SACRAMENTO -- After spending the better part of the last two weeks on the road, the Sacramento State baseball team returns to the friendly confines of John Smith Field this week, opening a run of four straight games at home with a midweek contest against Central Valley rival Fresno State on Tuesday (April 12). First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.

PLAY BALL…
WHAT: Fresno State (15-16) at Sacramento State (15-16)
WHEN: Tuesday, April 12, 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...
Fresno State: RHP Trevor Garcia (2-0, 2.08 ERA, 15 APP, 3 GS, 26.0 IP, 27 K's, 5 BB)
Sacramento State: LHP Noah Lucchesi (0-4, 6.23 ERA, 8 APP, 6 GS, 26.0 IP, 16 K's, 5 BB)

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS…
Fresno State enters the week with a 15-16 overall record and a 9-6 mark in Mountain West Conference play after taking 2-of-3 from league rival New Mexico at home over the weekend… Three of the team's last five games have been decided by a single run, all losses… The Bulldogs are 5-5 on the road this season, but haven't had a road contest since completing a sweep of San Diego State on March 27… Junior catcher Zach Morgan is batting .379 with 15 doubles, four home runs, and 22 RBI, slugging .597 on the year with a 1.032 OPS… Three other Bulldogs are batting better than .300 on the season, including junior outfielder Ivan Luna, who shares the team lead with six home runs and a team-best 28 RBI… The Fresno State pitching staff has combined for a 4.21 ERA over 278 innings, holding opponents to a .255 average.

AGAINST FRESNO STATE…
The Bulldogs lead the all-time series with the Hornets by a 58-20 count according to records that date back to 1986… The two former WAC rivals haven't met on the diamond since the 2017 season when Fresno State won a pair of midweek contests by the scores of 9-0 in Sacramento and 9-2 in Fresno… Sacramento State's last win in the series came on April 27, 2016, by a 5-4 score in 11 innings in a contest played at Raley Field (now Sutter Health Park)… The Hornets trail the series, 26-11, in games played at John Smith Field… FSU is 7-3 in the last 10 games in the series.

AGAINST THE MOUNTAIN WEST…
Sacramento State is a combined 98-182 against the current Mountain West Conference alignment, with the majority of the games coming against Nevada (34-59), Fresno State (20-59), and San Jose State (25-38)… The Hornets are 0-1 against the Mountain West this season, falling at Nevada on April 15.

LAST TIME OUT…
Sacramento State broke out the bats in the series finale at New Mexico State, clubbing four home runs in a 14-6 victory over the Aggies and clinching its second straight WAC series win… The Hornets hung on to win the opener, 6-5, before dropping a one-run contest, 10-9, in game two... Sacramento State scored its 29 runs thanks to 37 hits, hitting double-digits in that category in all three games.

LOOKING AHEAD…
Following Tuesday's game against Fresno State, Sacramento State remains home to host WAC rival Seattle U in a three-game series beginning Thursday (April 14) and running through Saturday (April 16) due to the Easter holiday. Game times are scheduled for 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and Noon on Saturday.

HORNET SHORT HOPS…
• Sacramento State is 0-5 in midweek games this season and has lost its last six straight such games, looking for its first win since an 11-6 triumph at Kansas on April 27, 2021.
• The 29 runs scored against New Mexico State in last week's series were the most in a three-game series since the Hornets scored 33 at Northern Colorado on May 3-5, 2019, and the second-highest total in a series this season behind only the 31 runs scored in a four-game set against Northern Illinois to start the year.
• Sunday's 14 runs scored marked the team's second-highest total of the year and its fifth double-digit scoring performance of the season — its first since scoring 13 in the finale at Seattle U on March 19.
• The 37 hits in the three-games against the Aggies were the most since Sacramento State finished with 37 in the four-game series against the Huskies.
• The four home runs slugged by the Hornets in games two and three against New Mexico State were a team season high, and the most since hitting four at California Baptist on May 9, 2021.
• As a team, Sacramento State's 36 home runs are tied for fourth in the WAC with Grand Canyon and seven back of conference leader Abilene Christian (43).
• The Hornets have now hit a home run in eight of their last nine games (17 total).
• Five of Sacramento State's eight home runs over the weekend were of the three-run variety after hitting only three, three-run home runs entering the weekend.
• Meanwhile, half of the team's 36 home runs this season have been solo shots.
• Sophomore Cesar Valero is coming off a powerful player of the week-type performance at New Mexico State over the weekend, hitting .385 against the Aggies while slugging 1.385 thanks to a pair of two home run games and 11 RBI.
• Valero now leads the Western Athletic Conference — and ranks No. 19 in the NCAA standing just three off national leaders Andy Garriola (Old Dominion), Jason Hunchman (Tennessee Tech), and Kevin Parada (Georgia Tech) — with his 12 home runs, which are the most by a Hornet hitter since Rhys Hoskins slugged 12 in 2014.
• Valero also ranks among the top 10 in the WAC with 36 RBI (4th), 30 runs scored (t9th), a .675 slugging percentage (3rd), and 42 total bases (4th).
• Along with Valero's four home runs, Jorge Bojorquez slugged his fourth of the season, Martin Vincelli-Simard and Dylan McPhillips each hit their second of the year, and Dawsen Bacho hit his first.
• Bojorquez enters the week on a team-best seven-game hitting streak — and has reached base safely in each of his last eight games — batting .393 (11-for-28) with seven runs scored and six RBI, while slugging four doubles and three home runs.
• Senior Nick Iwasa has also been on base in each of his last seven contests, hitting safely in five of those while walking four times and being hit by a pitch three times. As a result, he has come around to score nine runs, including a pair in each of the Hornets' three games at New Mexico State.
• Freshman Jeffery Heard's run of 11 consecutive games reaching base safely came to an end in game two in Las Cruces, but the newcomer made up for it by going 2-for-2 and reaching base five times in the game thanks to three walks.
• Heard's three walks matches Valero's trio against Grand Canyon on March 25.
• After missing 15 games, Vincelli-Simard carries a four-game hitting streak over his last six appearances into Tuesday's contest, hitting .357 (5-for-14) with five runs scored, two home runs, and six RBI in that span.
• Sophomore right-hander Eli Saul improved to 4-0 with his win in the opener against New Mexico State, winning his second consecutive start and his fourth in the last five.
• Sacramento State is now 8-0 in Saul's starts this year.
• The start was Saul's sixth "quality start" of the season (six innings, three earned runs or fewer) and his fifth straight.
• Earning his second start in as many appearances in Sunday's series finale, Noah Takacs struck out a career-high eight Aggies in the no decision, while his five innings of work marked his longest start of the year and second-longest appearance behind only the 5.1 innings of relief against Pacific on March 29.