SACRAMENTO -- Winners of three consecutive Western Athletic Conference series, the Sacramento State baseball team hits the road for the third time in its last four weekends, heading to St. George, Utah, for a three-game set at Dixie State on April 22-24. Friday's opener is scheduled for 5 p.m. PT, followed by a 1 p.m. PT start on Saturday. First pitch for Sunday's finale is scheduled for 11 a.m.
PLAY BALL…
WHAT: Sacramento State (18-18, 9-9 WAC) at Dixie State (15-20, 9-9 WAC)
WHEN: Friday-Sunday, April 22-24, 2022
TIMES: 5 p.m. PT / 1 p.m. PT / 11 a.m. PT
WHERE: St. George, Utah
STADIUM: Bruce Hurst Field (2,500)
WATCH: ESPN+ (Subscription Required) - Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
LIVE STATS: DixieStateAthletics.com - Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
GAME NOTES: Sacramento State | Dixie State Baseball
ON THE MOUND…
FRIDAY: RHP Eli Saul (5-0, 3,02 ERA) vs. RHP Jake Dahle (2-2, 4.99 ERA)
SATURDAY: RHP Noah Takacs (0-2, 9.72 ERA) vs. RHP Brett Porthan (5-3, 6.06 ERA)
SUNDAY: RHP Colin Hunter (2-3, 4.27 ERA) vs. RHP Ryan Hardman (2-1, 5.29 ERA)
IN THE RANKINGS...
Neither Sacramento State, nor Dixie State, are ranked entering this week's games. The Hornets were ranked as high as No. 20 in the nation by Baseball America on Feb. 28 following a 7-0 start, while also ranking No. 23 in the D1Baseball.com 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 after 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...
The Trailblazers enter the weekend with a 15-20 overall record and a 9-9 mark in conference play, tied with the Hornets for third place overall in the WAC standings... Dixie State dropped two-of-three on the road at Utah Valley last weekend, salvaging an 8-5 win in the finale to snap a six-game losing streak... The Trailblazers are 8-6 at home in 2022, losing their last three straight after being swept by division leader Grand Canyon back on April 8-10... Dixie State's last win at home came in a 7-5 win over in-state rival BYU on April 5... Sophomore infielder Shane Taylor leads the Trailblazers offensively with a team-best .346 average -- one of three regulars hitting better than .300 on the year... His 30 RBI lead the team, while Kaden Hollow's five home runs are a team high.
AGAINST THE TRAILBLAZERS...
This weekend marks only the third-ever meeting between the two programs after the Hornets took three-of-four from the Trailblazers in 2021, and Dixie State answered by taking two-of-three from Sacramento State earlier this year at John Smith Field... Five of the seven all-time meetings have been decided by five-or-more runs, with the only outliers being the series finales in both years: the Hornets won 7-5 in 2021, while the Trailblazers won 4-3 this season.
LAST TIME OUT...
Sacramento State won its first midweek game of the year and snapped a seven-game skid in midweek contests dating back to last year with a 13-6 win at Pacific on Tuesday (April 19). The Hornets' last midweek win came in an 11-6 triumph at Kansas on April 27, 2021, while the victory also avenged a 5-2 loss to the Tigers earlier this season at John Smith Field. Sacramento State's 13 runs were the most in a midweek win for the Hornets since a 15-7 win at UC Davis on April 15, 2014.
EVEN STEVEN...
Having won three of their last four, the Hornets improved to 18-18 overall on the year with the win at Pacific on Tuesday, reaching the .500 mark for the first time since they were 11-11 on March 26 following the second game of their series against Grand Canyon.
LET'S GET SERIES-OUS...
With their 7-4 win on Saturday against Seattle U, the Hornets clinched their third straight WAC series victory -- and their first at home -- of 2022. Sacramento State has now won back-to-back-to-back conference series for the first time since winning five straight series from the end of 2019 to the first four league series of 2021 (no conference games were played in 2020 after the season was canceled due to the pandemic).
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS...
