ROHNERT PARK, Calif. – San Francisco State got off on the wrong foot in its California Collegiate Athletic Association series opener against Sonoma State on Friday, giving up five innings in the first inning en route to a 12-3 defeat at Seawolf Diamond.
The Seawolves banged out a season-high 20 hits in the game, featuring three home runs to raise their record to 17-20 on the season and 10-15 in league play, while Gators slip to 17-22 overall and an identical 10-15 mark in the CCAA.
Erik Hansen set the table for the host school in the bottom of the opening stanza with a base hit and promptly advanced to second on a wild pitch. Shortly thereafter, Max Shupe drove in Hansen with a double to left field and eventually scored on Ryan Stevens' RBI single through the right side. Kyle Jones then stepped up to the plate and smacked his eighth homer of the year, while Steven Filippi later knocked in Randy Wells with a base hit to center, putting SSU up, 5-0.
The Seawolves stretched the margin to 8-0 after tallying three runs in the sixth. Filippi crossed the plate on Hansen's sacrifice fly to right, while Austin Hogans and Jones each delivered RBI singles.
SF State finally broke through with a pair of markers off SSU reliever Ken Cook in the top of the eighth after loading the bases with two outs. Nick Nyman (Susanville, Calif., Lassen College) and Ryan Williams (Woodland, Calif., Yuba College) each drew walks, sandwiched around Kevin Dultz's (Altadena, Calif., Glendale CC) 10th double of the year. Then after another pitching change, Nick Bowerman (Oakley, California, Mount Mercy College) was hit by reliever Joey Van Cleave's first offering, which plated Nyman, while Williams raced home shortly thereafter on a wild pitch, trimming the deficit to 8-2.
The Gators were unable to pull any closer, however, as the Seawolves used the long ball to tack on an additional four runs in the bottom of the eighth. Hansen went deep for the second time this season with a solo shot to left center, while Wells followed with his fourth of the year – a three-run blast to right center – giving SSU an insurmountable 12-3 advantage.
SF State managed an unearned run in the top of the ninth to account for the final outcome as Devon King (San Diego, Calif., CCSF) singled home Nic Banaugh (Novato, Calif., College of Marin), who previously roped a base hit to right field and advanced all the way to third on a fielding error by Jones.
Seawolves starter Thomas Lee (5-3) pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and one walk to collect the victory, while Spencer Kreisberg (Tigard, Ore., Los Medanos College) (2-5) took the loss after surrendering eight runs on 12 hits and four walks in 5 2/3 innings.
Seven different Gators finished with one hit on the afternoon, including Nyman, who notched his eighth double of the season. Meanwhile, Shupe, Jones and Wells recorded three hits apiece in the win.
The two teams continue their four-game set on Saturday, April 10, switching venues to SF State's Maloney Field for a doubleheader, slated for noon, before returning to Rohnert Park for a single contest on Sunday, April 11, with another noon start.
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