Sonoma State advances to Championship game with 13-11 extra-inning victory
CHICO, Calif. – Sonoma State won a battle of attrition Friday night as Travis Babin hit a two-run home run in the 11th inning to lead the Seawolves to a 13-11 victory over Cal State Stanislaus in an elimination game of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Tournament at Nettleton Stadium.
Sonoma State (43-13) advances to face Chico State in Saturday’s championship game at noon. The Seawolves will need two victories to capture the title and gain the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Championships. If necessary, a second game will follow 30 minutes later.
The Seawolves will be seeking their record-fifth CCAA Tournament title and second in a row. Sonoma State defeated UC San Diego, 15-5, in the 2007 championship game at Cal State L.A’s Reeder Field.
Sonoma State and Chico State have combined for seven CCAA tournament crowns and two in a row as the Wildcats were 2006 champions.
Babin’s home run came with two outs in the 11th inning against Andrew Troncale (3-2). Troncale, Cal State Stanislaus’ fifth pitcher of the game, worked 1 1/3 innings, allowed a hit, three runs and walked one.
The Seawolves rallied from a 6-1 deficit, took an 11-8 lead in the 10th inning only to see the Warriors (37-21) tie the game in the bottom half of the frame on a three-run, opposite field home run from Kyle Loretelli. It was Loretelli’s second round tripper of the night, tying a tournament single-game record.
Cal State Stanislaus was within one out of posting a victory before Konrad Thieme’s second home run of the night – a two-run blast to right field – off of Andrew DeMott tied the game, 7-7.
Nick Nosti’s three-run triple in the top of the 10th inning gave Sonoma State a 10-7 lead. It was his fifth hit of the night, tying a tournament record. He also equaled a tournament mark when he scored on a wild pitch to increase Sonoma State’s lead to 11-8.
However, Seawolves’ reliever Tyler Fockler was unable to hold the lead as the Warriors answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning, taking advantage of a leadoff hit batsman, single and an error that preceded Loretelli’s home run.
Sonoma State, which entered the tournament ranked third in the country in fielding percentage, contributed to Cal State Stanislaus’ cause by committing a season-high six errors that resulted in four unearned runs.
The combined 24 runs scored were one shy of the tournament-record 25 set in 2001 when Cal Poly Pomona defeated Sonoma State, 13-12, in a first-round game at Nettleton Stadium.
The two clubs combined for 26 hits against 10 pitchers.
Nosti finished the night 5-for-6 with four runs scored and three RBI, while Loretelli led the Warriors with three hits, three runs scored and four RBI.