SACRAMENTO -- A season-long stretch of eight consecutive games at John Smith Field comes to a close this weekend as the Sacramento State baseball team officially opens Western Athletic Conference play with a three-game series against division rival Dixie State. The Hornets and Trailblazers open on Friday night (March 11) at 6 p.m., with game two scheduled for a 4 p.m. start on Saturday (March 12). The two teams conclude their series on Sunday (March 13), with first pitch scheduled for Noon.
PLAY BALL...
WHAT: Dixie State (6-5, 2-1 WAC) at Sacramento State (8-5, 0-0 WAC)
WHEN: Friday-Sunday, March 11-13, 2022
TIMES: 6 p.m. / 4 p.m. / Noon
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
STADIUM: John Smith Field (1,200)
WATCH: ESPN+ (Subscription Required) - Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
LIVE STATS: HornetStats.com - Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
GAME NOTES: Sacramento State | Dixie State Baseball
IN THE RANKINGS...
Neither Dixie State, nor Sacramento State, are ranked in the top 25 entering this weekend's games; However the Hornets are receiving votes in this week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll... Sacramento State was ranked as high as No. 20 in the nation on Feb. 28 following a 7-0 start, also ranking No. 23 in the D1 Baseball poll, No. 24 by the NCBWA, and No. 25 in the USA Today coaches poll... It marked the first time in the program's Division I history that Sacramento State has appeared in those respective rankings... The Hornets debuted in the national polls for the first time as a Division I program in 2021, coming in at No. 24 in back-to-back weeks in the Collegiate Baseball poll on April 5 and 12.
SCOUTING DIXIE STATE...
In only its second year as a Division I program (the school started its reclassification from Division II in July of 2020), the Trailblazers enter the weekend with a 6-5 overall record, opening WAC play last weekend by taking two games from Utah Valley at home... Dixie State won the opener 16-10, and added a 12-1 victory a day later, before falling in the series finale by an 8-3 score... The Trailblazers also took three of their four games against North Dakota State, and own a win over perennial power Arizona State, while playing then-No. 11 Arizona tough in a 2-1 defeat... Sophomore infielder Shane Taylor leads all DSU regulars with a .395 average, slugging a pair of home runs and driving in a team-high 15... Five players are hitting better than .300 on the year, helping Dixie State to a .293 team average... The Trailblazers' pitching staff sports a combined 5.36 ERA with 106 strikeouts in 94 innings, holding opponents to a .287 average... Saturday's scheduled starter, Brett Porthan, is a team-best 2-0 with a 4.15 ERA and a team-high 19 strikeouts.
AGAINST THE TRAILBLAZERS...
In the first-ever meetings between the two programs in 2021, Sacramento State took three of the four games from Dixie State at home, winning the first three games of the series by the scores of 9-3, 9-4 (7 inn.), and 10-5, before falling in the finale, 7-5.
AGAINST THE WAC…
Sacramento State is a combined 143-99 against the current alignment of the Western Athletic Conference baseball roster, having faced eight of the league's 12 members in its history... The Hornets are 46-39 against New Mexico State, 29-18 against Utah Valley, 21-14 against Seattle U, 19-16 against Grand Canyon, 18-7 against UT Rio Grande Valley, 4-3 against California Baptist, and 3-1 against both Tarleton and Dixie State... Sacramento State has not faced some of the league's newest members: Lamar, Abilene Christian, Sam Houston State, and Stephen F. Austin, after they joined the WAC from the Southland Conference this year.
FOR OPENERS (CONFERENCE STYLE)...
The Hornets enter their 21st season of WAC play at home for only the ninth time overall and the second time in the last six years... Sacramento State has won each of its last three conference-opening series, winning on the road at New Mexico State (2-1) in 2018, at home against UTRGV (2-1) in 2019, and at Tarleton (3-1) in 2021... The Hornets' last series loss to open conference play came in 2017 on the road at former member Northern Colorado (3-0)... Sacramento State is a combined 29-32 on opening weekend in conference play, winning seven of its last 10... This weekend marks the first time that the Hornets will open WAC play against Dixie State.
LAST TIME OUT...
Freshman Jeffery Heard slugged his first career home run to tie the game early and sophomore Jorge Bojorquez added a season-high three hits, but visiting Saint Mary's used a pair of big innings to pull away from Sacramento State en route to an 8-2 victory. Heard's second-inning blast tied the game at one apiece before the Gaels scored seven unanswered to win for the 12th time in 13 games to start the year. Nick Iwasa added an RBI double in the seventh to cap the scoring for the Hornets, while Colby Lunsford added a single, walk, and run scored for the home team.
STRIKE FIRST, STRIKE HARD, NO MERCY SIR!...
Sacramento is 6-1 this year when scoring first this season, outscoring opponents by a 48-25 count through the first four innings.
CAN'T WIN IF YOU DON'T SCORE...
