text:
Teams >
2016 College World Series -- Championship
Editorial by Rick Cabral
What If They
Threw A Championship And Nobody
The final
college baseball game of the season, and hardly anyone watched it live.
The NCAA—in its
infinite wisdom—declined ESPN's offer to show the third and final championship game this
evening at the normal time 8 p.m. Eastern, and elected to spin the wheel and take a chance on
ESPN-U, the only channel that was available at noon today as ESPN had commitments to
broadcast Wimbleton tennis and Euro soccer. Apparently, several million fewer households get
this channel, and so Coastal Carolina won its first-ever championship before a much smaller
And this came on
the heels of last night's postponement due to inclement weather. Talk about bad
Factor in that
ESPN listings (at least on DISH TV) showed today's start time at 5 p.m. Eastern. When I
turned on the channel a few minutes before 2 p.m. today and saw the Chanticleers rolling around
on the ground and grabbing their heads with tears in their eyes, it was clear the game was over
and they had won the CWS.
Perhaps we can
launch a conspiracy right here in Sacramento.
The two teams
playing for a national championship were Arizona, the number three seed from the Pac-12 (ESPN
Analyst "As we all
know the Pac-12 is down this year") and Coastal
Carolina which plays in the Big-something conference over there in the Outer Banks. Could
ESPN and NCAA be a bit more chagrined? Not one of the eight top seeds played for the
Of the two top
seeds that did make it to the College World Series, No. 1 Florida and No. 3 Miami checked out
faster than a Fuller Brush salesman, as both went "two and barbeque."
And what about
No. 2 Louisville, who some trumpeted as the nation's true top seed? They were swept at
home in the Louisville Super Regional by who else, the number three team in the Big West—UC
Santa Barbara. Just as the Cardinals were defeated last year at home in the Supers by Cal State
Fullerton, also from the Big West.
The NCAA
Baseball Regionals were filthy this year with teams from the southeast part of the country: 10
ACC teams and 9 SEC representatives, if memory serves. So, who made it to the big CWS dance?
Super powers Florida and Miami, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and TCU (three from the Big 12, that
was the surprise), Arizona, Coastal Carolina and Santa Barbara.
there's a bit more parity in the country than the analysts figured, and a darn side more talent
west of the Mississippi (which also lost its first two games in the
So, here's to
Coastal Carolina.
May the scrappy,
"little-guy" continue to prove it's not how big you are, but how you play the game of
And that
baseball fans is our swan song for summer 2016. We may punch a story or two here on the site
before the year is out, but as we're focusing on writing/publishing a new novel, and revving an
acting career, that's where we must devote our time and energies.
~ ~
Carolina Captures First National Title with 4-3 Win
Over Arizona(Coastal Carolina Athletics)
OMAHA, Neb. --
Coastal Carolina capitalized on two errors on the same play for four unearned runs in the sixth
inning, and the Chanticleers won their first national championship in any sport with a 4-3
victory over Arizona in Game 3 of the College World Series finals on Thursday.
Coastal Carolina
(55-18) became the first team since Minnesota in 1956 to win the title in its first CWS
appearance. Arizona (49-24) was trying for its second national title since 2012. Andrew Beckwith
(15-1), the national leader in wins, went 5 2/3 innings after pitching two complete games and
picked up his third victory of the CWS. He was named the Most Outstanding Player. Alex
Cunningham earned his first save, striking out Ryan Haug with a full-count fastball to end the
game after Arizona had pulled within a one in the bottom of the ninth.
Arizona's Bobby
Dalbec (11-6) also worked 5 2/3 innings, with all the runs coming against him. He struck out
eight to increase his CWS total to 25 in 20 innings.
The championship
also was the first in a team sport in the 33-year history of the Big South Conference. The Big
South could savor the accomplishment for only about eight hours. The Chanticleers become members
of the Sun Belt Conference on Friday.
Arizona, which
came into the day with just two errors in seven CWS games, saw second baseman Cody Ramer commit
two on the same play to open the door to a four-run sixth inning for Coastal Carolina. Ramer
couldn't get a handle on Zach Remillard's grounder, allowing David Parrett to score from third.
Then Ramer tried to get Michael Paez running from second to third, but he overthrew Kyle Lewis.
That allowed Paez to come home.
Next, G.K. Young
launched a no-doubt homer into the seats above the right-field bullpen for a 4-0 lead. All four
runs were unearned, and Dalbec was relieved by Cameron Ming after facing one more batter. Before
the sixth inning, Ramer hadn't committed an error in 17 games.
The Wildcats cut
the lead in half with two unearned runs in the bottom half against a tiring Beckwith. An error
on first baseman Kevin Woodall Jr. and a walk loaded the bases before Jared Oliva's two-RBI
single knocked out Beckwith. Bobby Holmes relieved and struck out No. 9 batter Louis Boyd to end
the inning.
Coastal Carolina
caught a break in the third inning after Cody Ramer sent a liner into right field that got under
Connor Owings' glove and rolled to the wall. Ramer made it to third on the two-base error. Zach
Gibbons then hit a comebacker to Beckwith, who went home as Ramer tried to score. After catching
Beckwith's wide throw, catcher Parrett reached back to put the tag on Ramer, who was called out
on an extremely close play.
Arizona's first
two batters in the bottom of the ninth reached base against Cunningham, and Zach Gibbons'
sacrifice fly made it a one-run game with two outs. Ryan Aguilar then doubled into the
left-field corner, but Ramer was held at third to bring up Ryan Haug.
After Cunningham
struck out Haug, he turned to his dugout, beat his chest with his fist three times and saluted
before flipping his glove away to start celebrating with his teammates.
Coastal Carolina Forces Decisive Game Three with 5-4
by Editor Rick
OMAHA, Neb. – Coastal Carolina
scored three runs in the eighth inning to break a 2-2 tie and advance to the final championship
game tomorrow night with a 5-4 win over Arizona.
With one out in the eighth,
Connor Owings fought off an inside pitch to hit a Texas Leaguer to left field, easily scoring
the speedy Anthony Marx to give the Chanticleers (54-18) a 3-2 lead. Designated hitter G.K.
Young knocked in the Chanticleers' last two runs with a sharp single to right field off reliever
Cameron Ming, who took the loss.
Marx had three hits on the
night, including a third inning single that knocked in Coastal's first two
Arizona came back and narrowed
the deficit in its half of the eighth inning. With the bases loaded and one out, Aguilar scored
on a fielder's choice. Then with two out Coastal's shortstop Michael Paez misplayed a grounder,
allowing Dalbec to score, making it 5-4 CCU.
Coastal Carolina starter Mike
Morrison—who hadn't started a game all year—gave his team 6.2 strong innings. He allowed six
hits, two earned runs, walked two and fanned 10 Arizona hitters.
The Wildcats scored one run in
the first inning. With one out and the
bases loaded Bobby Dalbec failed to connect on a suicide bunt and the runner was picked off
third base. He then stroked a sharp infield single to plate Arizona's first run. But it appeared
the Wildcats missed a prime opportunity off Morrison, who was not on his game in the first
After Marx put Coastal Carolina
up 2-1 in the third inning, Arizona (49-23) tied the game in the fifth when Cody Ramer walked,
and later scored on Ryan Aguilar's fielder's choice to make it 2-2.
Wildcats starter Kevin Ginkle
pitched outstanding as well, scattering five hits through seven innings. He allowed two runs
(one earned), struck out 10 and walked none.
Zach Gibbons went 3-for-4 for
Arizona. He now has 13 hits at College World Series.
Last night, Arizona took Game One 3-0 behind J.C. Cloney's four-hit shutout.
Aguilar drove in two runs to give the Wildcats a 1-0 advantage in the best-of-three series at
the CWS.
2016 College World
Gauchos Win Elimination Game 5-3, Oust Miami From
OMAHA, Neb -- In the first elimination game of the 2016
College World Series UC Santa Barbara beat No.3 Miami 5-3 and sent the Hurricanes home
After a 62-minute rain delay in the bottom of the sixth,
the Gauchos loaded the bases. Pinch hitter Ryan Cumberland knocked in two runs as UC Santa
Barbara took a 3-1 lead. The Gauchos scored twice more in typical West Coast fashion on
consecutive safety squeeze bunts to expand their cushion to 5-1.
Miami took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Zack
Collins solo home run to right field off right hander Noah Davis. The Gauchos tied the game that
inning on a J.J. Muno's RBI single. Davis (7-4), who earned the victory, limited the Hurricanes
to one more hit over the next five innings.
Left hander Kyle Nelson relieved Davis to start the
seventh inning. He allowed Miami two runs in the eighth inning. Coach Andrew Checketts sent
Nelson to start the ninth inning, and after Jacob Hayward reached first on an infield single,
Nelson induced a perfect come-backer to start a double play to end the game and notch his
10th save of the season.
With the victory, UC Santa Barbara secures its
first-ever win at the College World Series. After a 1-0 loss on Saturday to Oklahoma State, the
Gauchos are 1-1 and will face the loser of the OK State-TCU matchup scheduled for later
Miami, went 0-2 for the just the second time in its 24
appearances at the CWS.
2016 Super
LOUISVILLE, KY – With his team down 3-0 freshman Sam
Cohen hit a pinch-hit ninth inning grand slam to propel UC Santa Barbara to its first-ever
College World Series with a 4-3 walk-off win over Louisville.
In the second game of the Super Regional match up Santa
Barbara was the home team.
The Gauchos, held scoreless for seven innings by
lefty Drew Harrington, sent up the left-handed pinch hitter with the bases loaded with one
out and the score 3-0 against Cardinals' All-American closer Zack
The inning started when Burdi struck out Austin
Bush (the Gauchos slugger went 0-for-4 today). He then gave up a single to JJ Muno and
allowed two walks to load the bases for the backup catcher. Cohen blasted a 1-2 pitch down
the right field line for the walk-off win to take down the N0. 2 Cardinals in two games. It
was just Cohen's second round-tripper and 11th run batted in for the
Louisville starter Harrington was masterful
through seven innings, fanning 12 Gauchos and allowing just six hits and one walk. Burdi, who
was drafted in the first round on Thursday by the White Sox, took the
UC Santa Barbara has yet to lose in the five games it
has played at the Nashville Regional (3-0) and here in Louisville
Last year, Gauchos' Big west rival Cal State Fullerton
defeated the Cardinals in the Louisville Super Regional, who had been to the CWS three times in
the past five years.
~ ~ ~
UC Santa Barbara Takes Game One 4-2 In Louisville Super
LOUISVILLE, Ky -- Right-hander Shane Bieber shut down
host No. 2 Louisville to lead UC Santa Barbara (41-18-1) past the Cardinals 4-2 this
The Gauchos remain undefeated in playoff action,
notching their fourth straight win after placing third in the Big West this
Bieber (12-3) tossed seven innings, limiting Louisville
to eight hits and two earned runs. He fanned seven and walked one to earn his 12th victory of
the season.
Shane Bieber earned his 12th win in Santa
Barbara's 4-2 victory.
Photo on file.
In the fourth inning slugger Austin Bush clubbed a solo
shot, his fourth of the playoffs, to give his team a 2-1 lead. Kyle Plantier later doubled to
drive in the Gauchos third run.
