This past weekend was a successful and special one for the SSU baseball team as they swept Cal State San Bernardino and clinched a spot in the CCAA(California Collegiate Athletic Association) tournament. That wasn’t the only reason for celebration as the Seawolves also had senior day during the final game on Saturday. The team commemorated its 12 seniors on their special day as they wrapped up the weekend with their fourth straight win. 

“It feels so good to be back in the playoffs after an eight year drought. It was hard fought throughout the whole season. All the hard work and dedication my team has put in is paying off.” Said senior Josh Medina.

Junior Nick Roth got things going for the Seawolves as he started the first game of the series. Roth had a solid outing as he went six innings with three strikeouts and only gave up four runs. The Seawolf offense was a complete team effort as nine players on the team recorded a hit. In the seventh inning, sophomore Hogan Weaver came in but only faced two batters as he was shortly relieved by junior Michael Benz as he wrapped up the inning. Benz would go on to pitch one more inning before the Seawolves brought in their swiss army knife Medina to close the game in the ninth. Medina would earn his fifth save of the season as the team won 8-6. 

The early success for the Seawolves would follow in the doubleheader the next day for the team. The Seawolves would take the first game 5-1 with the highlights being freshman Blake Janowicz going seven innings while only giving up one run and senior Nick Simmons hitting his second home run of the series. With the team being up 2-0 in the series they would now look for their third win to seal the weekend and hopefully secure their spot in the CCAA tournament. 

For the third game, Benz would get the nod from Head Coach John Goelz. Benz had an excellent showing as he pitched a walkless four innings with two strikeouts and didn’t give up a single run. Offensively, the team was led by junior Logan Douglas, senior Otis Statum and senior Cole Brodnansky as all three batters had multi-hit games with Douglas being the standout going three for three with three RBIs. In the fifth, Medina would relieve Benz and wrap up the game as he pitched three shutout innings and propelled the Seawolves to an 8-0 win. The victory not only secured the series win but also the team’s first CCAA tournament appearance since 2014. 

The final game of the series was a day of celebration as it was senior day for the team. This however didn’t impact the drive of the team, as the Seawolves kept the pedal to the metal with another dominant 7-1 win. All twelve seniors made the field at some point during the game with Medina once again showing his versatility. He went four for four with two home runs and four RBIs. Other highlights included senior Sir Gomez getting his first start of the season and senior Josh Lopez hitting his third home run of the year. 

“Senior day was something out of a movie or book. Everything went perfectly and I couldn’t ask for a better game to end my career as a Seawolf,” said Medina.  

The Seawolves will head to Chico State on Wednesday to play San Bernardino once again at 7 p.m. in the first round of playoffs. Fans can watch the Seawolves compete for the CCAA title at ccaanetwork.com.