Well, thanks to Mother Nature, this one was actually during the daytime, but the sentiment is the same. Sacramento State's 15-5 eight-inning win to start the series against Seattle U last week kept the Hornets undefeated in series openers this year at 9-0, outscoring opponents by a 75-30 count in those contests. That streak grows to 12 straight wins in series openers dating back to a four-game series against conference rival California Baptist on May 7 of last year, last losing a series opener on April 30 against Grand Canyon.
OPENING A CAN...
The Hornet offense has been humming to start a weekend series, batting a robust .320 as a team while the pitching staff boasts a 2.96 ERA in those nine series openers, holding opposing hitters to a .204 combined average and striking out 68 in 79 innings, while burning opposing arms to the tune of a 7.68 ERA. The bullpen has also been stellar, as nine pitchers have combined to allow just nine runs in 28.3 innings of work in those games for a 2.86 ERA and a nearly 3-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (25 strikeouts against nine walks).
BACHO NAMED HITTER OF THE WEEK...
Senior catcher Dawsen Bacho was named the WAC Hitter of the Week for the first time in his career following the Hornets' series against Seattle U, recording multiple hits in all three games against the Redhawks while batting .538 with a pair of home runs, six runs scored, and seven RBI. He became the first Sacramento State offensive player to win the award since Matt Smith won the second of his two honors on May 10 of last season.
LIKE A RECORD BABY...
Senior Keith Torres broke one of the program's longest standing records in his final plate appearance on Tuesday night at Pacific, drawing the 136th walk of his career to break Will Fitzpatrick's mark of 135 set in 1993. It was only Torres' seventh walk of the year after posting 36 free passes in 2021 and a career-high 50 in 2019.
SIX DEGREES OF KEITH TORRES...
Aside from his record-setting night, Torres was a consistent threat at the plate all night against the Tigers, reaching base in all six of his plate appearances on Tuesday night thanks to a career-high four hits (three of those of the infield variety), a hit by pitch, and his record-setting walk. He is the first Hornet hitter to accomplish that feat since Matt Smith went 4-for-4 with two home runs, two hit by pitches, five runs scored, and four RBI, at Tarleton on March 14, 2021. The unofficial school record is 16 consecutive plate appearances held by Aurelio Jackson, who did it twice in 2001: the first against Stanford on May 2 (three hits, two intentional walks, and a hit by pitch) and, again, on May 5 against UC Riverside (5-for-5 with a walk). Jackson's run of reaching safely in 16 consecutive plate apperances was, at the time, just one shy of the NCAA record.
KEEP ROLLING, ROLLING, ROLLING...
Sophomore Josh Rolling put together one of his best weekends of the year against Seattle U, finishing with a career-high three hits in the finale while driving in a career-high four runs in the eight-inning run-rule opener. He finished the series batting .667 (6-for-9) with a pair of home runs and five RBI, slugging 1.444 in the three games with a .700 on base percentage.
THESE HORNETS DIG THE LONG BALL...
Nearly half (11) of Sacramento State's 24 runs in the series with the Redhawks came via the home run.
DYNAMIC DUO...
Bacho and Rolling combined to beat up Seattle U pitching over the weekend, accounting for nine of the team's 24 runs scored and collecting 12 of the team's RBI -- including all seven in the series finale.
TWO FOR 15...
No, it's not the latest meal deal from your favorite eatery. Bacho's two home runs in the finale against the Redhawks put him among an exclusive group, joining teammate Cesar Valero (against Houston Baptist and twice in the final two games at New Mexico State) as the only Hornets to hit at least two home runs in a game in 2022. Prior to this year, the last Hornet to hit two home runs in a game was Matt Smith, who left the yard twice at Tarleton on March 14 last year.
SAFELY DANCE...
A pair of Hornets extended their respective reached base safely streaks last week as Bacho ran his run to 10 straight games, hitting safely in seven of them (all multiple hit games), while Nick Iwasa's streak moved to nine games following the Seattle U opener, hitting safely in six of those with five walks and a hit by pitch. During their runs, Bacho is batting .457 (16-for-35) with 10 runs scored, while Iwasa is hitting .281 (9-for-32) with nine runs scored.
RUN HORNETS, RUN...
