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The Sonoma State softball team's NCAA Division Two West Region tournament run has ended due to back-to-back losses to Cal State Stanislaus on Sunday.
The Seawolves put up a valiant fight during this double-elimination tournament in Arcata, CA, making it to the West Region Championship game for the first time ever, but lost the first game 2-1 and the second game 7-1 to the fourth ranked Cal State Stanislaus Warriors.
Coming into this tournament ranked no. 8, Sonoma was the obvious underdog, but surprised everyone by winning their first two games.
On Friday, the Seawolves faced no. 1 Humboldt State who had a home field advantage as well as the best record in their CCAA division. SSU pitcher, Lindsey Emmel stonewalled the Lumberjacks however, allowing only two hits as Sonoma won 3-2. This game was actually a come-from-behind victory for Emmel as she gave up a run in the second off a sacrifice fly. SSU was able to tie the game off Kayla Ledford's third inning RBI double however, and managed to take the lead in the fifth when Ashley Sardina blasted a homer with a runner on base.
The Lumberjacks picked up one more run in the sixth, but Emmel, the CCAA pitcher of the year, finished strong and hung on in her seventeenth complete game of the season.
Emmel also pitched on Saturday for the Seawolves, turning in a great two-hitter performance as SSU handed Cal State Stanislaus their first tournament loss by winning 5-2. This time Sonoma struck first, scoring on their very first at bat when Stanislaus pitcher Jessica Gauminitz walked in a run.
The Warriors picked two runs in the second however, as Alyssa Guzman and Meghan Franksen both hit solo homers to put Stanislaus up 2-1.
The Seawolves answered back with a homer of their own in the sixth when Kayla Ledford went deep to tie the ball game 2-2.
The game would remain tied until the ninth inning when SSU, with only one out remaining, scored off a single and an error by the center fielder that scored their runner on first. Stanislaus gave up two more runs to SSU in the ninth off singles, and Emmel closed effectively as SSU hung on to their 5-2 lead for the win.
Since this tournament had a double-elimination structure, SSU ended up playing Stanislaus again on Sunday, but were unable to pull of another win, losing both games of the double-header. The Warriors put up their only two runs early in the fourth inning in game one of this series off of a double by Kimiko Wright. SSU answered back with a run in the fifth, but were unable to pull another upset and lost the game 2-1.
The second game was filled with errors for the Seawolves, who committed three unforced errors in the third inning, which lead to their downfall. The warriors capitalized on the poor defense by scoring seven runs in this game, holding Sonoma to only two runs and advancing to the Super Regional Series in Utah.
These two losses mark the end of SSU's season as they finish out with a 36-25 overall record.
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