SACRAMENTO -- On a bit of roll in Western Athletic Conference play, the Sacramento State baseball team returns to the friendly confines of John Smith Field for league play this weekend, welcoming California Baptist to Northern California for a three-game set beginning Friday (April 29) and running through Sunday (May 1). First pitch under the lights is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday, with a pair of afternoon starts scheduled for Saturday (1 p.m.) and Sunday (Noon).
PLAY BALL…
WHAT: California Baptist (25-12, 11-7 WAC) at Sacramento State (21-19, 11-10 WAC)
WHEN: Friday-Sunday, April 29-May 1, 2022
TIMES: 6 p.m. PT / 1 p.m. PT / Noon PT
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
STADIUM: John Smith Field (1,200)
WATCH: ESPN+ (Subscription Required) - Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
LIVE STATS: HornetStats.com - Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
GAME NOTES: Sacramento State | California Baptist Baseball
ON THE MOUND…
FRIDAY: RHP Eli Saul (5-0, 3.40 ERA) vs. TBA
SATURDAY: RHP Noah Takacs (1-2, 8.40 ERA) vs. RHP C.J. Culpepper (3-2, 3.56 ERA)
SUNDAY: RHP Colin Hunter (2-4, 4.59 ERA) vs. RHP Drew Necochea (7-2, 2.88 ERA)
IN THE RANKINGS...
Neither Sacramento State, nor California Baptist, 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 CALIFORNIA BAPTIST...
The Lancers enter the week with a 25-12 overall record and stand in second place in the WAC West Division standings with an 11-7 record -- four games behind division-leading Grand Canyon and a game-and-a-half ahead of Sacramento State... California Baptist has won two straight and three of its last four, taking two-of-three from Utah Valley at home after dropping two-of-three to the 'Lopes on the road the week prior... CBU is 9-6 away from home this year, having split its last eight road contests... Sophomore catcher David Martin leads all Lancer hitters with a .429 average over 36 games, slugging eight doubles, five home runs, and driving in 29... He is one of eight regulars batting better than .300 on the year, helping CBU to a combined .324 average as a team... Sophomore infielder Mitchel Simon leads the team with 11 home runs, senior infielder Harrison Spohn has slugged 20 doubles, and junior outfielder Chad Castillo leads the team with 45 RBI... The Lancers' pitching staff has posted a 4.65 ERA as a team, striking out 267 hitters in 321 innings, while holding opponents to a .274 average.
AGAINST THE LANCERS...
Sacramento State and California Baptist have met in a series only twice in the history between the two, both of those played in Riverside, Calif., in 2019 and 2021... The series scheduled for Sacramento in 2020 was canceled due to the pandemic... The Hornets took two-of-three from the Lancers in the first-ever series -- including a 21-10 victory in the first-ever meeting -- while the two teams split a four-game series in Southern California last season with Sacramento State winning the first and the finale.
LAST TIME OUT...
Jeffery Heard finished a home run short of the cycle as part of a career-high three-hit day and Gunner Gouldsmith's bases-loaded triple put the Hornets ahead for good as Sacramento State downed Saint Mary's on the road, 8-6, on Tuesday. Trevor Doyle and Josh Rolling added two hits apiece as eight of the nine starters finished with a hit. Ryan Fleming earned his second win of the season in relief, while Jack Zalasky picked up his fifth save.
HE'S NUMBER TWO! HE'S NUMBER TWO!...
And we mean that with the best of intentions. With his team's win at Saint Mary's on Tuesday, Head Coach Reggie Christiansen picked up win No. 359 at the helm of the Hornets, moving him past Cal Boyes (358 in 17 seasons in 1957 and 1960-75) for the second-most wins in school history behind John Smith and his 882 career victories in 32 seasons (1979-2010) as head coach. Earlier this season, Christiansen won the 450th game of his coaching career in the opener at Long Beach State on Feb. 25, when you include his totals for one season at his alma mater, Menlo College, and four years at South Dakota State.
TRIPLES THREAT...
After combing through the archives, Tuesday night's three-triple game at Saint Mary's marked the first time that has happened in a single game in the program's Division I history dating back to the 1991 season. The Hornets have had two in a game on numerous occasions, the last coming earlier this year in a 21-4 win over Houston Baptist on March 4 at home.
