Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 ROHNERT PARK, Calif. — The Dominican University of California women's softball team played well on Wednesday at Sonoma State, but crooked innings against the No. 18 team in the country resulted in a pair of non-conference losses, 5-1 and 5-0.

After the Lady Penguins (4-10) left the bases loaded to begin the game, the Seawolves (12-5) got off to a quick start with three consecutive hits in the bottom half of the inning. Four hits in the inning forced Dominican to play from behind early. In the third, Kayla Rodriguez walked on a full count, then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. She came home to score on a single up the middle by Leslie Mesa, who went 3-for-5 on the day.

However, the Seawolves extended the lead from 2-1 to 5-1 in the bottom half of the inning. A five hit third inning led to three more runs for Sonoma State, who backed two-time All-American pitcher Samantha Lipperd with 11 hits on the day.

Lippered, who set the single-game Division II record last season with 26 strikeouts in a game, recorded eight in the game and earned the win to improve to 7-2. Freshman Ashlyn Moriarity worked three innings and took the game one loss for Dominican to fall to 1-5.

In the nightcap, Sonoma State took a 1-0 lead in the third inning. The lead grew to 5-0 for SSU pitcher Amanda Llerena, who pitched five innings of work for the win to improve to 5-3.

Dominican threatened in the sixth. Shortstop Kayla Rodriguez ripped a single up the middle, followed by a Leslie Mesa single to left. Catcher Dominique Perry advanced both runners with a groundout, then Kayleigh Klingberg walked on four straight pitches to load the bases. A fielder's choice ended the inning and left the bases loaded though.

Junior Karly Harris pitched five innings in game two and was charged with the loss, dropping her season record to 3-5.

"We had our opportunities but couldn't push runs across. We left too many people on base. One hit with runners on and it's a completely different ball game," said Head Coach Sarah Iwata, referencing the 12 runners that Dominican left on base. "Our pitchers kept us in the game. We are knocking at the door in these games and it's only a matter of time before we push through."

Dominican returns to Pacific West Conference action on Saturday, March 2 vs. Academy of Art University. The doubleheader, hosted by ArtU, will be played at Mission Blue Field in Brisbane, Calif. First pitch is set for 12:00 p.m.