SACRAMENTO, Calif. — With four weekend series already under its belt, the Sacramento State baseball team plays in its first midweek contests of the 2025 season this week, hosting Nevada on Monday (March 10) at John Smith Field before heading down Highway 99 to take on Fresno State on Tuesday (March 11). First pitch for both games is scheduled for 6 p.m. at their respective sites.

PLAY BALL!
WHAT: Nevada (9-6, 0-0 MWC) at Sacramento State (9-6, 0-0 WAC)
WHEN: Monday, March 10, 2025
TIME: 6 PM
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
STADIUM: John Smith Field
WATCH: ESPN+ | WAC International
STATS: HornetStats.com
TICKETS: HornetSports.com

WHAT: Sacramento State (9-6, 0-0 WAC) at Fresno State (5-10, 0-0 MWC)
WHEN: Tuesday, March 11, 2025
TIME: 6 PM
WHERE: Fresno, Calif.
STADIUM: Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium
WATCH: Mountain West Network
STATS: GoBulldogs.com

ABOUT THE WOLF PACK
• Nevada enters Monday's contest with a 9-6 overall record and are coming off a series win against San Francisco, taking 2-of-3 from the Dons over the weekend
• The Wolf Pack are 6-2 at home this season compared to just 3-4 on the road
• Like the Hornets, Nevada has won five of its last seven, taking 3-of-4 from Northern Colorado at home prior to winning its series against San Francsico
• The Wolf Pack are also playing their first midweek game of the season after opening with series at California and at home against Cal State Bakersfield
• Junior Junhyuk Kwon, a native of Seoul, South Korea, leads all regulars with a .340 average to go along with seven doubles, a home run, and seven RBI
• Kwon is one of five Nevada regulars batting better than .300 on the season
• Senior infielder Michael Ball leads the Wolf Pack with six home runs and 15 RBI to go with his .303 average while also leading the team with 20 hits and 15 runs scored

SERIES NOTES
• One of the longest-running series in program history, Nevada leads the all-time series with Sacramento State, 97-85-1, including a 58-34 lead in the Hornets' Division I history
• The series between former conference rivals dates back to the 1954 season according to available records, with the first meeting between the two listed as a doubleheader on March 8 of that year in Reno
• Sacramento State won both of those games by the scores of 11-3 and 10-2 — sparking a run of 16 straight wins to begin the series for the Hornets
• The Wolf Pack won the last meeting between the two programs by a 14-8 score in Sacramento on May 7 of last season, ending a streak of four-straight wins by Sacramento State in the series
• The Hornets won two of the three midweek games between the two programs last season, posting a 21-9 win at home on March 19 and a 7-3 win in Reno on April 2
• Sacramento State is 55-43-1 at home against Nevada, compared to a 29-52 record in Reno
• The Hornets' 21 runs in the first meeting on March 19 of last season were the most by either team in the history of the series dating back to May 4, 1997, when Nevada posted a 22-15 victory, and the most by a Sacramento State team in the series since a 23-8 Hornet win on March 14, 1983

ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
• Fresno State enters the week on a bit of a skid, posting a 5-10 record thus far this season and having lost its last four following a midweek loss to Cal Poly on March 4 and suffering a road sweep at the hands of TCU over the weekend by the scores of 9-4, 5-4, and 12-6
• The Bulldogs are 4-4 at home and just 1-6 on away from the friendly confines of Beiden Field
• Fresno State is 0-2 in midweek games thus far this year, falling at Saint Mary's by an 11-3 score on Feb. 25 prior to its loss to the Mustangs last week
• Sophomore infielder/outfielder Cam Schneider leads all regulars with a .306 average scoring three times and driving in three
• Senior outfielder Bobby Blandford is the only other regular hitting better than .300 on the year, adding five doubles, three home runs, and 15 RBI to his .300 average

SERIES NOTES
• Another of the longest-running series in the program's recorded history, Fresno State leads the all-time series with Sacramento State by a 138-40-1 count, including a 60-23 record in the Hornets' Division I history
• The first recorded meeting between the two programs came on March 11, 1950, in Sacramento with the Bulldogs posting a 13-6 win in the opening game of a doubleheader that day and the Hornets answering with a 7-3 win in the nightcap
• Although the location of some of the early games is unknown, Fresno State is 69-15 at home against Sacramento State
• The Hornets have won three of the last five meetings with the Bulldogs as the two programs split a pair of midweek games in 2024: Sacramento State won 8-6 at home on Feb. 21, while the Bulldogs answered with a 5-4 win on March 12 in Sacramento
• Sacramento State's last win in Fresno came on March 15, 2023, by a 9-0 score 
• The Hornets and the Bulldogs were conference rivals in the Western Athletic Conference from 1993-96 (8-16 overall) and, again, from 2006-12 (6-28 overall)