HORNETS IN THE BLACK...
Thanks to five wins in their last six games, the Hornets have finally jumped onto the "good" side of the .500 mark, moving above .500 for the first time since they were 11-10 overall following a 3-2 walk-off win over Grand Canyon on March 25 and two games above for the first time since they were 10-8 after a 2-0 win at Seattle U on March 18.
LET'S GET SERIES-OUS...
With their wins in the first two games last weekend at Dixie State, the Hornets clinched their fourth straight WAC series victory of 2022 -- the team's longest run 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...
Sacramento State's 13-6 win to start the series at Dixie State last week kept the Hornets undefeated in series openers this year at 10-0 (including 7-0 in WAC play), outscoring opponents by a 86-36 count in those contests. That streak grows to 13 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 3.07 ERA in those 10 series openers, holding opposing hitters to a .207 combined average and striking out 79 in 88 innings, while burning opposing arms to the tune of a 7.93 ERA. The bullpen has also been stellar, as nine pitchers have combined to allow just nine runs in 32.1 innings of work in those games for a 2.51 ERA and a better than 3-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (33 strikeouts against 10 walks).
SATURDAY NIGHT'S ALRIGHT FOR WINNING...
Sacramento State's 7-2 win in game two at Dixie State marked the team's first game two win since edging Long Beach State, 5-4, back on Feb. 26, ending a run of seven consecutive game two losses this season and improving to 5-7 on Saturday's in 2022.
MIDWEEK MADNESS...
Tuesday's win at Saint Mary's marked the Hornets' second straight midweek victory after they had dropped their previous seven dating back to an 11-6 win at Kansas on April 27, 2021. Sacramento State has lost its last three midweek games at home, last posting a Tuesday win against then-No. 24 Stanford on March 29, 2021, by a 3-2 score.
HE'S A GAMER...
With his three appearances at Dixie State and a start on Tuesday at Saint Mary's, senior Steven Moretto played in his 225th career game for the Hornets, ranking him in a tie for third on the school's all-time list and just eight shy of Scotty Burcham's mark of 233 from 2012-15. Nine more starts from Moretto this season will also tie him with Burcham atop the career list for that category as well.
MORE ON MORETTO...
After hitting .438 with five runs scored and eight RBI in four games last week, Moretto moved into third place on the school's career RBI list with 139 -- just three back of Tim Wheeler (2007-09) in second and 19 behind Matt Smith (2016-21) for the record. Moretto's home run in the opener against the Trailblazers was the 30th of his career, moving him into a tie for second on the all-time list, just five back of Harvey Hargrove, who hit 35 from 1995-97.
WE DEMAND... A SACRIFICE!...
When all you need is a fly ball to score a run, Sacramento State is your team. The Hornets share the NCAA lead in the category thanks to sac flies No. 30 and 31 off the bats of Trevor Doyle and Nick Iwasa on Tuesday at Saint Mary's, joining Nevada and Presbyterian atop the leaderboard heading into the weekend. With eight of his own, Moretto is tied for New Orleans' Anthony Herron, Jr., and NC State's Josh Hood for the national lead, and are the most by a Hornet since David Del Grande finished with the same number in 2014.
I'LL TAKE HITS FOR 200, ALEX...
Three Hornets are on the verge of eclipsing 200 career hits at Sacramento State -- something that only 13 other players have accomplished in the history of the program. Steven Moretto needs only one more hit to join the exclusive club, sitting on 199 following his 1-for-5 night at Saint Mary's, while Dawsen Bacho is just eight hits shy of the milestone, standing at 192 entering the weekend. Keith Torres is also closing in, needing 16 more hits to reach the 200-hit plateau for his career.
AIN'T IT GRAND?...
Sophomore Jorge Bojorquez left the field in grand fashion in game two of the series at Dixie State, slugging his first collegiate grand slam and the first by a Hornet since Hunter Dorraugh did so against Texas-Rio Grande Valley on May 21 of last season.
SAFELY DANCE...
