ROHNERT PARK – When Matt Memeo singled home Conor Buestad in the ninth inning to give the SF State baseball team a 7-6 lead against Sonoma State, the Gators’ dugout erupted with enthusiasm.

But after the nation's second-ranked Sonoma State scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth to win 8-7 on March 24, the SF State players gathered their gear in silence and headed home following what Gators’ coach Tony Dress felt was the team’s toughest loss of the season.

“I want to say we didn’t beat ourselves because we used everyone on the bench,” Dress said. “We exhausted everyone. We even brought pitchers in to pinch-run.”

Coming into the game, the Seawolves had outscored the Gators 92-23 in seven wins against SF State. The trend continued the first five innings as Sonoma State led 6-0 and SF State only had one hit on offense.

But like many times this season, SF State (4-23, 1-15 California Collegiate Athletic Association) was able to get back in the game.

Matt Kavanaugh ignited the Gators’ comeback when he hit his fourth homer of the season, a two-run shot deep over the right-field fence in the sixth to cut the lead to 6-2. In the seventh, Bobby Carini’s two-run single followed by a sacrifice fly by Kavanaugh brought SF State within a run. And in the eighth, Jake Moore’s pinch-hit RBI-single tied the game at 6-6.

"Our defense is getting tougher, our pitchers are pitching ahead [in the count], and we’re doing what it takes to start winning,” Dress said. “Now we got to get our team to learn how to get over that hump.”

As the Gators produced on offense, Jeff Henning came into pitch for SF State in the fifth inning and quieted the bats of Sonoma State. Although Henning wasn’t overpowering, he only gave up one run on three hits with two strikeouts in four innings out of the bullpen.

“He threw strikes, he pitched his game,” Dress said. “Obviously, he shut them down the time he spent (in the game).”

Although Henning gave the Gators a solid performance, Dress elected to go with the Gators’ top pitcher, Zach Beal, in the ninth.

After Sonoma State tied the game, the Seawolves had a runner on second with two outs. Sonoma State’s Robert Walden hit a single that fell just in front of Ernie Munoz in centerfield that scored Derek Harms to win the game. This is the 20th win in a row for the Seawolves (26-1, 14-0).

Although the move didn’t work out for SF State, Dress doesn’t regret going with Beal to close out the game.

“We did the right thing I think coming in with our No. 1 guy to throw in the ninth,” Dress said.

Kavanaugh finished 1-for-4 with three RBIs while Munoz and Carini each went 2-for-5 for the Gators. Matt Edgecombe went 2-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to 23 games.

“Those things really don’t matter until we start winning,” Dress said of individual success.

The Gators return home on Thursday to begin a five-game series against Hawaii Pacific at 3 p.m. Both teams will play a double-header on Friday and Saturday starting at 1 p.m.