CONFERENCE CALL
• Sacramento State has faced all eight baseball playing members of the current Mountain West Conference lineup, posting a combined 210-353-4 record against those teams
• Following this week's meetings with Nevada and Fresno State, the Hornets will have three games remaining against Mountain West members: March 25 against Fresno State, April 22 at Nevada, and May 6 against the Wolf Pack
• Last season, Sacramento State was 3-2 against Mountain West opponents, finishing 1-1 against Fresno State and taking 2-of-3 from Nevada
• The 183 meetings with the Wolf Park are the most against a current Mountain West opponent in school history, just ahead of the 179 meetings with the Bulldogs
• Sacramento State has won seven of its last 10 meetings with Mountain West opponents, posting a 4-1 record against the league in 2023 along with its 3-2 record in 2024
• The 85 wins over Nevada are the most against any one Mountain West opponent in school history, followed by the 48 wins over San Jose State and the 40 victories against Fresno State

MIDWEEK MADNESS
• When Sacramento State takes the field against Nevada on Monday night, it will mark the latest midweek game for the Hornets since facing the Wolf Pack on March 14, 2017, following series against Washington State, Northern Kentucky, No. 11 Washington, and Penn State to start that year
• The Hornets won that game, 7-5, in Reno
• Last season, Sacramento State finished 5-8 in midweek games, posting wins over Fresno State, Nevada (twice), San Francisco, and No. 17 Oregon
• The Hornets won three-straight midweek games against San Francisco (April 1), Nevada (April 2), and Oregon (April 9), but finished the year with losses in each of their final three midweek games at Stanford (April 16), against UC Davis (April 30), and against Nevada (May 7)
• Six of the Hornets' 13 midweek games last season were decided by two runs or fewer, with four of those six decided by a single run

LOOKING AHEAD
• Following the two midweek contests, the Hornets take on another local rival in Saint Mary's in a three-game series this coming weekend
• The Hornets and Gaels meet in Moraga, Calif., on Friday (March 14) at 3 p.m. to kick-off the series, before returning to John Smith Field in Sacramento for games two and three on Saturday (March 15) and Sunday (March 16)
• First pitch for Saturday's game two is scheduled for 2 p.m., with the finale scheduled for a 1 p.m. start

HORNET SHORT HOPS…
• Sacramento State enters its first two midweek games of the year having won its last two weekend series against South Dakota State (3-of-4) and Pacific (2-of-3)
• Monday's game marks the 13th game at home in the first 16 contests to begin 2025
• The Hornets have won five of their last seven dating back to the series against the Jackrabbits
• Each of Sacramento State's last four games have been decided by a single run — two of those ending in extra innings
• The Hornets are 4-3 in one-run games this season
• Thanks to its 1-0 walk-off victory in 10 innings on Sunday (March 9) against the Tigers, Sacramento State posted its second shutout of the season — the most since the Hornets shutout three opponents in 2023
• Thanks to Jakob Poturnak's home run to win that game against Pacific in the 10th on Sunday, Sacramento State now has two walk-off wins this season — both ending on a home run — after Ryan Christiansen lifted the Hornets to a 6-5 win over Ball State on Feb. 21 with a ninth-inning blast
• Sacramento State pitchers Ethan Lay, Jackson Halverson, and Andrew Monson combined for 13 strikeouts without a walk in Sunday's win over the Tigers — the first time that the Hornets did not walk a batter in a game since April 13 of last season at Seattle University
• The last time the Hornets played a scoreless game that went into extra innings ended in similar fashion as Cesar Valero slugged a home run in the top of the 10th in an eventual 1-0 win at No. 6 Long Beach State on Feb. 25, 2022
• It was also Sacramento State's first extra-inning win since a 6-5 triumph at New Mexico State on April 28, 2023
• Just hours after senior right-hander Tyler Stewart struck out 10 batters at Pacific in Saturday's (March 8) game two, Lay one-upped his mound mate on Sunday, striking out 11 batters in the series clincher — a collegiate high for the Colusa, Calif., native who struck out nine against Fresno Pacific on Feb. 11, 2023
• The 11 strikeouts were the most by a Hornet pitcher this season and the most since Travis Adams struck out 13 at Northern Colorado on April 14, 2021
• The trio of Lay, Halverson, and Monson struck out 13 hitters in the series finale — tied for the second-highest total in a game this season behind only the 14 strikeouts against South Dakota State on Feb. 28
• With two hits in each of the three games against Pacific, Poturnak extended his hitting streak to a team-high 12 games, while freshman Michael Perazzo extended his hitting streak to six consecutive games over the weekend
• Poturnak's 12-game hitting streak in the longest by a Hornet since Gunner Gouldsmith hit safely in 18 consecutive games last season
• Poturnak also leads the team with eight multi-hit games — six of those coming in his last eight games — including a team-high four, three-hit contests
• With Poturnak's home run on Sunday, the Hornets now have 19 as a team this year, having homered in all but four of their 15 games thus far
• Senior Tyler White had reached base safely in each of the team's first 14 games before that streak ended on Sunday against the Tigers
• Senior right-hander Andrew Monson picked up his first career win with the Hornets in Sunday's victory, throwing the final two innings, allowing one hit, and striking out two 
• Sophomore closer Kade Brown picked up his fifth save in as many opportunities in the opener against the Tigers, throwing two innings, allowing one hit and walking one while striking out a pair
• The five saves give Brown 13 for his career, moving him into sixth place on the school's all-time list and putting him just three shy of Tanner Dalton (2018-19) and Michael Penbera (1999-01) for fourth
• The Hornets continue to strike early against opponents this year, outscoring other teams by a combined 31-9 count in the first two innings