
