Louisville (50-13) opened the scoring in the third
inning with a solo shot by Blake Tiberi to take a 1-0 lead.
After that Bieber was brilliant, holding the Cardinals
in check until the sixth when Tiberi drove in Louisville's second run. UC Santa Barbara reliever
Kyle Nelson threw two shutout innings to preserve the victory for the Gaucho's, who need one
more win to advance to the College World Series.
Louisville ace Brendan McKay (12-4) allowed nine hits
and all four of Gauchos runs for the loss. The sophomore left-hander struck out nine and walked
none. Louisville was 36-1 at home coming in today's game.
Bieber yesterday was taken by Cleveland in the fourth
round of the MLB Draft.
The Gauchos swept the Nashville Regional last weekend with three consecutive
wins to earn a place in today's Louisville Super
Santa Barbara's Offense
Shells Xavier 14-5 to Take Nashville Regional
by Editor Rick Cabral
NASHVILLE, Tenn—UC Santa Barbara knocked in nine runs in
the top of the fourth inning and went on to win 14-5 in the championship game against
Xavier University in the Nashville Regional.
With their 40th victory of the season, the Gauchos march
to the program's first-ever Super Regional tournament.
The key blows in that nine-run fourth were a
three-run homer by Austin Bush to give the Gauchos a 4-2 lead. Awhile later Clay Fisher
also hit a three-run round-tripper over the left field monster to give UCSB a 9-2 lead over
the Muskateers.
Joe Record (above) was the winning pitcher
for UCSB today versus Xavier.(File photo from UC
Davis game 2016)
In the next inning, the Gauchos padded their lead when
Josh Adams (Pleasant Grove High) knocked in Bush with a sacrifice fly
to put their team ahead 10-3. Bush led off the inning with a
Bush and Fisher, who each went 3-for-6 today, knocked in seven runs between them.
Fisher went 7-for-15 with seven RBI for the tourney. Bush
hit three home runs in the the Regional tournament (five RBI), including the game winner in the
14th inning of Friday's 3-2 win over
The Gauchos defeated Xavier yesterday 5-4 to advance
to today's championship game.
UC Santa Barbara will now take on the Louisville
Cardinals in Kentucky for a best-of-three series to see who advances to the College World
Series. Louisville was ranked No. 6 in the nation by Baseball America entering the
Last year, UCSB hosted the Lake Elsinore Regional but
lost its first two games as Virgina, the three seed, went on to win the regional and
eventually the CWS. As Adams told us in an interview for our Spotlight feature,
"Hopefully this year we get back in the regionals and go in and compete since we know what to
It showed in Nashville.
Ironically, the Super Regionals may be the second
biggest event in town this coming weekend, as the body of Muhammad Ali returns to the champ's
hometown of Louisville for multiple celebration of life ceremonies.
Over the weekend in the Starkville Regional,
Fullerton State lost two games by 4-1 and 6-2 scores to end its
Fullerton State Wins Continuation
Game One 1-0 Over La Tech
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- In a scoreless contest
delayed by weather until Saturday morning, No. 2 Fullerton State (36-16) scored on a sacrifice
fly in the 8th inning to go on to win 1-0 over No. 3 Louisiana Tech.
The Titans Josh Vargas opened the bottom of
the eighth with a single, advanced to second base on a wild pitched and went to third base on a
fielder's choice. Dalton
Blaser (Roseville High/Sierra) the Big West
Field Player of the Year was intentionally walked and Jerrod Bravo (Ponderosa
High/Sac City College) was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Vargas scored on a infield grounder, and the
Titans took Game One when two relievers combined to shut down the Bulldogs in the
Fullerton State takes on No. 1 Mississippi
State this afternoon at 4:30 PDT.
NASHVILLE, Tenn -- Austin Bush hit
a walk-off solo-shot in the 14th inning to give No.
2 UC Santa Barbara a 3-2 win over Washington in the
Nashville Regional.
Austin Bush shown above in a game against UC Davis this spring
hit a 14th inning walk-off home run against Washington in the Nashville Regional.
(File photo from UC Davis game 2016)
~ ~ ~
Locals Claim Awards
Oregon closer Stephen Nogosek (Woodcreek High) was selected to
the Louisville Slugger NCAA Division
I All-America
Third Team. "Nogo" finished 2-2 with a 1.11 earned run average with 16 saves, tying him for third
in NCAA Division 1 with Troy Rallings (Washington) who was a First Team All-American selection.
Nogosek posted 40.6 innings this season and 45 strikeouts to 14 walks.
In the Pac-12, Oregon State's Nick Madrigal (Elk Grove High) made First Team
All-Conference and was selected Freshman of the Year.
Madrigal hit .333 on the season only the latest OSU player to earn conference freshman of
the year honors, including teammate K J Harrison
2015, Andrew Moore (2013), Michael Conforto (2012) and Darwin Barney
Fullerton State
(Roseville High/Sierra College)
earned the Big West Field Player of the Year award after leading the Titans with a .362 batting
average in 55 games. He led the team with 71 hits, 38 RBIs, a .495 slugging percentage and a .441
on-base percentage. He batted .419 in 24 Big West contests. Blaser
becomes the second straight Titan, and 14th overall, to earn Big West Field Player of the
Senior Tanner Bily of UC Davis was selected Big West
All-Conference Second Team.
Regional Playoff Note:
Titans, winners of the Big West, start Regional Playoff action today as No. 2 seed in
the Starkville Regional, where they face Louisiana Tech. Fullerton State hopes to return to
the College World Series.
Oregon State's Casey Not Happy at NCAA Tournament
(Danny Moran | The
After his stunned players learned Monday that
Oregon State's baseball team would not be in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2008,
head coach Pat Casey said his message was simple.
"Life sometimes isn't fair and this is a very
unfair decision made by a group of people that don't play the game," Casey told The
Oregonian/OregonLive by phone.
The news that the selection committee did not
give the Beavers an at-large bid to the 64-team postseason field came as a shock to the team's
coaches and players. A series sweep of UCLA over the weekend put OSU (35-19, 16-14 Pac-12) into a
three-way tie for third place in the Pac-12 standings with Arizona and Arizona
Both Arizona schools were among four league
teams picked for the tournament, along with Washington and conference champion Utah. Oregon State
was the second team out of the field after North Carolina.
Freshman Nick Madrigal of Elk
Grove High fame finished the season batting .333, good for second place (100+AB). He got his first
home run with a big fly over the left field wall on Saturday in the Beavers 3-0 win over UCLA.
Madrigal, who played mostly second base all season, posted 11 doubles, five triples and 29 runs
batted in to go with that one home run.
Oregon State secured its first-ever
series sweep with three shutout wins of 1-0, 3-0 and 6-0 over UCLA. Conversely, this was the
first time in UCLA baseball history that the Bruins were shutout in each game of a
three-game series.
{Editor's note: We're right there with
coach Casey in having a gripe over this year's NCAA Regional Host
selections. This may be the first time that a California school from the Pacific Conference has not made the NCAA post-season baseball tournament. In 2016 you'll
find no USC (which leads all schools with 12 CWS titles), nor Stanford or Cal (which both have
two titles) or UCLA (which won it all in 2013). Eastern bias? Nah. The SEC and ACC teams are just
more talented and played at a higher level this year.
Also, this may be a
first: not one of the 16 Regional Hosts lies in
the West (and we don't
mean"Texas" which boasts three regional sites in Texas A&M, TCU and Texas
Final irony of the playoffs
: Texas Longhorns, who had the winningest coach in collegiate baseball history, failed to
qualify for the tournament again this season. As a consequence, Augie Garrido (a
California boy) resigned as the Longhorns head coach this week (although he will stay on in
the Texas Athletics Department).
As Will Ferrel (a USC grad) must
have said at sometime in his life, "Go freakin' figure."
to The Oregonian story)
~ ~ ~
Speaking of Cal which took two of three at Washington State this weekend and
finished 32-21...
With Sunday's victory on the mound starting pitcher
Ryan Mason (Placer High) concluded his career at Cal a winner, allowing five
hits and two runs in seven innings to earn the victory, the 500th of Coach David Esquer's career. Mason finished with an 8-4 record this
season and 3.21 earned run average. His 26 career wins tied him for second all-time in Cal
baseball history.
Said Esquer after the game about Win No.
"You reflect on all your players, you reflect on how long you've been here, the specialness of Cal
and some of the trials and tribulations it took to get to 500. There have been some bumps in the
road there," Esquer said. "I really appreciate the guys putting the effort out."
Senior Brian Celsi (Jesuit) returned
last weekend from a broken thumb to conclude his memorable career with the Bears. With his
performance against Washington State, Celsi raised his batting average to
Junior Aaron
Knapp (Granite Bay High), one of only two
Bears to play in all 53 games this season (Robbie Tenerowicz being the other), played a sterling
center field, and finished with a .250 batting average.
By mid-year freshman Tanner Dodson
(Jesuit) had earned a weekend starter job and finished 2016 with a 4-5 mark and 3.36
Hornets Rally Twice But New Mexico State
Wins 5-4
(Sac State
MESA, Ariz. – Sacramento State rallied from
deficits of 3-1 and 4-3 but New Mexico State got a walk-off RBI single from Greg Popylisen in the
bottom of the ninth for a 5-4 win on Friday at the WAC
In this elimination game Sacramento State
(30-28) saw its season come to a close as New Mexico State (34-22), the No. 2 seed for the
conference tournament, kept its season alive.
The Hornets battled into the late innings for
the second consecutive day but came up short by the same 5-4 score as Thursday's tough loss against
Seattle U. Sacramento State came back to tie Friday's
game twice against Aggie closer Joe Galindo and narrowly missed a 3-run homer in the top of the
ninth before NM State won it in the bottom half.
Trailing 3-1 in the top of the eighth inning,
the Hornets loaded the bases with two out on two hits and a walk before sophomore Vinny Esposito
(Granite Bay High) delivered a two-run single into left field to knot the game 3-3. The Aggies
would regain the lead in the bottom of the inning on a leadoff single, stolen base, and RBI single
from Dan Hetzel.
Down to its last three outs in the top of the
ninth, sophomore PJ Floyd drew a leadoff walk and a sacrifice bunt and wild pitch moved him to
third base with one away. Senior Chris Lewis tied the game with a line single up the middle then
stole second and went to third on a wild pitch. Freshman James Outman's fly ball to left field just
missed leaving the yard for a 3-run homer as it was caught at the
The Hornets set down the first two Aggies in the
bottom of the ninth but Brent Sakurai had a single and moved to second as Daniel Johnson reached on
a fielding error. Popylisen then sent a 2-2 pitch into shallow right field and Sakurai scored with
the winning run.
Hornet senior Grant Kukuk and New Mexico State
starter Matthew McHugh traded zeros for four innings. The Aggies scored twice in the bottom of the
fifth on three hits before the Hornets got a run back in the sixth when sophomore Andrew McWilliam
drove in junior Trent Goodrich with a 2-out single.
Mason Fishback had an RBI single in the sixth
inning to put the Aggies ahead 3-1 and the Hornets loaded the bases with two out in the seventh
inning before NM State got out of the inning.
Kukuk had another strong start in his final
collegiate game, going seven innings and allowing just seven hits and three runs with no walks and
three strikeouts. McHugh went 6.1 for the Aggies, allowing five hits and one walk and just one
earned run. Galindo essentially blew the save twice and allowed two hits and three walks while
getting just four outs but was credited with the win.
