COURTESY// Justin Ferrari

Sophomore outfielder Braeden Holliday celebrates his go ahead grand slam with teammates in a victory against Holy Names University.

The spring semester has started at Sonoma State, welcoming the first action for Seawolf baseball since the pandemic began.  So far this season, Sonoma State is 3-3 through the first two weekends.  One star player, who has stood out within the start of the season, is Junior business major Braeden Holliday, leading the team in multiple statistical categories.

Holliday is a junior outfielder for the Seawolves, who came to SSU from Granite Bay High School.  Through the first six games of the season, he is batting .538 and slugging a strong 1.077.  To go along with that, he has two home runs, one of which was a grand slam, and 8 RBIs that leads the team. 

“He’s put in a lot of really hard work to get to this point, and now all that hard work is paying off, and I’m excited about what he’s doing,” said Head Coach John Goelz, who is entering his 37th year at Sonoma State via sonomaseawolves.com. 

According to Holliday, playing for the Seawolves has been a great and welcoming experience all around.  “The coaches are very supportive and offer great advice, both about baseball and life.  On top of this, my teammates are great guys to be around.  It has been a smooth transition and I almost instantly feel like I am a part of the team,” says Holliday.

Off the field, Holliday is studying for a business degree with a concentration in marketing.  While he is currently unsure how he wants to use his degree, Holliday takes school very seriously and strives for good grades.  He likes listening to good music, cooking, and watching The Book of Boba Fett with his roommates in his leisure time.

Managing to balance playing for the baseball team and keeping good grades requires lots of dedication.  “I head out to the field around 11:45, from there, I take swings in the batting cage for about an hour until practice starts,” says Holliday.  “After practice ends around four, some teammates and I go eat in the cafeteria.”

So far this season the Seawolf baseball team is off to a 3-3 start, after winning two out the three games against the Academy of Art University.  Their next series will be starting Friday at 2 p.m. against Fresno Pacific University, with a doubleheader Saturday; game times will be 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.  In two weeks, the Seawolves open up CCAA conference play with rival Chico State on the road.  Even though these games will take place at Chico, all SSU sporting events can be streamed on CCAA Network App for $9.95 a month via sonomaseawolves.com.

With the Sonoma County health order that prevented in-person spectatorship from coming to an end, all Seawolf students and fans are free to come to watch any sporting events. 

Be sure to come out and support all SSU sports teams as they continue their seasons.  Especially be sure to come out to Seawolf diamond to watch the baseball team and see Braeden Holliday continue his excellent start to the season.