Sonoma State’s softball team played a pair of doubleheaders against Monterey Bay last weekend. SSU won the first three games of the series but could not take the fourth game, resulting in a 3-1 series win. This gives the SSU softball team a record of 14-13 overall and 6-10 in conference play, putting them in seventh place in the CCAA, just behind Monterey Bay, according to goccaa.org.

After a close first game, where the Seawolves won 3-2, they carried their momentum into the next two games. They blew out Monterey Bay in these games, outscoring them 17-5, with final scores of 8-4 and 9-1. Unfortunately, SSU could not keep up their high-powered offense in the last game of the series, where they lost 2-0. In this low-scoring affair, the Seawolves could not get their bats going as they only managed five hits.

“Bailee [Reed] pitched phenomenally in the last game, and our defense was flawless,” said junior centerfielder Reagan Hunt. “In the end, we needed to put some hits together.”

  In four games over the weekend, the Seawolves totaled 20 runs and only gave up nine runs to Monterey. They had great performances from many players on both sides of the ball. Senior catcher Jordyn Martinez had quite the weekend. She tallied three hits and five RBIs through the four games. On the mound, Camille Rodrigues had a pair of solid pitching performances. She totaled 12.2 innings across the two games and only gave up two earned runs, along with six strikeouts.

The success for SSU this past weekend started on the defensive side of the field. SSU pitchers combined to only give up nine runs in the four games. They also managed to strike out 17 batters and only gave up 20 hits.

  “Our team was able to win the series this weekend because we executed and made things happen on both defense and offense,” said sophomore left fielder Rylee Nishimoto. “I think a lot of our success came from our pitchers shutting down Monterey Bay and our offense having their back.”

  This was a critical weekend series for the Seawolves as it brought them much closer to Monterey Bay in the standings. They now only sit one game behind Monterey Bay, who is 7-9 in the CCAA and 15-10 overall.

The SSU Softball team will continue their season this Friday and Saturday as they will be traveling to Arcata, Calif., to take on Cal Poly Humboldt. As they move forward in the season, the Seawolves will look to make a splash in the CCAA and fight for a playoff spot. They are below .500 in conference play, but this is no indicator of the team’s goals for the season. The team still believes that they can make their way through the playoffs and eventually win the CCAA championship.

“Our main goal is to take it game by game and eventually win the conference,” said Hunt. “Every day, whether it be at practice or in the weight room, we are working towards the goal of winning the conference.”