McWilliam was 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run
while ending the season having reached base in 19 consecutive games. Junior Kody Reynolds was
2-for-4 and raised his average to .300 for the year, as the Hornets had 10 hits in the game and
created 16 at-bats with runners on base while hitting a superb .400 (4-for-10) with runners in
scoring position.
Lewis, who led the Hornets in 2016 with hits
(69) average (.308), doubles (16) and home runs (7), ended his storied career by recording a hit in
his 13th consecutive WAC Tournament game. He ends his Hornet career second in
program history with 136 career RBI, third with 232 hits, and fifth with 47 career doubles. He was
the WAC Freshman of the Year, a Freshman All-American, and a two-time all-WAC selection and
two-time all-WAC Tournament choice. He was also the MVP of the 2014 WAC Tournament leading the
Hornets to the first Div. I NCAA Regional in program history.
Other team highlights in 2016
- Reggie Christiansen's Hornets team (30-28) won 30 games for
the fifth straight season;
- Junior Tyler Beardsley, last night's hard-luck loser,
finished with the lowest earned run average (1.71) of pitchers with 25+ innings, and led the team
in saves (11);
- Junior Max Karnos who started 15 games led the starters with
the most wins (7-3) and the lowest ERA (3.58);
- Junior Sam Long (5-8), who led the staff in innings pitched
(85.2), tossed a gem in his final game last night, lowering his ERA to just under 4 runs per game
Seattle Rallies in 9th, Top Hornets
5-4 at WAC Tournament
State Athletics)
MESA, Ariz. – Trailing 4-1 in the bottom of the ninth
inning top-seed Seattle U strung together five hits with Dalton Hurd's walk-off RBI single
giving the Redhawks a 5-4 win over No. 4 Sacramento State on Friday night in the WAC
A fantastic start from junior Sam Long and strong relief
work from senior Tyler Beardsley (4-2) permitted just one run and only four hits through the
first eight innings of the game, but the Redhawks opened the bottom of the ninth with three
straight singles against Beardsley before Curtis Perrin had a two-run double, Griffin Andreychuk
hit a sacrifice fly, and Perrin scored on Hurd's one-out single up the
Sacramento State (30-27) lost when leading after seven
innings for the first time this season (had been 23-0).
The regular season conference champion and top seed in
the WAC Tournament, Seattle U (36-19) moves on to face Utah Valley in the winners bracket
tomorrow night at 7 p.m. Earlier on Thursday CSU Bakersfield eliminated Northern Colorado with
an 11-6 win and Utah Valley beat second-seeded New Mexico State 3-2.
The Hornets will play in an elimination game on Friday at 3 p.m.
against the winner of the 11 a.m. game between New Mexico State and CSU
Long allowed just one run and three hits with six
strikeouts over six innings. He walked two men in the first inning and gave up a run on a Sean
Sutton RBI single but that would be the only run he allowed. The Hornets tied the game at 1-1 in
the third inning when PJ Floyd hit a two-out single before advancing to second and third on
Seattle errors and scoring on a wild pitch.
Redhawk senior Ted Hammond also had a strong start as he
allowed just the one unearned run through six innings, but in the seventh inning the Hornets
staged an uprising. With two outs and a man on first, the Hornets strung together four
incredible at-bats against reliever Connor Moore (4-0).
All four of the ensuing at-bats went to full counts.
Moore got a six-pitch strikeout before junior Trent Goodrich drew a six-pitch walk and senior
Chris Lewis had a nine-pitch walk to load the bases. Sophomore Andrew McWilliam then had a
nine-pitch at-bat, fouling off four straight pitches before doubling into left field to clear
the bases and put the Hornets ahead 4-1.
Moore got the last out of the seventh inning and pitched
the eighth and ninth to earn the win when the Redhawks rallied. Seattle U outhit the Hornets 9-4
while no player on either team had more than one hit in the contest and McWilliam and Perrin had
the only multi-RBI lines.
Sac State Rallies For 8-7 Win
over Northern Colorado in WAC
MESA, Ariz--
No. 4 Sacramento State (30-26) rebounded from a six-run first
inning deficit to take the first game of the Western Athletic Conference tournament 8-7 over
No. 5 Northern Colorado (16-33).
Trailing 7-5 in the sixth inning, the Hornets scored three runs on an
RBI double by pinch-hitter Brandon Hunley (Christian Brothers) and the
game-winning two-run homer by P.J. Floyd (Whitney High) which gave the Hornets an 8-7
Sac State starting pitcher Max Karnos was roughed up for six earned
runs in the first and only inning he completed.
Austin Root (Oak Ridge High) came on in the second and pitched five
innings of five-hit ball, allowing just one more run to the Bears. Chad Perry (Marysville High) and
closer Ty Beardsley combined for three scoreless innings to preserve the
In the ninth inning Beardsley allowed a one-out single. With the
tying run on first base and two outs the right-hander struck out the last batter on a full count to
earn his 11th save of the season. Root (1-1) was the
winner in relief.
Down by six in the bottom of the first inning, Sac State rallied to
score two runs on a Andrew McWilliam RBI single and Kody Reynolds run-scoring
In the third, the Hornets added two more on senior Chris Lewis'
seventh home run of the season.
The Bears outhit the Hornets 12 to nine, but made two errors in the
contest, while the home team played clean baseball. Floyd went 2-for-3 with three runs scored.
Reynolds and catcher Gunner Polman each went 2-for-4 for the
Allen Cook (3-2) came on in relief of Northern Colorado starter Corey
Nakamura in the third inning. He tossed 3.1 innings, gave up four runs (3 earned) and was handed
the loss.
State will play its second game either tomorrow afternoon (3 p.m.) or evening (7 p.m.) depending
on who wins this evening's contest between No. 3 Utah Valley vs. No. 6 CSU
(Sac State
MESA, Ariz. – Sacramento State had three players
named to the All-Western Athletic Conference (WAC) team at the conference awards banquet Tuesday
night in Mesa, Ariz. Junior right handed pitcher Max Karnos was named to the first team while
senior outfielder Chris Lewis and junior right handed pitcher Tyler Beardsley were selected to the
second team.
Sacramento State had a player selected first
team all-WAC for the fifth consecutive season and had multiple all-WAC selections for the fifth
straight year.
Karnos had the best ERA among all starting
pitchers in WAC play, going 6-2 with a 2.27 ERA in nine WAC starts. He allowed two earned runs or
fewer in seven of his nine WAC starts and has a 7-3 record with a 2.77 ERA overall this season. He
allowed just 26 earned runs in 84.1 innings pitched with two complete game shutouts and a shared
In his first season at Sacramento State after
transferring from Western Nevada College, Karnos was especially effective in his last three starts
of the regular season. Over his last three starts (three Hornet wins) Karnos allowed just three
earned runs for a 1.17 ERA, a 0.96 WHIP, and a .187 opposing batting average. He has allowed just
two extra-base hits (both doubles) over the three games and had a 16-inning scoreless streak. He
threw a shutout against Utah valley and allowed just one run over eight innings at Grand
Lewis earned his second all-WAC selection in his
storied Hornet career. A fifth-year senior from Newark, Lewis leads the team hitting .310 with six
home runs, 39 RBIs, and 33 runs scored this season. He also has the highest on-base percentage and
slugging percentage on the team with seven stolen bases, and in WAC play he hit .324 with 24
Lewis leads the team with 19 multi-hit games and
10 multi-RBI games, including a pair of 4-RBI games. A former Freshman All-American and the 2014
WAC Tournament MVP, Lewis ranks third in program history in career RBIs (133) and hits (229) and is
fifth in doubles (47) and career at-bats (777).
Beardsley took over as the team's closer in 2016
and has been nearly unhittable, allowing just five earned runs over 43.2 innings pitched this year
for a 1.03 ERA with a .207 opposing batting average. He did not allow a run in his first 15.0
innings pitched in WAC play and had a 0.28 ERA over his first 32 innings pitched this
~ ~
Hornets Hope to Reprise 2014 WAC
Tournament Crown
Sacramento State (29-26, 16-11 WAC) opens
tournament play tomorrow at 3 p.m. against Northern Colorado (16-32, 11-12 WAC) in the Western
Athletic Conference Tournament. The six-team, double-elimination tournament runs through at least
Saturday and possibly Sunday if necessary at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa,
For the second straight year, the Hornets are
the No. 4 seed and lead the WAC with seven tournament wins over the last two seasons (Sac State won
the title in 2014).
In 10 career WAC Tournament games in Arizona,
senior Chris Lewis has hits in all 10 games and is 18-for-39 (.462) with 10 RBI. He was named the
WAC Tournament MVP in 2014 and made the all-tournament team last
Sacramento State ranks second in the WAC in ERA,
opposing batting average, WHIP, and double plays turned, while the offense is second in doubles and
stolen bases, and fourth in home runs.
Utes Edge Bears, 6-5, Take the
BERKELEY - Despite three shutout innings in the return
of starting pitcher Daulton Jefferies, Utah scored two runs in the ninth inning to edge
California 6-5 to win the series Monday night at Evans Diamond.
The game was a seesaw battle that saw starting pitcher
Ryan Mason (Placer High) enter in the ninth inning in his first relief
appearance of the year with no out and a runner on first and the Bears leading 5-4 over the
Pac-12's top team. After striking out the next two hitters, Mason allowed a walk. Then Kody
Davis knocked in both runs in with a double to right center for the eventual game-winning
Trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the eighth the Bears
(30-20, 12-15) took the lead with a two-run double by sophomore Denis Karas who had three hits
in the game. Senior Mitchell Kranson singled to start the inning, followed by a fielder's choice
by sophomore Brett Cumberland. A walk to senior Nick Halamandaris put two runners on. To show
the importance of this game, senior Brian Celsi (Jesuit) who is out of
commission due to a broken thumb, pinch ran for Cumberland. He scored ahead of Halamandaris when
Karas sliced a double down the right field line.
Karas and junior Aaron Knapp (Granite
Bay High) collected three hits on the night, each going 3-for-4, while Kranson also notched
two hits.
The Bears' hopes to take the series were lifted when
former Friday night starter Jefferies made his first appearance since March 24. He dominated the
Utes through three complete innings with no runners reaching
"I felt good. I felt like I could have gone a longer,
which I guess is a good sign," Jefferies said. "The last few weeks have probably been one of the
worst experiences in my whole life, not pitching with these guys. I've said it before, these
guys are like my brothers and Esquer is like a stepdad."
Cal jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with two runs in the
bottom of the first off of back-to-back RBI singles from Kranson and
The Bears added one more run in the bottom of the fifth
when Knapp scored off of an error.
In the top of the sixth, Utah scored three times to tie
the game at 3-3 off of a home run, an RBI single and a Ute who scored during a pickle play. The
Utes took a short-lived lead in the eighth on a fielder's choice before Karas knocked his double
in the eighth.