Bojorquez enters the weekend having reached base safely in each of his last eight contests -- the longest active streak among Hornet hitters -- hitting safely in seven of those games with eight runs scored, eight walks, and five RBI.
DOYLE DIALED IN...
Junior Trevor Doyle is on a bit of a roll as of late, logging hits in four of his last five contests, collecting better than half of his 15 hits on the season during that stretch. The Las Vegas, Nev., native is batting .421 (8-for-19) over his last five -- including three multi-hit games -- with four runs scored and seven RBI.
LUCKY 13...
Sophomore Cesar Valero slugged his team-best 13th home run of the year in last week's opener at Dixie State, putting him just one round-tripper shy of breaking into the school's single-season top 10 and moving into a six-way tie for ninth alongside Gabe Jacobo (2007), Joe Evans (2001), Dan Elorduy (1998), Derek Brown (1994), and Steve Thobe (1994). Valero's 13 home runs are the most since Tim Wheeler slugged 18 -- which ranks second all time -- in 2009.
OH, HOW THE TURN TABLES...
Senior Dylan McPhillips is used to seeing a lot of pitches in 2022 thanks to his 21 starts behind the plate, but the shoe was on the other foot Sunday in the finale at Dixie State as the Gilroy, Calif., native made his collegiate pitching debut. McPhillips pitched one-third of an inning, walking one and striking out a batter, making him the first full-time position player to pitch for the Hornets since Griffin McCormick allowed a hit and notched a strikeout in one inning of work at California on April 23, 2019.
LET'S GROOVE TONIGHT...
After alternating wins and losses over their previous 10 games, the Hornets' offense is on a bit of a roll during its recent run that has seen them win five of the last six, batting .302 as a team and slugging a combined .493 thanks to 20 extra-base hits (including eight home runs), while averaging eight runs per game.
SIX WAYS TO VICTORY...
Must be their magic number. The Hornets are 14-3 this season when they score six runs or more, but just 7-16 when they fall under that number.
STRIKE FIRST, STRIKE HARD, NO MERCY SIR!...
Sacramento State is 15-5 when scoring first this season, outscoring opponents by a 121-93 count through the first four innings, compared to a 156-117 deficit through the final five frames. The third inning has been the Hornets' best this season, scoring 35 runs in that frame while holding the opposition to just 13.
SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST...
Junior right-hander Jack Zalasky posted his second save in his last three appearances in the win at Saint Mary's on Tuesday, giving him five for the season (good for a tie for fourth in the WAC this season) and nine for his career -- moving him into a tie for ninth on the school's all-time list alongside Brian Yackovich (1981-82) and Renecke Stelzriede (2003-04). Zalasky's next save will bump him up into a tie for seventh with Jeff Roth (2008-09) and Billy Sinacori (2004-07), who each posted 10 saves in their respective Hornet careers.
WINNER, WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER...
In all, 10 different Hornets have accounted for game-winning RBI this season, after Dylan McPhillips' game-winner in the series opener at Dixie State, while Cesar Valero leads all Hornets with five on the year. Meanwhile, Josh Rolling, Trevor Doyle, and Jeffery Heard, have all come around to score the game-winning run a team-high three times.
BETTER LATE...
The Hornets have not lost this season when leading after five innings, posting a 14-0 mark after the fifth, a 15-0 mark when leading after six, a 13-0 record when leading after seven, and an unblemished 14-0 when leading after the eighth.
QUALITY YOU CAN COUNT ON...
Sophomore right-hander Eli Saul leads the Hornets with seven "quality starts" (six innings, three earned runs or fewer) in 10 starts this season, posting a 5-0 record with a 2.17 ERA in those outings, 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 picked up his second win in as many appearances in the opener at Dixie State last week, retiring eight of the final nine hitters he faced while tying his season high with three strikeouts over 2.1 innings of hitless, scoreless, relief. The Rocklin, Calif., native, who made his team-high 20th appearance of the year at Saint Mary's on Tuesday, has been solid over the last month-plus, allowing just six earned runs over his last 13 appearances, scattering 13 hits and striking out 13 over the last 16 innings, posting a 3.38 ERA and a .217 (13-for-60) average against in that span.