The 13 runs on Tuesday against Pacific marked the seventh time this season that Sacramento State has reached double figures in a game and the third time in its last six contests that the Hornets have accomplished the feat.
HIT HORNETS, HIT...
Sensing a theme? The 17 hits against the Tigers are tied for the team's second-highest total of the year -- the most since the Hornets had 17 in the series finale at Seattle U on March 19 and trailing only the 18 in the opener against Houston Baptist on March 4. It marked the 14th time this season Sacramento State has collected 10-or-more hits and the fifth time in the team's last eight games.
SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST...
After striking out six over the final three innings in the finale against Seattle U, junior right-hander Jack Zalasky collected his fourth save of the year against the Redhawks, allowing only a single hit and three baserunners. The four saves ties his total from all of last year, while his eight career saves put him one behind Brian Yackovich (1981-82) and Renecke Stelzriede (2003-04) for ninth on the all-time list.
JACK OF ALL TRADES...
Zalasky's six strikeouts tied his career high set against Santa Clara back on Feb. 27, 2020, and matches as part of his 3-2 win over then-No. 24 Stanford on March 29 of last season, when he also threw three innings of relief and allowed only one hit against the Cardinal. The Elk Grove, Calif., native's three innings against Seattle U marked the 10th time in 14 appearances that he has thrown multiple innings in relief this season and the fourth time he has thrown at least three innings in 2022.
QUALITY YOU CAN COUNT ON...
Saul posted his seventh "quality start" (six innings, three earned runs or fewer) of the year -- and his sixth straight -- in the series opener against Seattle U, allowing just three earned over six innings in the Hornets' win. In those quality starts, Saul is 5-0 with a 2.17 ERA, allowing 11 earned on 33 hits over 45.2 innings, with 38 strikeouts and a .205 (33-for-161) average against.
HEY, HEY, HAYNES...
Right-hander Kevin Haynes made his team-high 18th appearance in Tuesday's night's contest at Pacific, improving to 2-0 after allowing a run and a hit over two innings while striking out a pair. The Rocklin, Calif., native has allowed just five earned runs over the last month (11 appearances), scattering 13 hits and striking out nine over the last 12.2 innings, posting a 3.55 ERA in that span.
WINNER, WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER...
In all, nine different Hornets have accounted for game-winning RBI this season, after Dawsen Bacho's game-winner in the series finale at Utah Valley, while Cesar Valero leads all Hornets with five on the year. Josh Rolling has come around to score the game-winning run a team-high three times, while Dawsen Bacho became the 10th different player to score a game-winning run in two of Sacramento State's last three wins.
LEADER OF THE WAC...
Valero's 12 home runs entering the weekend are tied for the most among all sluggers in the Western Athletic Conference (as of April 20) and rank No. 33 in NCAA -- just six off the national lead. Valero's 12 homers are the most by a Hornet since Rhys Hoskins slugged 12 in 2014, while one more would be the most for a Sacramento State hitter since Tim Wheeler crushed 18 home runs in 2009.
STRIKE FIRST, STRIKE HARD, NO MERCY SIR!...
Sacramento State is 13-5 when scoring first this season, outscoring opponents by a 112-89 count through the first four innings, compared to a 134-98 deficit through the final five frames.
SIX WAYS TO VICTORY...
Must be their magic number. The Hornets are 11-3 this season when they score six runs or more, but just 7-15 when they fall under that number.
SOLO PERFORMANCE...
Of the Hornets' 41 home runs this far this season, 21 have been of the solo variety, including 18 of the last 28. Only 10 of the 41 round-trippers have featured two-or-more runners on base, with seven of those coming during the last two weekends of conference play at New Mexico State and against Seattle U.
WE DEMAND... A SACRIFICE!...
When all you need is a fly ball to score a run, Sacramento State is your team. The Hornets rank No. 4 in the NCAA (as of April 20) with 25 sacrifice flies this year -- just three back of national leader UTSA. Senior Steven Moretto is No. 5 in the NCAA with six in 2022, just two off the national lead shared by four players and the most by a Hornet since Matt Smith had the same number in 2019.