Monday's game marked the final appearance at Evans
Diamond for Cal's 11 seniors – Celsi, Grant Diede, Brenden Farney, Halamandaris, Jesse Kay,
Kranson, Mason, Devin Pearson,Sean Peters, Keaton Siomkin and Jordan
Added Esquer: "You don't get a chance to coach a team
like this that often. But just bad fortune with Jefferies going down and not being available for
weeks, which is unfortunate for us because we're a different team and program with him. This is
a program that's had Friday night starters the likes of Brandon Morrow, Tyson Ross and Erik
Johnson. Those are all major league starters right there, and the guy who threw tonight is one
of those."
Cal hits the road for the final series of the regular
season, a three-game set at Washington State from May 27-29. All three games can be seen on the
Pac-12 Network.
(Editor's Note: With last night's
loss, the Bears RPI has dropped to 68, which places Cal out of the running for selection to the
NCAA Regional Playoffs. Even with a sweep of Washington State next weekend, they're now a
longshot to make the tourney. Pac-12 teams ahead of the Bears include: Arizona-25,
Arizona State-39, Oregon State-52, Washington-53.
Utah at 101 RPI will only make the tournament if they win the conference. The Utes play host to
Washington this weekend to determine the conference
Cal Rides Dodson's Arm to 9-2 Win Over Utes
BERKELEY- Senior
Nick Halamandaris belted his fifth home run of the season, and pitcher
Tanner Dodson posted a strong game as California beat Utah 9-2 Sunday night at Evans
Diamond. The Golden Bears (30-19, 12-14) evened the series with the win.
Dodson (Jesuit) went six and a third innings
against the Pac-12 leader, allowing two earned runs on eight hits and he struck out two Utes.
Keaton Siomkinpitched the rest of the way, allowing no hits and he struck out
Five Bears garnered multi-hit games
including sophomore
Brett Cumberland who collected two hits, two RBI and two runs scored. The four
other Bears to collect multiple hits were senior
Devin Pearson, senior
Mitchell Kranson, sophomore
Preston Grand Pre and Halamandaris. Pearson also scored twice.
"I think they just needed to relax a
little bit," Cal head coach
David Esquersaid, who is now just two wins away from 500 career coaching victories. "I
think they're pressing. I've said it all along, they want it so bad. They've put a lot of pressure
on themselves. They just need to relax and play ball."
The Bears and Utes conclude this
series Monday, May 23, at 7 p.m. from Evans Diamond. The game can be seen on the Pac-12
Sac State Drops Final Game 6-3 and
Series to Seattle
(Sac State
Sacramento State dropped
the final game of the regular season at hom on "Senior Day" as Seattle University won
The Hornets pounded out 11
hits and chipped away after Seattle U took an early 6-0 after two innings. The loss was
inconsequential for Sacramento State (29-26, 16-11 WAC),
which knew after last night's loss that they would be the Number 4 seed in next week's Western
Athletic Conference tournament in Mesa, Arizona. The Hornets will open play at 3 p.m. Wednesday against fifth-seeded Northern Colorado, who
they swept at home in April.
With the win and a loss by New
Mexico State on Saturday, Seattle U (35-19, 21-6) won the regular season WAC title and will be the
top seed for the conference tournament. For the second consecutive year the tournament will be
played at Hohokam Stadium, the spring training home of the Oakland Athletics, in Mesa,
Senior Chris Lewis was
2-for-5 with an RBI single in his final home game. The three other Hornet seniors also saw action
in their final home game as Grant Kukuk was the starting pitcher, Josh Egan started at catcher, and
Tyler Beardsley threw two scoreless inning of relief out of the bullpen.
State Falls To Seattle 3-0 After 2 1/2
Hour Rain Delay
(Sac State
In a game that started at 9:30 p.m. after a two
and a half hour rain delay, Seattle University (34-19, 20-6 WAC) sophomore lefty Nick Meservey
permitted just two hits and one walk with nine strikeouts over eight shutout innings to lead the
Redhawks to a 3-0 win over Sacramento State (29-25, 16-10 WAC).
Meservey took a no-hitter into the seventh
inning on Friday, allowing just four base runners on two singles, one walk, and one hit batter.
Sacramento State junior Sam Long matched Meservey as neither pitcher allowed a hit until the fifth
inning. Long allowed just two runs (one earned) on four singles and three walks over six innings.
He struck out a career-high nine batters, topping his previous career best total by two strikeouts,
but took a hard-luck loss.
Sophomore Andrew McWilliam recorded the first
Hornet hit with a one-out single in the seventh inning to continue his hitting streak to 15
Zach Wolf earned his WAC-leading
11th save
of the season pitching the ninth inning for the Redhawks. Junior Austin Ragsdale kept the Hornets
close allowing just one run and four hits in three innings of relief.
Saturday will be senior day for the Hornets as
they wrap up the regular season. Senior Grant Kukuk will start for Sacramento State and will be
honored along with fellow seniors Josh Egan, Tyler Beardsley, and Chris Lewis after the
With the loss and a win on Saturday by Utah
Valley, Sacramento State is locked in as the No. 4 seed for next week's WAC Tournament in Mesa,
Ariz. The Hornets will play in the first game of the tournament at 3:00 p.m. next Wednesday against
the No. 5 seed, which will be either CSU Bakersfield or Northern Colorado depending on results on
Seattle U will have a chance to win the regular
season WAC title on Saturday. The Redhawks are tied with New Mexico State atop the league standings
heading into the final day of the regular season. SU can clinch a share of the regular season
championship with a win tomorrow but would also need a New Mexico State loss to earn the No. 1 seed
for the WAC Tournament.
Hornets Claim First "Night" Victory 6-3 Over Seattle
On a night when starter Max Karnos was less than
"magnificent," Sacramento State (29-24, 16-9 WAC) rose to the occasion, outscoring Seattle 6-3
in the first of a three-game series.
It was also the Hornets first "night" victory at home
under their new lights.
Sacramento State senior Chris Lewis—playing his
final home series of his four-year career—banged out two hits and knocked in two runs.
Karnos (7-3), who has been sensational all season (hence
our nickname for him "Karnos the Magnificent" a spinoff of the Johnny Carson character) went six
innings, allowing three hits and two earned runs. But the right-hander walked six, which kept
the Redhawks in the game. Until tonight, he had walked only 20 batters in 78.1
The Hornets' pitcher showed control problems from the
start, walking Seattle's first two batters on nine pitches. Then Karnos induced a 6-4-3 double
play, leaving the lead runner on third. Cleanup hitter Sean Sutton lined out to right field to
end the Redhawks rally.
In the Redhawks second inning, with one out they loaded
the bases on a pair of singles and a walk. Kurtis Perrin hit a smash to first baseman Kody
Reynolds who tried for a double play, but was successful only in getting the lead runner at
second base, which scored Seattle's first run.
The Hornets got their stingers working in the third
inning. Gunner Polman lined a single to left field. Brandon Hunley (Christian Brothers) was hit
by a pitch. Bronson Grubbs' sacrifice was bunted too hard back to Seattle's pitcher Ted Hammond,
who threw out Polman at third base. Both runners advanced to scoring position when Hammond (8-3)
was called for a balk.
Trend Goodrich's smash up the middle was stopped by
Seattle's second baseman, but not in time to make a play and Hunley scored to tie the game 1-1.
P.J. Floyd's (Whitney High) sacrifice fly plated Grubbs for the Hornets' second run. Goodrich
stole second base, and scored on Lewis' RBI single. Andrew McWilliam laced a double to left
field and Lewis scored all the way from first to give Sacramento State a 4-1
But in the fourth inning, Karnos again walked the first
two batters he faced. Jeffrey Morgan lined a shot off the pitcher's glove to load the bases.
Kyler Murphy grounded out to shortstop to drive in Seattle's second run, making the score
Karnos retired the side in the fifth, and after allowing
a leadoff walk to open the sixth inning (his sixth bases on balls), the pitcher retired the next
three batters to keep the Hornets in the lead, 4-2.
Reliever Chad Perry (Marysville High) started the
seventh inning and allowed an unearned run as the Redhawks closed the gap to
Hornets' closer Tyler Beardsley pitched a perfect eighth
inning, and the home team took the excitement of a shutdown inning to the
Goodrich led off with a single and was sacrificed to
second base. Lewis singled sharply to left field, and with Coach Reggie Christiansen
"windmilling" the runner to score, Goodrich rounded third and started sprinting for
home. Christiansen changed his mind late, held up his arms, but Goodrich ran
right through the stop sign. Fortunately, the relay throw was bobbled near the mound and
Sacramento State had an insurance run and a 5-3 lead.
McWilliam (one of the Hornets hottest hitters of late)
then doubled Lewis to third base. With Seattle's infield drawn-in, Reynolds' hot smash was
bobbled by the first baseman, whose only play was to step on first, which allowed Lewis to
score. The Hornets suddenly owned a 6-3 advantage.
With Beardsley on the hill in a closing role and a
three-run lead, the Hornets usually seal the deal, and they did tonight earning the
pitcher his 10th save of the season.
In addition to Lewis' fine day at the plate, McWilliam
and Goodrich each went 2-for-4 with one run driven in. While the Hornets stole three bases in
the contest, Seattle wisely didn't attempt one. Sac State catcher Gunner Polman leads the
WAC with 28 runners caught stealing, one better than last year's
mark. With the loss Seattle (33-19, 19-6 WAC) falls into a first-place tie
in the Western Athletic Conference standings with New Mexico State (which owns the tie
breaker with the Redhawks). The outcome of this series may well determine the WAC Conference
champion and tournament seeding. Sac State and Utah Valley are now tied for third
The Hornets and Redhawks face off again tomorrow night
(we're still unaccustomed to writing that after all those afternoon games) at 7 p.m. at John
Smith Field.
Fall 9-6 In First Night Game at John Smith Field
(by Editor Rick
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -
Sacramento State (28-24) celebrated its first night game under the new lights at John Smith
Field but unfortunately came away with a 9-6 loss to University of the Pacific (21-28)
tonight in a non-conference
Former head coaches John Smith (left) and Cal Boyes (center) joined head coach
Reggie Christiansen for the lighting ceremony tonight at John Smith
In the early going UOP
dominated as the Tigers took a 7-0 lead by the third inning, thanks to big blows by their
sluggers Danny Mayer and Gio Brusa. The rest of the crew chipped in too.
To leadoff, JJ Wagner
doubled down the left field line. One out later, Brusa hit his 12th home run of the season over the
wall in right field to give UOP a 2-0 lead.
Two innings later Danny
Mayer clubbed a solo shot for his team-leading 15th home run of the season, placing him in a
two-way tie for second all-time. The Tigers scored four more times in that inning to take a 7-0
UOP starting pitcher Ricky
Reynoso allowed just three hits through the first three innings, with P.J. Floyd homering (his 3rd)
over the right field wall to make it 7-1.
The Tigers scored again in
the fourth when Brusa doubled to knock in Mayer who singled in front of him. That hit
was Brusa's 46th career double, which puts him in second place all-time.
In the seventh inning, Kody
Reynolds banged a tw0-run homer to cut the lead t0 8-3. But in the
ninth, Brusa homered for
the second time, extending the UOP lead to 9-3. He went 4-for-5 with four runs batted
The Hornets rallied in
their final frame. An RBI single by Brandon Hunley (Christian Brothers) and a 2-RBI single
by James Outman cut the gap to 9-6, but the Sacramento State rally fell
Reynoso (3-4), a
freshman, went seven innings, allowing six hits and three earned runs for the win. He struck
out seven and walked none.
