SACRAMENTO -- Sacramento State's five-game road trip continues this weekend, sending the Hornets to the Pacific Northwest for four games in the "Evergreen State." Sacramento State resumes Western Athletic Conference play with a three-game series against division rival Seattle U at Bannerwood Park in nearby Bellevue, Wash., before remaining in the "Emerald City" to take on Washington in a single non-conference game on Monday (March 21) at Husky Ballpark.
Game times for the series against the Redhawks have changed slightly with the threat of rain in the forecast, with a doubleheader now scheduled for Friday (March 18) at 2 p.m., and the finale scheduled for Saturday (March 9) at 2 p.m., with Sunday an option in case rain washes out a game. First pitch against the Huskies is scheduled for 6 p.m.
PLAY BALL…
WHAT: Sacramento State (9-8, 1-2 WAC) at Seattle U (4-9, 2-1 WAC)
WHEN: Friday-Saturday, March 18-19, 2022
TIME: 2 p.m. PT (DH) / Noon
WHERE: Bellevue, Wash.
STADIUM: Bannerwood Park (300)
WATCH: WAC Digital Network
LIVE STATS: GoSeattleU.com - Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
WHAT: Sacramento State (9-8) at Washington (9-8)
WHEN: Monday, March 21, 2022
TIME: 6 p.m. PT
WHERE: Seattle, Wash.
STADIUM: Husky Ballpark (2,500)
WATCH: Pac-12 Network Live Stream
LIVE STATS: GoHuskies.com
GAME NOTES: Sacramento State | Seattle U Baseball | Washington Baseball
ON THE MOUND…
At Seattle U (Game 1): RHP Eli Saul (1-0, 3.86 ERA) vs. RHP Nestor German (0-1, 6.14 ERA)
At Seattle U (Game 2): RHP Noah Takacs (0-1, 12.71 ERA) vs. LHP Peter Chronowski (1-2, 2.37 ERA)
At Seattle U (Game 3): RHP Colin Hunter (1-1, 4.09 ERA) vs. RHP Brady Liddle (1-2, 5.50 ERA)
At Washington: LHP Noah Lucchesi (0-2, 2.81 ERA) vs. TBA
IN THE RANKINGS...
The Hornets are still receiving votes in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll as of March 15... Seattle U and Washington are unranked as of this week... 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 SEATTLE U...
The Redhawks enter the weekend with a 4-9 overall record after taking two of three from league rival New Mexico State last weekend in Las Cruces, N.M... Seattle U won the first two games by the scores of 13-12 and 4-3, before falling 9-0 in the series finale... This on the heels of a start that saw the Redhawks open the year 1-7... Seattle's midweek contest against Washington State was cancelled due to inclement weather... Sophomore Derek Gellos leads Seattle U offensively with a .346 average to go with a home run and five RBI... Junior Shane Jamison is the only other Redhawk hitting better than .300 on the year, batting .309 with a team-high four home runs and 12 RBI... The Seattle U pitching staff sports a 7.26 ERA with 91 strikeouts in 114 innings, while opponents are hitting .323 against them.
AGAINST THE REDHAWKS…
Sacramento State is a combined 21-14 against Seattle U in the history of the series between the two teams according to records that date back to 1986... The Redhawks took 3-of-4 from the Hornets in last year's series at John Smith Field, with Sacramento State winning the finale, 11-4... In its last trip to Seattle, Sacramento State won 2-of-3 after dropping the opener... The Hornets are 9-7 against the Redhawks on the road, winning each of the last two series following a sweep by Seattle U in 2015.
SCOUTING WASHINGTON...
The Huskies enter the week with a 9-8 overall record and will host a three-game Pac-12 series against in-state rival Washington State prior to hosting Sacramento State... Washington has lost three straight heading into the weekend, dropping 2-of-3 at conference rival Utah and a home midweek decision to Portland... Sophomore Johnny Tincher leads the Huskies offensively, batting .345 with six doubles, a pair of home runs and 11 RBI -- the latter tied for the team lead... Washington is batting .242 as a team, outscoring opponents by an 82-65 count thus far this year... The Huskies' pitching staff, meanwhile, sports a combined 3.41 ERA and 164 strikeouts in 153 innings, holding opponents to a .253 average... Reliever Stefan Raeth has struck out a team-high 30 in 19.1 innings over 10 appearances, allowing only one earned run (0.47 ERA).
AGAINST THE HUSKIES…
Sacramento State is 3-6 all time against Washington according to records dating back to 1986, but the two programs haven't met since splitting a four-game series in Sacramento back in 2018... The Hornets have made only one trip to Seattle to take on Washington, with the Huskies winning 3-of-4 in 2017... The two programs first met back in 1989 in Sacramento, with Washington posting a 10-5 win.
AGAINST THE PAC-12…
Sacramento State has faced 10 of the 11 current baseball playing members of the Pac-12 Conference, missing only USC in the all-time series history... The Hornets are 72-110 against Pac-12 opponents according to available records, with 14 wins against both Stanford and Washington State, and 11 against both Utah and California... Sacramento State is 4-6 in its last 10 against Pac-12 schools, last posting a 3-2 win over then-No. 24 Stanford back on March 29, 2021, that led to the Hornets' first-ever national ranking... Monday marks the second Pac-12 opponent of the year for the Hornets, who fell at California by the score of 6-2 in Berkeley back on March 1.
