Box Score SACRAMENTO -- Sophomore Cesar Valero finished 5-for-5 with three home runs, a triple, and a school-record 10 RBI, helping lead No. 20 Sacramento State to a 21-4 rout of visiting Houston Baptist in seven innings on Friday afternoon in the series opener at John Smith Field.
The Hornets improved to 8-1 overall on the year, collecting 18 hits on the day — nine of those going for extra bases — while posting its highest run total since out-gunning California Baptist for a 21-10 win on March 29, 2019. The Huskies fell to 2-8 overall with the loss.
Valero's 10 RBI broke Josh Payne's record of nine set on March 8, 1997, against Rhode Island in a 31-3 victory. The Calgary, Alberta, native homered in each of his first three at bats — two to right and another to centerfield — tying the feat last accomplished by Tim Wheeler on March 8, 2009, against Saint Mary's. Valero is the sixth Hornet to hit three home runs in a game along with Wheeler (twice), Gabe Jacobo (April 3, 2008, at Louisiana Tech), Jesse Schmidt (April 18, 2003, at Centenary), and Chris Kinsey (March 16, 2002, at Cal Poly).
Just missing the cycle after singling in two runs in the fourth and lacing a triple to the gap in right center in the fifth, Valero's five-hit day was one shy of Brandon Marshall's six hits against UC Davis on April 29, 1998, while his five runs scored were one shy of Shawn McGuire's mark of six set in that win over Rhode Island in 1997.
Valero wasn't the only one with the hot bat as Nick Iwasa finished 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles and three runs scored, Jeffery Heard added two hits and four runs scored after being hit by a pitch twice, Steven Moretto added three runs and a pair of RBI, while Gunner Gouldsmith finished with two hits and two RBI.
Even pinch hitter Trevor Doyle got into the act, lacing a three-run triple down the right field line as part of a 10-run fourth that saw 15 Hornet batters come to the plate.
Sacramento State scored in each of the first five innings, answering a one-out home run by HBU's Diego Davila with a three run first inning, adding four more in the second and three more in the third before exploding with its double-digit fourth inning. Moretto added a sac fly in the fifth to cap the scoring.
Sophomore right-hander Wesley Harper (1-0) was credited with the win in relief for the Hornets, entering with the bases loaded and no one out before inducing a double play and a fly ball that limited the Huskies to just two runs in what could have been a big inning. Harper was part of a bullpen that held the Huskies to just two hits over the final four innings.
Houston Baptist starter Daxton Tinker (0-2) took the loss, allowing seven runs on eight hits over 1.2 innings of work.
The two teams return to John Smith Field for a Saturday doubleheader (March 5) with a pair of scheduled seven-inning contests beginning at 1 p.m.