Tanner Olson (3-5), who
started for the Hornets lasted just 2.2 innings, allowed six earned runs and took the
Relievers Austin Root of
Oak Ridge High (4 innings, 3 hits, 1 run) and Chad Perry of Marysville High (1 inning no
hits) cooled down the Tigers juggernaut, allowing the hometown Hornets to get back in the
Gio Brusa homered twice and drove in four runs for the Tigers.
Behind Blaser's Big Bat,
State Takes Series With 6-3 Win
at UC Santa
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- In the decisive rubber match
between two Big West leaders, Dalton
Blaser knocked in four runs
as No. 22 Fullerton State (32-17)
won 6-3 to
take the series against the No. 24 Gauchos
Blaser (Roseville
High/Sierra College) went 3-for-5 this afternoon,
knocking in three of the Titans six runs. He also scored on a wild pitch. Blaser extended his hitting streak to 12
games, raised his average to
.381 overall (.475 in Big West) and now
has a team-leading 36 runs batted in to go with 11 doubles and four home runs, giving him
an OPS of .983 for the season.
Fullerton State dropped
Friday's contest 3-2 butblew away the Gauchos
yesterday on their home field 18-2. With the win the Titans (14-4 Big West) lead
second-place Long Beach State by three games with two series left on the schedule: Hawai'i at
home next weekend and they finish on the road at Long Beach State to close out the
With today's loss Santa Barbara (10-8 Big
West) drops to third place.
Ducks Win 6-3, Take Series from Oregon
EUGENE, Ore. -- Closer Stephen Nogosek (Woodcreek High)
preserved Oregon's 6-3 lead in the ninth inning tonight to earn his 13th save of the season. The
No. 13 Beavers had the potential tying run at the plate in Christian Donohue, but Nogosek
fanned the hitter to end the game.
Oregon improves to 24-22, 12-12 in Pac-12, while Oregon
State drops to 30-18, but more importantly falls four games behind first-place Utah
with their 11-13 Pac-12 record.
Bears Bash In
Doubleheader Wins
Cal Scores 28 Runs Combined On
EVANSTON, Ill - The California offense picked up right
where it left off on Saturday with 15-3 and 13-2 wins over Northwestern in a doubleheader Sunday
afternoon at R&B Miller Park. Through the first three games of this four-game series, the
Golden Bears (28-18, 11-13 Pac-12) have outscored the Wildcats, 44-5.
Today's 12-run and 11-run Cal wins gave the Bears three
straight double-digit wins for the first time since a series against Southern Utah in
The 44 Cal runs broke the record for most runs in a
four-game series with head coach David Esquer at the helm. The previous record was 39 against
Loyola Marymount in 2008. The Bears are seven runs shy of the record for runs in any series
under Esquer, which is 51, set in 2000 against Arizona. The 44 runs currently ranks third, as
Cal notched 46 in a series once, as well.
After homering twice on Saturday, sophomore catcher
Brett Cumberland went yard again in the second game of the doubleheader on Sunday. His three-run
home run in the fourth inning extended Cal's lead to 5-0. Cumberland now has 15 home runs this
After Northwestern got two runs back in the sixth
inning, the Bears strung together a seven-run eighth inning to put the game out of contention.
Sophomore Denis Karas slugged a three-run homer as part of that seven-run rally, his second of
the day. Prior to the home run, senior Nick Halamandaris plated two with a base hit after a walk
with the bases loaded and a Wildcat error brought home the first two runs of the
"It's great to see us getting the bats rolling again as
we head into the final stretch of the season," Karas said. "We're looking forward to playing
another good game tomorrow and carrying this momentum into next
True freshman Joey Matulovich got the start in game two
and went six complete, allowing two earned runs on three hits and three walks, while striking
out three. He picked up his first win of the season, evening his record to
In both games, five Bears picked up multi-hit games,
with Karas the only Bear to accomplish the feat in both games. In game two, Halamandaris went
3-for-6 with two RBI and a run scored. Cumberland finished 2-for-3 with four RBI, three runs
scored, two walks and a home run. Although junior Robbie Tenerowicz didn't garner a hit in game
two, he scored three times in three plate appearances with two
Aaron Knapp (Granite Bay HIgh) went 3-for-8 in today's
double-header and scored three times.
Bears Maul Wildcats 15-3 in First Game of
(Cal Athletics)
EVANSTON, Ill - The California bats stayed red hot as the
Golden Bears (27-18, 11-13 Pac-12) took Game One in a doubleheader against Northwestern on
Sunday afternoon, topping the Wildcats, 15-3, from R&B Miller Park.
The 12-run win marked the first time Cal has notched
back-to-back double-digit wins since 2010 against Southern Utah.
Sophomore Denis Karas went 3-for-5 with three RBI, two
runs scored and one of his hits was a home run.
The Bears took a 2-0 lead into the fifth inning when they
broke the game open. Following an RBI single by senior third baseman Mitchell Kranson, sophomore
Preston Grand Pre knocked in two with a base hit of his own.
An inning later in the sixth, junior Robbie Tenerowicz
collected two RBI on a triple, and he would later score on an RBI ground out by Kranson.
Tenerowicz ended Game One with three RBI as he went 2-for-5 with a double, a triple and two runs
Through five and a half, Cal held an 8-0 lead and never
lost control of the game.
Kranson, Grand Pre and senior Devin Pearson were the
other Bears to collect multiple hits. Pearson also scored three times.
True freshman pitcher Tanner
Dodson (Jesuit)picked up the win, improving to 3-4 on the year. Dodson went five
and a third, allowing three runs, two earned runs on five hits, while striking out
Sac State Drops
Game Three 4-3 at Grand Canyon U
PHOENIX, Ariz. -- Grand
Canyon University (23-26-1) broke a 3-3 tie in the eighth inning when Thomas LaRouge singled off
Tyler Beardsley, was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and came home on a
game-winning single by Garrison Schwarz to defeat Sacramento State (28-23) 4-3 this
For Beardsley (4-1), it was
his first loss of the season. He relieved for Grant Kekuk who allowined seven hits and three
earned runs over seven innings.
Sacramento State Beats Grand Canyon
Again 8-3 Saturday Night
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Junior Sam Long threw six
scoreless innings and senior Chris Lewis went 4-for-5 with a 2-run home run as Sacramento State
clinched a series win against Grand Canyon with an 8-3 victory on Saturday night.
Sacramento State (28-22, 15-8 WAC) got another
brilliant performance from its starting pitcher after junior Max Karnos allowed just one run over
eight innings on Friday. Long permitted just two singles over his six innings of work to pick up
his fifth victory of the year.
Lewis recorded the third 4-hit game of his
career. He hit a 2-out, 2-run home run in the first inning, singled and scored in the third,
singled, stole second, and scored in the fifth, and singled in the ninth inning. He tallied
Sacramento State's second 4-hit game this season (Andrew McWilliam had the other at Fresno
The Hornets outhit the Antelopes 14-7 with five
extra-base hits. Junior Gunner Pollman was 3-for-4 with a walk, an RBI, and two runs scored, junior
Kody Reynolds was 2-for-4 with two doubles, and sophomore PJ Floyd was 2-for-5 with a run and RBI.
Junior Bronson Grubbs had a hit and drove in two runs and junior Trent Goodrich had a
~ ~
Cal Offense Erupts With 16-0 Win At
Pearson And Cumberland Homer Twice For
(Cal Athletics)
Ill. – Led by
two home runs from senior designated hitter
Devin Pearsonand sophomore catcher
Brett Cumberland, the California offense exploded, as the Golden Bears (26-18, 11-13
Pac-12) scored in every inning and defeated Northwestern, 16-0, Saturday afternoon at R&B
Miller Park. It was the first time under head coach
David Esquerthat Cal scored in every inning in a game.
"Great effort by Mason and the
offense," Esquer said. "Ryan had three pitches working, and Pearson and Cumberland had some big
swings for us. Good to see us swing the bats well and get good pitching."
It was Pearson's second three-hit
game of the season. It was also the first time this year he has homered twice in a game. Pearson
ended the day 3-for-5 with two home runs, three RBI and two runs scored.
Cumberland went 3-for-4 with two home
runs, four RBI and two runs scored. It was his second multi-home run performance this
They were two of five Bears to pick
up multiple hits. Senior third baseman
Mitchell Kranson, senior right fielderSean
Petersand sophomore second baseman
Preston Grand Precollected two hits each.
Equally as impressive as the
offensive showcase was the efforts of senior pitcher
Ryan Masonwho improved to 7-2 on the year. He only allowed three hits through six
innings of work. Mason also struck out 10 batters, tying his season high and two shy of his career
best. He is now tied for third in school history in career wins with 25, and he is 10th in career
innings pitched.
Hornets Open Grand Canyon Series with
4-1 Win
(Sac State Athletics)
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Junior Max Karnos put together
his second straight outstanding start, allowing just one run over eight innings, and sophomore P.J.
Floyd hit a 2-run home run as Sacramento State picked up a 4-1 win over Grand Canyon in the series
opener on Friday night in Phoenix.
Karnos threw seven shutout innings to start the
game after tossing a shutout last Friday against Utah Valley. He had a 16-inning scoreless streak
snapped as GCU scored a run in the eighth inning but he lowered his season ERA to 2.76 in his sixth
win of the year. Each team had eight hits in the game but Karnos scattered the GCU hits and got two
double plays.
Sacramento State (27-22, 14-8 WAC) overcame
100-degree heat and rode Karnos to a win in just one hour and 59 minutes, the team's quickest game
of the year. Grand Canyon (22-25-1, 10-12 WAC), the defending regular season WAC champion, lost its
fifth straight game and lost for the seventh time in its last nine home WAC
The Hornets charged ahead 2-0 on Floyd's first home run of the season in just his second
start. Andrew
McWilliam led off the sixth inning with a double and was driven in with an RBI single by Matt Smith
(El Dorado High).
Aggies Sweep Hornets On 7-1 Win in
Editor Rick Cabral
The Aggies of UC Davis (16-26) posted a second straight
dominant performance with a 7-1 win to sweep the Sac State Hornets (26-22) in the 2016 Diamond
Causeway Classic.
Last week, UC Davis pasted the Hornets 8-2, and the
six-run differential was the same today. The Aggies have now won seven of eight since sweeping
UOP on May 1.
Another similarity to last week, Davis junior right
hander Justin Mullins (2-4) gave the Aggies another great start over the cross-town rivals. He
hurled 5.2 innings, allowing one run (earned) while scattering seven hits. He walked none and
fanned six batters to lower his earned run average to 4.70.
With no score in the top of the third, Jonny Palsha
(0-2) relieved Hornets starter Austin Ragsdale (Bradshaw Christian). Palsha retired the Aggies'
hot-hitting leadoff hitter Tanner Bily, but then hit Alex Aguiar, who stole second base on a
curve ball in the dirt. Designated hitter Cameron Olson swung and looked at two curves
for 0-2 count, looked at another for a ball, and then singled to right field on the
fourth consecutive curve served to him. Right fielder Andrew McWilliam mishandled the ball,
which bounced all the way to the wall. Aguiar scored and Olson easily ended up at third for
a two-base error.
