SACRAMENTO -- Looking to send the month of March out like a lion, the Sacramento State baseball team closes out a brief four-game homestead on Tuesday night (March 29), welcoming Pacific to California's capital city for a non-conference contest at John Smith Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
PLAY BALL…
WHAT: Pacific (7-15) at Sacramento State (11-12)
WHEN: Tuesday, March 29, 2022
TIME: 6 p.m. PT
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
STADIUM: John Smith Field (1,200)
WATCH: ESPN+ (Subscription Required)
LIVE STATS: HornetStats.com
ON THE MOUND
Pacific: RHP Nick Swanson (0-1, 5.02 ERA, 11 APP, 14.1 IP, 10K's, 5 BB)
Sacramento State: RHP Tyler Stewart (1-2, 6.87 ERA, 9 APP, 18.1 IP, 11 K's, 9 BB)
SCOUTING THE TIGERS…
Pacific comes into the week with a 7-15 overall record and a 0-6 mark in West Coast Conference play after being swept by Pepperdine on the road over the weekend… The Tigers have lost their last seven straight dating back to a 10-7 win over CSU Bakersfield in the series finale back on March 13… Six of the team's seven wins have come at home as Pacific is just 1-10 away from Klein Family Field in Stockton this season… Junior Brandon Motheral leads the team with a .339 average, slugging four doubles, a pair of home runs, and driving in 10 runs… Junior Thomas Gavello leads the team with five home runs and 20 RBI… As a staff, the Tigers' pitchers have posted a 7.09 ERA combined in 22 games, with opponents batting .282 against them this year.
AGAINST PACIFIC…
Sacramento State holds a 56-42 lead in the all-time series with Pacific according to records that date back to 1986, including a 35-17 advantage at home… The Hornets have won three of the last four, including midweek wins in 2020 (9-2) and 2021 (8-5) at home… Sacramento State is 6-4 in the last 10 meetings with the Tigers, including a 4-2 mark at home in that span… Pacific's last win in the series came in 2019, closing out a four-game series in which the Tigers won three of four with a 6-2 victory.
AGAINST THE WEST COAST CONFERENCE…
Sacramento State has played the 10 current baseball-playing members of the West Coast Conference pretty even over the years, sporting a 164-170-1 record against the league since 1986.
LAST TIME OUT…
After having the final game of their trip to the Pacific Northwest at Washington rained out, the Hornets returned home to host Western Athletic Conference West Division leader Grand Canyon over the weekend in a trio of close contests befitting a series featuring two of the last three conference champions. Sacramento State opened with a thrilling walk-off win in the series opener on Friday (March 25), as Jorge Bojorquez tied the game in the ninth with a sacrifice fly and Gunner Gouldsmith drove home the winning run for a 3-2 victory. One swing of the bat by the 'Lopes evened the series on Saturday as Juan Colato's three-run home run in the seventh was the difference in a 5-2 win. On Sunday, it was the Hornets who jumped out to the early lead with runs in the first and third innings, but GCU was able to take advantage of three Hornet errors to rally for a 3-2 win and a series victory.
LOOKING AHEAD…
Following Tuesday night's tussle with the Tigers under the lights, Hornet fans will have to wait two weeks to catch their team at home as Sacramento State plays its next seven games away from the friendly confines at Utah Valley (April 1-3), at Nevada (April 5), and at New Mexico State (April 8-10). In fact, the Hornets will play only six games total in the month of April with games against Fresno State (April 12), Seattle U (April 14-16), and the first two games of a series against California Baptist (April 29-30).
HORNET SHORT HOPS…
• With their win in the opener against Grand Canyon, the Hornets remained undefeated in series openers, improving to 6-0 on the season in those games and outscoring opponents by a 47-15 count.
• Last Friday's win over Grand Canyon marked Sacramento State's fourth come-from-behind win of the season (trailed 2-0 entering the eighth en route to a 3-2 win) and its second walk-off victory of the year along with a 2-0 triumph over Northern Illinois on Feb. 19 thanks to Josh Walker's two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh.
• Half of the Hornets' 20 home runs have been solo shots, including six of the last nine balls to leave the yard.
• Sophomore Cesar Valero enters the week on a 10-game hitting streak — a run that ranks behind only teammate Jorge Bojorquez's streak of hits in the first 11 games this year.
• Valero is batting .368 (14-for-38) with 10 runs scored, six walks, and five RBI, during his run.
• Valero's two-hit performance in the series finale against Grand Canyon marked his team-best eight multi-hit game of the season.
• Senior Steven Moretto is also on a bit a streak, collecting hits in each of his last six games, batting .450 (9-for-20) with three runs scored and three RBI.
• Moretto's two hits in the finale against GCU was his 45th career multi-hit game, matching teammate Keith Torres for the most among active Hornets entering the week.
• Valero's home run in the finale against the 'Lopes was his eighth of the year — the most since Matt Smith and Moretto finished with eight last season.
• Catcher Dylan McPhillips threw out three would-be base stealers in the series against Grand Canyon, upping his total to seven (in 17 attempts) on the year — ranking second in the WAC behind only Dixie State's Kaden Hollow.
• Sophomore right-hander Eli Saul posted his fourth "quality start" (six innings, three earned runs or fewer) of the season — and his third straight — in the Hornets' win over Grand Canyon last Friday, allowing just two runs over seven innings in the no decision.
• In those quality starts, Saul is 2-0 with a 1.30 ERA, allowing just four earned on 17 hits with 24 strikeouts and a .179 average against.
• Freshman right-hander Colin Hunter is the only other Hornet with at least one "quality start," doing so twice against Northern Illinois on Feb. 19 (a seven-inning no-hitter) and against Grand Canyon on March 27 in the series finale.
• Junior right-hander Jack Zalasky has gone at least two innings of relief in seven of his eight appearances on the year, ranking third on the team with 22 strikeouts to stand behind only Saul (29) and Hunter (28) in the category.
• Freshman outfielder Jeffery Heard has reached base safely in each of his last five games, collecting hits in the four of those while also drawing a walk in each of those five contests.
• Sophomore right-hander Kevin Haynes has allowed just one run in his last 4.1 innings of relief, scattering six hits and striking out six in that span while lowering his ERA by more than a run in the process.
• One of the Hornets' most effective relievers thus far, sophomore right-hander Wesley Harper has surrendered only one run in 6.2 innings of relief, allowing just five hits over his last seven appearances with six strikeouts.