The Hornets are a perfect 6-0 this season when scoring five runs or more in a game, but just 2-5 when scoring fewer than five.
PERFECT 10...
Sacramento State's 10-run fourth inning in the win over Houston Baptist last week were the most in a single inning since scoring 12 in the sixth as part of a 20-5 run over UT Rio Grande Valley on May 21 of 2021, while the team's 21 runs were the most since out-gunning California Baptist in a 21-10 win on March 29, 2019.
THE HITS JUST KEPT ON COMING...
The Hornets' 18 hits in the opener against the Huskies were a season high and the most since they had 18 in the 2021 win over UTRGV and the fourth time this year that Sacramento State has collected 10-or-more hits in a game this year. Half (four doubles, two triples, and three home runs) of those 18 hits went for extra bases -- the most since the team had nine (seven doubles and two home runs) in that same win over the Vaqueros.
VALER-OH MY!...
There aren't many players in the country that had a day quite like sophomore Cesar Valero had in the opener against Houston Baptist, finishing 5-for-5 with five runs scored, three home runs in his first three at-bats, and a triple, falling just a double short of the cycle in a record setting day. How big of a day was it?
• His three home runs made him the fifth different Hornet to hit three home runs in a game along with Tim Wheeler (March 8, 2009, vs. Saint Mary's and April 11, 2009, vs. Utah Valley), Gabe Jacobo (April 3, 2008, at Louisiana Tech), Jesse Schmidt (April 18, 2003, at Centenary), and Chris Kinsey (March 16, 2002, at Cal Poly).
• His 10 RBI broke the school record previously held by Josh Payne, who drove in nine against Rhode Island as part of a 31-3 win on March 8, 1997.
• Valero's five hits were one shy of Brandon Marshall's record of six against UC Davis on April 29, 1998, while his five runs scored were one back of Shawn McGuire's mark of six set against Rhode Island in 1997.
WE HAVE COME TO PRAISE CESAR...
Entering this weekend's games, Valero's 10 RBI are the most by any player in the NCAA thus far this season, while the three home runs make him one of five in the country to accomplish the feat along with Oakland's Ian Cleary, Texas Tech's Parker Kelly, Cincinnati's J.P. Sponseller, and NC State's Tommy White.
NOT ONE, NOT TWO...
Never mind three home runs in a game as a player, the last time the Hornets hit three home runs in a game as a TEAM was on May 9, 2021, at California Baptist when Sacramento State hit four: Ryan Walstad, Matt Smith, Dawsen Bacho, and Steven Moretto, left the yard in a 14-1 victory over the Lancers.
ALL GOOD THINGS...
Sophomore Jorge Bojorquez's 12-game hitting streak came to an end in the series finale against Houston Baptist, but the Nogales, Ariz., native got back into the swing of things against Saint Mary's on Tuesday night, finishing with a season-high three hits against the Gaels. Bojorquez's run was the longest hitting streak by a Hornet since Matt Smith finished with a 16-game streak from April 17 to May 9 last year.
SAFE AND SOUND...
Do you know the way to first base? Bojorquez and Nick Iwasa sure do, reaching base safely in 14 and 11 consecutive contests entering this weekend's contests to lead the team. Bojorquez, whose streak includes his final appearance at the plate in 2021, has hit safely in 13 of those, drawing a walk in the other contest to keep the streak alive, while Iwasa has found a way in all 11 of his appearances this year, hitting safely in seven games and leading the team with 10 walks to make up the difference and post a .489 on-base percentage.
I-"WALK"-A THIS WAY...
Iwasa'a 10 walks rank him among the most patient hitters in the WAC thus far this season, standing tied for second in the league behind UTRGV's Bryan Sturges, who has walked 13 times. Iwasa is one of only five players who have drawn double-digit walks entering this weekend's contests.
6+4+3=2...
Ahhh... baseball math. The Hornets have turned two 11 times this season, ranking second in the WAC (Grand Canyon with 12) as of March 8 and among the top 25 in the nation (tied for No. 21) behind New Mexico (17).
THE 'PEN IS MIGHTIER...
A big part of Sacramento State's success has come from the strength of its bullpen, which has posted the win in seven of the team's eight wins this year, holding opponents to a .243 average. Junior right-hander Jack Zalasky has been huge in relief for the Hornets, ranking among the nation's winningest pitchers with a 3-0 record without allowing a run in 11 innings of work. He has struck out 10 in that stretch (against only two walks) and held opposing hitters to a .114 average.
MORETTO MOVES UP...
Moretto's eventual game-winning home run in the eighth inning of the Hornets' game two win at Long Beach State broke a three-way tie for fifth on the school's career list, giving him 28 for his career to move past both Vinny Esposito (2015-18) and Tim Wheeler (2007-09) and place him just one back of Gabe Jacobo (2006-08) for fourth. With his 125 RBI, Moretto moved into sole possession of eighth on that category's all-time list, just one back of Esposito in seventh and three away from a spot in the top five.