Catcher Logan Denholm—who was on a five-game hitting
streak—knocked in Olson with a sharp single to center field to give UC Davis a 2-0 lead. Spencer
Henderson bunted safely to third base, giving the Ags two more base runners, but Palsha pitched
out of trouble.
In the bottom of the third, McWilliam made up for his
error by slamming his sixth home run over the left field wall—the second straight home game he
did it—to cut the lead to 2-1.
In the top of the fifth, UC Davis padded its lead in an
inning the Hornets would rather forget. Just so they do not…reliever Matt Gorgolinkski walked
the first two hitters he saw, and Coach Reggie Christiansen wasted no time in calling for his
fourth pitcher, Austin Root (Oak Ridge High).
Denholm (also of Oak Ridge) lined to left field, and
senior outfielder Chris Lewis laid out to make a run-saving catch. With two strikes left-handed
hitting Henderson fouled off pitch after pitch, and finally grounded out to drive in the first
run of the inning (Davis 3-1). Freshman Caleb Van Blake singled to right field, knocking in the
second run. Root then hit the next batter, and after a wild pitch both runners were in scoring
position. With two outs, sophomore Justin Allen smoked a grounder that ate up shortstop Trent
Goodrich for a run-scoring error, giving the Aggies a 5-1 lead.
In the bottom of the sixth, Sac State rallied, knocking
two singles off Mullins. Aggies head coach Matt Vaughn went to freshman lefthander Chris Brown,
fresh off a win in relief against UC Santa Barbara last Friday. Brown gave up a single to
Hornets catcher Gunner Polman to load the bases. But Brown struck out pinch hitter Blake
Edmonson to strand three State runners. That was Sacramento's final
Polman threw out two more base runners today (and should
have had a third, but the fielder dropped the throw) for a total of 27 on the
The Aggies took a 6-1 lead in the seventh inning on
Denholm's third home run. One inning later, Bily's sacrifice fly notched the final score, Aggies
Clearly the two teams are headed in opposite directions,
as UC Davis has shaken off those 10 one-run losses earlier in the season (including three at
Arizona State). Sacramento State, meanwhile, has now dropped seven of eight, beginning with a
sweep at New Mexico State.
The Hornets play at Grand Canyon this weekend, while the
Aggies travel to CSU Northridge.
Hornets Announce
"Let There Be Light(s)!"
(Sac State
Despite today's
disappointing news, Hornets Athletics announced that the new ballpark lights will get their
first tryout next Tuesday May 17 for the
non-conference game against University of the Pacific. Game time for this historic
event is at 7:11.
"It's an exciting day for the program,"
Sacramento State head coach Reggie Christiansen said. "A lot of years of hard work were put into
this before I got here to make this day become a reality. Credit goes to Coach Smith, President
Nelsen, and the former players that got us to this point as a program and I'm looking forward to
next Tuesday night."
Midweek day games have been a challenge to
schedule around student-athlete's academic schedules and have precluded many fans from attending
those games during typical working hours. The lights will not only alleviate this but will also
allow the team to potentially host NCAA Tournament games and prepare the squad for road games away
from Sacramento.
All former Hornet baseball players and their
families will receive free admission to next Tuesday's first home game under the lights, which will
be presented by 7-Eleven. All fans can purchase two tickets to the game for just $10 while the
first 500 fans through the gates will receive free commemorative key chain
Gates will open at 5:30 and fans are encouraged
to arrive at the ball park early as Christiansen, and former Hornets baseball coaches John
Smith and Cal Boyes will ceremonially turn on the lights for the first time at 6:00
p.m. Sacramento State President Robert Nelsen will throw
out first pitch.
The Hornets also announced that the first two
games of the series against Seattle University, scheduled for May 19 and 20, will be night games as
well, with first pitch slated
for 7:00 p.m. The regular season finale on
Saturday, May 21, will be have a noon start time.
That squiggly wave of "Ws" in the base path
along third is something we've never seen before at John Smith Field: shadows from
the ballpark's new light standards.
(Cal Aggies Media Relations)
DAVIS, Calif.
Three UC Davis pitchers combined to hold No. 13 UC Santa Barbara to six
hits on the day, while a quartet of Aggies finished with three hits, helping them clinch their
first Big West Conference series win of the season with a 13-3 rout of the No. 13 Gauchos on Sunday
afternoon at Dobbins Stadium.
UC Davis improved to 15-26 overall and 4-11 in conference play, winning its first series against UC
Santa Barbara since the Aggies swept the Gauchos on the road in 2010 and took a series at home from
Santa Barbara for the first time in the program's Division I history.
UCSB fell to 31-12-1 overall and 9-6 in the Big West with Sunday's defeat, led by a 2-for-3 day off
the bat of Devon Gradford.
In tying its season high for runs in a conference game this season, UC Davis scored multiple times
in five of the eight innings on the day, matching its offensive output in a 13-12 win over UC
Riverside back on April 3. After falling behind 2-0 in the second, the Aggies responded with four
in their half of the inning, added two more runs in both the fourth and fifth, scored three times
in the sixth, and finished off with a pair in the seventh.
Freshman Logan
Denholm (Oak Ridge High) finished 3-for-5 with a
pair of runs scored and four runs driven in, slugging his second home run of the season (a
two-run shot) in the sixth and adding a two-run single in the seventh to cap the scoring.
Sophomores Justin
Allen and Brad
Pluschkell also added three hits and a pair of
RBI, while senior Tanner
Bily was 3-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored
at the top of the order.
UC Davis
catcher Logan Denholm had a big day at the plate today in the 13-3 win against UC
Santa Barbara. With the victory the Aggies took the series. Photo on
~ ~
Utah Valley Takes
Series With 3-2 Win Over Sac State
For the first five innings out at the ballyard at
Sacramento State, it was a lazy, warm afternoon. And that famous lyric from the Rascals song
played in the imaginary background:
Groovin' on a Sunday afternoon.
Sac State (26-21, 13-8 WAC) was ahead 1-0 on a Kody Reynolds RBI single in the fourth inning,
starting pitcher Grant Kekuk was in control through five frames, and the mellow mood felt good,
as the green and gold hoped to claim this rubber match from Utah Valley (28-19, 13-8
Kekuk retired the first batter in the sixth inning. Then
POW the spell was broken when Zac Willis lined a fastball toward the left field line. Outfielder
Chris Lewis leaped over the wall, and only when his left arm came down without the ball or his
glove, we knew the mood was over. Lewis had to run around and fetch his
And just as No. 6 repositioned himself in left field,
after the next pitch—another fast ball down Broadway—it was POW again, this time Greyson Bogdon
hit a deeper drive that bounced off the second floor façade of the parking structure behind the
left field fence. Suddenly, the Hornets trailed 2-1.
Kekuk collected himself and retired the next hitter on a
ground out to first base. He got two strikes on Craig Brinkerhof, but the batter struck the next
pitch he saw—again a fastball that cut the heart of the plate—and he
smoked a mighty blow over the centerfield fence that
even outfielder Bronson Grubbs couldn't catch.
The Wolverines celebrated their sudden 3-1
And at that moment the Rascals song reappeared in our
imaginary playlist, only this time the word "groovin'" had a different connotation. It was like
the three Utah Valley batters were in a groove when they saw the ball coming off the hand of
Kekuk (5-3), who had pitched a marvelous game up until the fireworks (his line score was six
hits, three earned runs, no walks and struck out three hitters).
Tyler Beardsley—who hadn't pitched all weekend—replaced
Kekuk in the seventh and held the Wolverines scoreless for the next three innings, allowing just
three hits and dropping his earned run average to 0.96.
In the bottom of the eighth, Andrew McWilliam touched
Utah Valley starter Jake Mayer (7-1) for a line shot off the scoreboard to cut the lead 3-2 (his
5th HR of the season). Mayer (7.2, 6 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, 2 Ks) soon was replaced
with Kyle Valgardson, who worked 1.1 innings of hitless ball to earn his seventh
Hornets catcher Gunner Polman threw out his 25th base runner of the
With the victory, the
Wolverines have pulled into a tie with Sacramento State for third place in the Western Athletic
Conference, behind first place Seattle which was two games in front of New Mexico State to start
Sacramento State hopes to exact revenge on UC Davis,
which comes into John Smith Field on Tuesday. The Aggies clipped the Hornets 8-2 on
Drop Series With 6-4 Loss At Stanford
(Cal Athletics Media Relations)
STANFORD, Calif. – The California Golden Bears (25-18, 11-13 Pac-12) were
knocked off by the Stanford Cardinal (23-19, 10-11 Pac-12) 6-4 on Saturday night at Sunken
Diamond. The Bears took an early lead, but surrendered five straight runs, including a
four-spot in the bottom of the fourth. Cal could not climb out of the hole and though the
Bears fought back to score three more runs, they eventually dropped the game and their fifth
straight series.
Freshman pitcher Tanner Dodson (Jesuit) started for Cal
and in his 3.2 innings pitched allowed the Cardinal six hits and five runs (two earned) in
taking the loss. Dodson is 2-4 on the season.
The Bears, behind the fine pitching of Ryan
Mason (Placer High) took the first game at Sunken Diamond 4-1. Mason limited
Stanford to six hits and one run over six innings. With the victory, Mason (6-2) is now tied
for fourth place on Cal's all-time wins list, and moved into 10th place all-time for innings
On Friday night, Stanford, behind their ace freshman righty Tristan Beck, took
Game Two 5-1, as Beck (5-4) struck out eight of the first nine batters he faced, and tossed
seven shutout innings against the hard-hitting Bears.
Bears right fielder Brian Celsi (Jesuit) missed the
entire series with a broken thumb that happened during the week. Celsi is expected to miss
the rest of the regular season. Replacement outfielder freshman Jonah Davis on Thursday
notched his first and RBI and 2-for-4 in the Bears only win in the Stanford
No. 13
UC Santa Barbara Wins 7-3 Over Host UC Davis
By Editor Rick Cabral
UC Santa Barbara (31-11-1, 9-5 Big West) scored four
runs in the fourth inning, and starter Joe Record held UC Davis (14-26, 3-11 Big West) to two
runs as the Gauchos took the second game of the series 7-3 at Dobbins
The loss snapped UC Davis' five-game winning streak,
including yesterday's 6-2 victory over the Gauchos.
Record, who was slated to pitch on Sunday, had control
issues in the first inning. After Alex Aguiar singled with one out, Record fanned Cameron Olson.
Then the pitcher plunked freshman Logan Denholm and issued a walk to Caleb Van Blake to load the
bases. Freshman Alex Roeser walked, which scored Aguiar to make it Davis
UC Davis
shortstop Brad Pluschkell appears to make the tag in time but UC Santa Barbara
runner Clay Fisher was called safe at second base in the 7-3 win over the
Meantime, Spencer Henderson cruised until he hit the
fourth inning bump, when he opened the inning with a walk, and allowed a double and three
singles as the Gauchos capitalized by scoring four times. Davis' left fielder Aguiar dove and
made a lay-out catch in left center to prevent more damage.
Aguiar made two scintillating catches against Sac State
in the midweek game.
In the sixth inning, Davis scored another run on a
base-loaded walk to make it 5-2. And two innings later, Van Blake's sacrifice fly scored Denholm
to cut the Gaucho's lead to 5-3.
