Sonoma State’s Softball team’s fearsome reputation continues to make its rounds through the league. Four games were fought between Cal Poly Humbolt’s Lumberjacks and SSU’s Seawolves. It tested the Seawolves to their very limits until finally, the Lumberjacks started to cave from the Seawolf offense in the series finale as the Seawolves swept.
As the teams met for the first time on March 24, it was the Seawolves who came out swinging, scoring in the first inning to immediately put pressure on their opposition. In the third inning when the Lumberjacks tied the game, The Seawolves knew they would have to reassert themselves on top.
It took until the sixth inning for either team to break the deadlock. It was then that Jordyn Martinez made it home off of Sklar Linnane’s hit, giving the Seawolves a narrow lead going into the final inning. With all to play for, Pitcher Charlie Johnson kept The Lumberjacks scoreless and earned a save.
Things would hardly get any easier for the Seawolves as later in that same day in their second meeting, The Lumberjacks would start to get the swing of it. They led the first inning 2-1 and managed to keep the next four innings quiet. That struggle would eventually culminate in a more than timely sixth-inning breakthrough; smashing home three runs to put the Seawolves up 4-2. Johnson again came in clutch, allowing zero slip-ups. Fellow pitcher Bailee Reed spoke about this start to the series saying, “From the big hits, team offense, great pitching performances, pitchers having each other’s backs on the mound in the relief position, this was great for the team.”
The next day, in the third game of the series the Lumberjacks got off to a great start when they went up 1-0 in the third inning. In the following inning, the Seawolves tied the game up. This stalemate would go into extra innings as the Seawolves walked it off 2-1. It was once again Martinez as she hit a walk-off single in the eighth inning of the game.
With the dust starting to settle in the battlegrounds after the walk-off, the two teams still had one game to go. However, the constant drain of narrowly losing each game was clearly starting to wear on the Lumberjacks. The Seawolves stamped the series sweep with 8-0 victory in the final game. Another triumphant victory improved SSU to a solid record of 22-4 this season as well as 16-3 in conference games. The series sweep brought the Seawolves winning streak to seven games.
“I feel that all four wins this weekend over Cal Poly Humboldt were truly team wins and every single person contributed to each win”, Reed said. “We are currently 1st place in the conference and ranked 13th in the nation…We have so much grit and pride, and we want it all.” Infielder Courtney Jack added, “I hope that we as a team can continue to grow in these coming days as we take on five teams in our upcoming Tournament In Turlock.”