NACOGDOCHES, Texas -- Junior Gunner Gouldsmith finished 3-for-5 while four other Hornets added hits on the day, but the Sacramento State baseball team was only able to scratch across a single run, dropping the opener of a Western Athletic Conference three-game series to Stephen F. Austin, 7-1, on Thursday night at Jaycees Field in Nacogdoches, Texas.
The Hornets fell to 12-13 overall and 2-5 in WAC play, suffering their fourth consecutive defeat overall and their third straight in conference action. The Lumberjacks won their sixth consecutive game, improving to 12-12 overall and 6-4 in league.
Gouldsmith's three hits marked his sixth multi-hit game of the season and the 13th of his career — five of those with three hits or more. He singled to lead-off the game, led-off the third inning with a second single, and slapped his third single in the seventh.
Junior Jorge Bojorquez added a single and walked twice to reach base in three of his four plate appearances, while Jeffery Heard, Josh Rolling, and Cesar Valero also collected base hits on the night.
Stephen F. Austin got off to the quick start with single runs in the third and fourth innings, before breaking it open with a three-run fifth. The Hornets clawed a run back in the sixth, loading the bases with a pair of hits around a walk before a JP Smith sacrifice fly plated Bojorquez to break up the shutout.
The Lumberjacks answered quickly with two more runs in the home half of the sixth and allowed only two hits and stranded a pair of Sacramento State base runners the rest of the way en route to the win.
Joe Richter (1-1) earned the win for SFA, allowing the one run on five hits and striking out a pair over six innings of work before Skyler Jaco came on to earn his second save of the season, pitching the final three innings while allowing only two hits and striking out four.
Right-hander Jasper Nelson (1-2) suffered the loss, allowing three earned on six hits and striking out six over five innings of work. The six strikeouts are his second-highest total of the season, trailing only the seven he struck out in his first start of the year against Central Michigan on March 9 at home.
Game two of the series is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. PT on Friday evening. The contest will be streamed on the ESPN+ platform.