UC Santa Barbara's Austin Bush, who has had a quiet two
games against Davis, hit a ninth inning two-run homer, No. 5 on the season. In addition, Michael
McAdoo drove in a pair of runs, J.J. Muno collected two doubles, and Ryan Cumberland had a pair
of hits and one RBI for the Gauchos.
The winning pitcher Record (5-4) pitched six innings,
allowed the Aggies two runs (one earned) walked five and struck out seven to lower his ERA to
3.91 for the year.
Henderson of Davis (1-3) also pitched six innings,
allowed eight hits and five runs (four earned). He gave up two walks and struck out three.
Reliever Justin Mullins, who earned the win against Sac State on Tuesday, threw 2.2 innings
allowing two hits, two earned runs, three walks, and a pair of
UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara are scheduled to meet
on Sunday at 1 p.m.
~ ~ ~
(Sac State Media Relations)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Utah Valley senior right handed
pitcher Danny Beddes took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and allowed just two singles over
eight scoreless innings to lead Utah Valley to a 5-0 win over Sacramento State in the second of a
three-game series on Saturday at John Smith Field.
Sacramento State (26-20, 13-7 WAC) lost its first home
WAC game of the season after starting 10-0 in home league games. The Hornets were shut out for the
first time in WAC play and the first time since March 28 as Utah Valley (27-19, 12-8 WAC) returned
the favor after being shut out by Max Karnos and the Hornets, 8-0, on Friday.
State starter Sam Long (4-7) allowed four runs in the sixth inning to take the
Josh Adams—Working Hard and Winning in the Big
By Editor, Rick
(Note, this report was prepared
prior to Game One which was won by UC Davis yesterday
Blond, blue-eyed Josh Adams is
happy to be a Gaucho.
The 6'2" left-hander plays
outfield for the #13 ranked UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, who are in town to play UC
Josh Adams of UC Santa Barbara smashed this pitch
for a double yesterday in the 6-2 loss to UC
His team is one game out of the top spot in the Big West League, and with its Top
10 RPI, almost assured of a regional playoff spot, pending a complete collapse here
at the end of the season.
Adams was steered to the
beautiful campus at Santa Barbara principally by its head coach, Andrew Checketts.
While in lower division at Pleasant Grove High, Checketts—then the pitching coach
at Oregon—recruited Adams. But when Checketts got the head coaching position at
Santa Barbara, he lured Adams to join him in building the program. Adams followed.
And he's thrilled he did.
"He told me was going to get good players,
and that's exactly what he got since I've been there. It's been awesome."
(Click to continue this Spotlight
Corral Gauchos 6-2 In Game One at UCD
By Editor Rick Cabral
At this time of the collegiate baseball season
power-ranked clubs—the Floridas, Vanderbilts and Virginias—begin to check the back-end of their
schedules, and peek at the predictions for who will host the Division 1 NCAA Regional
One of those up-and-coming power teams is #13 UC Santa
Barbara, who entered today's series opener at UC Davis (the league's last place team) with a
30-10-1 record, one game out of the top spot in the Big West, with their ace Shane Bieber on the
mound sporting an 8-2 record and 3.12 earned run average.
Last year, the Gauchos hosted their first-ever regional,
as they climbed onto the top shelf. But Davis came in to today's game on a four-game winning
streak, itching for a fight.
UC Santa Barbara
Dempsey Grover couldn't hold this throw from the shortstop allowing Alex
Roeser to score the eventual winning run in Davis' 6-2 win over the Gauchos. Umpire
Billy Haze is preparing to signal the runner "safe."
For six innings today at Dobbins Stadium, Bieber looked
like an ace, limiting UC Davis to three hits (all singles) and no runs. Meanwhile, his club
spotted him a 2-0 lead in the second inning off Aggies starter, lefthander Robert Garcia. But
the Gauchos could and probably should have gotten more in the second inning, when they
loaded the bases with no outs, but only managed a pair of runs (the only ones they'd get, as it
turned out).
From the third inning through the sixth, Bieber and
Garcia traded zeros, with the visiting pitcher painting the black and firing his 91-mph fastball
like "a pea at the knees" to quote the legendary hurler, Satchell Paige. After he walked one
hitter in the sixth, the Gauchos infield turned a double play to end the
But the boys from Santa Barbara could feel the momentum
shifting toward the home sideline, as demonstrated by their dugout exhortations to "C'mon, let's
get goin!"
In the seventh inning, Aggies skipper Matt Vaughn made
two substitutions that paid off big. To start the inning, he replaced Garcia with fellow lefty
Chris Brown, who retired the Gauchos in order.
Meantime, in the home half of the seventh, freshman
catcher Logan Denholm rapped a one-out single off Bieber. Left-handed hitter Spencer Henderson
knocked the first pitch he saw against the left field wall to plate Denholm and break Bieber's
shutout. After Alex Roseser drew a walk, the Gauchos held a meeting on the mound, as
Bieber had passed the 100 pitch threshold, but still looked
Then Vaughn sent up pinch-hitter Caleb Van Slake.
Wasting no time, he lined the first pitch from Bieber down the right field line for a
run-scoring double to tie the game 2-2. With Santa Barbara's infield drawn in to choke off the
runner at third base, the strategy seemed to work perfectly when Justin Allen grounded
hard to shortstop. But Roeser made a dash for home plate and catcher Dempsey Grover dropped the
throw from shortstop Clay Fisher, allowing Roeser to score the go-ahead
Turned out it also was the winning
But in the eighth, sensing time was running out, UC
Santa Barbara put the leadoff man on with a walk and he was sacrificed to second base. Then J.J.
Muno hit a towering drive. Davis right fielder Tanner Bily snared the pill at the top of the
wall, sending a wave of groans along the visitor's sideline. And when Brown fanned Austin
Bush to end the rally, you knew it was the Aggies' day.
UC Davis (14-25) padded its lead in the bottom of the
eighth scoring three runs off Gaucho's reliever Trevor Bettancourt. And that was the
"Their pitcher (Bieber) was going real good, but in the
seventh inning he gave us a couple of opportunities, and fortunately we capitalized," said
Aggies head coach, Matt Vaughn.
Brown (1-3) earned the victory with two solid innings of
relief, following up on Garcia's strong six innings. The Aggies starter allowed four
hits, two earned runs, three walks and had eight
strikeouts. Vaughn
credited Garcia with keeping his club in the contest, and Brown kept the pedal to the
For six innings, Shane Bieber dominated UCD, but the Aggies scored 3 runs in the
7th en route to a 6-2 win over UC Santa Barbara.
Over his seven innings, Bieber (8-3) allowed six hits, three earned runs, two
walks while striking out seven.
Henderson led the Aggies hitters, going 3-for-4 with two
RBI, while Denholm (Oak Ridge High), who sparked the home team's comeback, had a pair of
hits and scored two runs.
Clay Fisher led the Gauchos with a 3-for-4
afternoon with one RBI while designated hitter Josh Adams (Pleasant Grove High) went 2-for-4
with a double and one run.
Vaughn was quietly proud of his guys after the game,
saying his young team has had a down year, but they were "in" many of those losses. "We've got
some momentum now, which is a good feeling."
Santa Barbara knows the feeling all too
(Sac State Media
Sacramento State junior
right handed pitcher Max Karnos faced just one batter over the minimum, allowing just three singles
in a complete game shutout, and his offense provided more than enough support in an 8-0 win for the
Hornets over Utah Valley on Friday to open a three-games series.
Karnos permitted only four
base runners on three singles and a walk, and after each of the three singles he allowed he got
double play groundouts from the next batter. He struck out four and threw only 94 pitches for his
second shutout of the season.
"I got a lot of first pitch
strikes and they were pretty aggressive so I was able to let my defense work for me," Karnos said.
"My sinker produces a lot of groundballs and I wanted contact and it worked well
Sacramento State (26-19,
13-6 WAC) improved to 10-0 in home WAC games this season. The Hornets scored eight runs in support
of Karnos with two runs in the fourth inning, two in the sixth inning, and four more in the seventh
and ended a four-game winning streak for Utah Valley (26-19, 11-8 WAC).
Freshman Matt Smith (El
Dorado High) was 3-for-4 with two doubles, two RBIs, and two runs scored to lead the Hornets.
Senior Chris Lewis, hitting behind Smith in the cleanup spot, was 1-for-3 with a double and four
RBIs for his second four-RBI game of the season. Senior Trent Goodrich went 1-for-2 with a walk and
three runs scored as seven of the nine Hornet starters had hits.
UC Davis 8, Sac State
By Editor Rick
Davis, Calif. – The Aggies (13-25) got six strong
innings out of starter Justin Mullins (1-4) and the offense scored seven runs by the fourth
inning to take the first game of this year's Diamond Causeway Classic 8-2 on a muggy, warm day
at Dobbins Field.
Sacramento State (23-19) has now lost four in a row
(they were swept by New Mexico State last weekend), and UC Davis has won four in a row, having
swept the Tigers of UOP last weekend.
UCD pitcher Justin Mullins worked six
innings to earn his first victory of the year against Sac State.
UC Davis scored an unearned run in the second inning off Hornets' midweek starter Tanner Olson
In the home half of the third, Brad Pluschkell led off
with a single and went to second on Tanner Bily's walk. Alex Aguiar singled in a run. With runners at second and first, Tanner Olson
got left-hander batter Cameron Olson to hit into a 3-6-1
double play.
But then freshman Logan Denholm (Oak Ridge High) doubled
in Bily to make it 3-0. And when Olson walked the next batter, Coach Reggie Christiansen sought
Austin Root (Oak Ridge High) from the bullpen, ending Olson's short outing (2.2 IP, 5ER,
Root plunked the next hitter to load the bases. Aggies'
freshman Caleb Van Blake singled in two more runs to give UC Davis a 5-0
Riding a 5-0 lead in the fourth inning, Mullins had
retired the first nine batters when Bronson Grubbs (Pleasant Grove) broke up the no-hitter with
a single. Two outs later, Matt Smith (El Dorado High) also singled, but Mullins preserved the
whitewash, stranding the runners.
In the Aggies' fourth, Christiansen brought in Friday
starter Sam Long for an inning of work, and Davis made him pay. The first hitter Pluschkell
worked a full count and then singled off the left-handed Long (Del Campo High). On the very
first pitch he saw, Bily blasted a home run over the left field wall to give the Aggies a 7-0
Long bore down and struck out the next four hitters.
That's right--four in a row, as the third batter's strike three pitch bounced to the
backstop to continue the inning. Long fanned the next man up to record the rare
"4 Punchouts in a Frame.
State battled back, scoring twice in the sixth inning on
Josh Egan's sacrifice fly and Brandon Hunley's hot smash that was mishandled for an error by
Davis' shortstop, Pluschkell. That made it 7-2 and ended Mullins'
But UCD answered when Cameron Olson hit a solo smash
over the right field wall for his third home run of the year. In the final three innings Aggies
relievers allowed just one hit to preserve the 8-2 victory, their first over the Hornets at
Dobbins Stadium in six games.
UC Davis starter Mullins was backed by a solid defense,
notably outfielder Alex Aguiar who made two great catches in left field, including a sensational
catch leaping high against the fence to rob Trent Goodrich of extra bases in the first
Over his six innings, Mullins allowed seven hits, two
runs (one earned), walked none and fanned five. With this impressive outing his earned run
average dropped from 5.40 to 4.58.
Van Blake led all hitters going 3-for-4 with a double
and a triple. Pluschkell and Bily each went 2-for-4
with the latter knocking two with his home run. Grubbs and Goodrich both had a pair of hits for
the Hornets, who totaled eight for the afternoon.
These two teams meet again next Tuesday with the Hornets
hosting UC Davis at John Smith Field. Game time is 3 p.m.
UCD coeds enjoying the game against Sac
Hornets Lose Series Finale 13-6--Swept
By New Mexico State
(Sac State Media Relations with an editorial
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – New Mexico State used five
home runs for a 13-6 victory over Sacramento State on Sunday in Las
New Mexico State (25-18, 13-5 WAC) moved into
sole possession of second place in the WAC with the win. Sacramento State (25-18, 12-6 WAC) drops
to a share of third place in the conference.
The Hornets outhit the Aggies 15-10 on Sunday
and had scoring opportunities in each of the last eighth innings of the game, generating 16 at-bats
with runners in scoring position in the game. Senior Chris Lewis hit his fourth home run of the
season while Dan Deely, Gunner Pollman and Trent Goodrich all had three-hit games, with the latter
driving in two runs.
Sacramento State took the early lead again on
Sunday as Lewis launched a solo home run in the second inning. New Mexico State came back with a
2-run homer in the bottom of the third but the Hornets drew even when Goodrich drove in Deely with
a single in the fourth.
The Hornets jumped to a 5-2 lead with three runs
in the top of the fifth. Lewis led off with a single before sophomore Andrew McWilliam drove him in
with an RBI triple. McWilliam would score on a sacrifice fly from Pollman, and Deely drove in the
third run of the inning.
The Aggies answered immediately with three runs
in the bottom of the third to tie it 5-5, and in the home half of the sixth inning NMSU opened
things up with five runs on four hits, with three of the four hits home runs. New Mexico State
finished the scoring with three runs in the eighth inning on a 3-run homer by Daniel Johnson, his
second home run of the game.
Johnson homered in each game of the series, and
over the three games he hit 10-for-15 (.667) with four home runs, 13 RBIs, seven runs scored, and a
stolen base. Senior Grant Kukuk was handed just his second loss of the year for the Hornets.
Sac State hit a solid .290 for the series,
as Pollman hit .500 (5-for-10) and Deely hit .455 (5-for-11). But the slugging Aggies built on
their WAC-leading scoring average and swept the Capital City
The Hornets conclude a stretch of eight of nine
games on the road with the first of two meetings with Causeway rival UC Davis. The foes will meet
at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday in Davis.
Takes Series with 7-4 Win On Sunday in Berkeley
(Cal Media Relations with an editorial
BERKELEY, Calif. — California lost
the rubber match of a three-game series to Washington 7-4 at Evans Diamond
The Golden Bears' (24-16, 10-11) scored three
runs in the third inning when catcher Brett Cumberland launched a three-run home run. It was
his Pac-12 Conference leading 12th home run on the season.
The Huskies' (25-15, 11-7) scored three runs off
Cal's starting pitcher Matt Ladrech (3-3) who went 3.0 innings before being replaced by Joey
Matulovich who got the loss (0-1). Following Cumberland's home run in the bottom half of the
third, which tied the game, Washington retook the lead in the top of the fourth with a RBI
Cal had the bases loaded with no outs in the
bottom of the ninth but could only score once, as Robbie
Tenerowicz lined out, Cumberland struck out (for the third time in the game for just
the third time this year), and Mitchell Kranson grounded out to end Cal's chances of a
comeback against the Huskies closer and Pac-12 saves leader, Troy Rallings.
Aaron Knapp (Granite Bay High) and Brian Celsi
(Jesuit) both had one hit in three at bats.
Mexico State Takes Game Two 6-2 Over Sac State
Las Cruces, New Mexico—The Aggies of New Mexico State
(24-18, 12-5 WAC) continued shelling Sacramento State (25-17, 12-5 WAC) pitching today, claiming
Game Two 6-2, and assuring a series win.
Coming into this important series Hornets head coach
Reggie Christiansen knew that New Mexico State was the highest scoring team in the conference,
averaging nearly six runs a game, with a team batting average of .282, good for second place in
the WAC.
Yesterday, the Ags pounded Hornets starter Sam Long
(4-6) and two relievers to the tune of 14 runs on 18 hits (Long allowed nine earned runs on 11
hits). Today, the Aggies continued the drumbeat off starter Max Karnos, who permitted six runs
(five earned), 13 hits (five doubles and two home runs) in six innings of work. That, despite a
brilliant, Houdini-esque defensive play by the pitcher.
With the victory, the Aggies climb into a shared
second-place spot with the Hornets.
The Hornets opened the scoring in the first inning when
Bronson Grubbs greeted New Mexico State freshman pitcher Kyle Bradish with a single. Chris
Lewis' fly ball down the right field line was caught. Grubbs tagged and outfielder Dan Hetzel's
throw to second base scooted into left field, and Grubbs scrambled to third base. He was knocked
in by Andrew McWilliam's RBI single. Dan Smith (El Dorado High) followed with a single, but the
two runners were stranded, and Sac State had to be satisfied with a 1-o
In the second inning New Mexico State's leadoff hitter
Hetzel singled up the middle. KJ Hatch hit a chopper up the middle and Karnos the
Magnificent—with his back to the backstop—kicked the ball up to his glove as if he was playing a
game of hacky sack to start a perfectly completed 1-6-3 double play. Good thing he did, too, as
the next two hitters singled. But Karnos retired the fifth batter in the inning to stop the
The Aggies scored three runs off Karnos in the third
inning on a two-run homer by Daniel "Call Me the Hitman" Johnson, followed by a RBI single by
Vinny Esposito (Granite Bay High) launched an inside
fast ball over the left field wall in the fourth inning to cut the Aggies' lead to 3-2. It was
the sophomore's second long ball of the season.
In the home half of the fourth inning Sac State
shortstop Trent Goodrich couldn't field Brent Sukari's chopper and the runner hustled to second
base (it was ruled a single and E-6 error). Karnos got two quick strikes on Johnson, but the
left-handed hitter golfed a low inside pitch for a double and his third hit of the game. That
scored Sukari, giving the Aggies a 4-2 lead.
In the sixth inning, New Mexico State struck again off
Karnos, who allowed a lead0ff home run to Mason Fishback, and later an RBI double by his nemesis
Christiansen replaced Kontos in the seventh inning with
Jonny Palsha, who spun two shutdown innings. He even retired Johnson on a groundout in the
eighth, spoiling the hitter's chance to hit for the cycle. Johnson went 4-for-5 with two
doubles, a home run, four runs batted in for a total of 10 bases.
Four other Aggies hitters went 2-for-4 today. The
Hornets managed eight hits total, two by Smith and two by the catcher, Gunner
Besides Esposito's round tripper, and Karnos'
magnificent play, there was one other bright spot for the Hornets: Pollman continued living up
to his given name, throwing out another attempted base stealer today for his WAC-leading
23rd caught stealing.
The two teams conclude the series tomorrow
Tenerowicz Drove in
4 and Dodson Tossed Seven Strong In 7-1 Win
(Cal Athletics Media Relations)
BERKELEY, Calif. – The California Golden Bears (24-15, 10-10 Pac-12) picked up
a big 7-1 win to even the series with the Washington Huskies (24-15, 10-7 Pac-12) on Saturday
night at Evans Diamond.
Junior second baseman Robbie Tenerowicz was 2-for-3 with four RBI on the
night, and freshman righty Tanner Dodson (2-3) of Jesuit High of was excellent in his seven
innings, scattering seven hits, allowing just one run and striking out four Huskies. Senior
third baseman Mitchell Kranson pitched in with a big two-run single in a four-run seventh,
giving the Bears an opportunity to win the series on Sunday.
Huskies Take Game One from Bears 4-2 in
by Editor Rick Cabral
Berkeley, Calif -- Washington's John Naff
snapped a 2-2 tie in the top of the eighth inning when he smoked Erik Martinez' fastball over the
centerfield fence with two outs, sending the Huskies to a 4-2 Game One win on a chilly night
in Berkeley.
With the win, Washington (24-14, 10-6 Pac-12) retains
a share of first place in the Pac-12. Cal (23-15, 9-10 Pac-12) meanwhile, with pitcher Ryan
Mason back on the hill, has now dropped eight of its last nine conference
One ray of sunshine for the Bears on a windy, chilly
night by the Bay was designated hitter Devin Pearson, who went 2-for-4, including his solo
shot over the left field in the seventh inning that tied the game
Ryan Mason returned to the mound after missing a start last weekend. Here the
Auburn native delivers a pitch to Washington batter KJ Brady in the first
Pearson, who came into the game with the lowest batting average of the Bears starters at .227,
doubled in the second inning to start a Cal rally that resulted in the game's first
They could have gotten more in that frame, but the first
of California's physical and mental mistakes surfaced. With runners at the corners, and Robbie
Tenerowicz--the Bears' hottest hitter of late--at the plate Brian Celsi (Jesuit) was caught
napping off first base for the third out.
Mason, the 6'5" right-hander from Placer High, missed a
start last weekend against the red-hot Arizona Wildcats. Tonight, he went 5.1 innings, allowing
two earned runs on seven hits and two walks. He had three strikeouts on 73 total pitches (49 for
Washington scored solo runs off Mason (5-2) in the
fifth and sixth innings to tie and take the lead respectively.
In the fifth with none out, Huskies' Levi Jordan dropped
a showcase bunt down the third base line, a surprise with two strikes. Next hitter AJ
Graffanino made several attempts to bunt and during the at bat, Jordan took second base on a
wild pitch; Mason's second of the night. With two outs, Jack Meggs singled up the middle,
scoring Jordan to tie the game at 1-1.
In the Huskies sixth, with one out MJ Hubbs singled
through the left side. During the next at bat, he also took second base courtesy of a pitch in
the dirt, this time a passed ball on Bears catcher, Brett Cumberland. Naff singled to right
field and Celsi came up firing. Cumberland leaped in the air, came down with the
ball and applied the tag on Hubbs. But the runner knocked the ball from the
catcher's glove as he slid across the plate, giving Washington a 2-1
Meantime, Washington starting pitcher Noah Bremer (4-3)
from Berkeley was holding the potent Bears offense in check. But in the sixth, the Bears
responded. After Cumberland popped up, Mitchell Kranson doubled to right center, a ball that may
have hit the track stadium wall if not for the strong westerly winds. That was it for the
sophomore Bremer, who went 5.1 innings, giving up the one earned run on five hits and two
Reliever right hander Will Ballowe hit Nick
Halamandaris, and Cal sensed they had something going. Then
pinch hitter Jeffrey Mitchell Junior hit into a 6-4-3 double play, nicely turned by the Huskies
shortstop Graffanino, who ranged to his right, leaped to snag the high hopper and while in
mid-air flipped to second, where the ball was fired to first in time. The Washington fans, in
force tonight, cheered the sterling defensive play.
Washington sent Alex Nesbitt (2-1) to pitch the
seventh, and although he allowed Pearson's game-tying home run, he was the victor tonight.
Martinez (3-2), who has been the long reliever for the Bears in recent games, took the loss
despite giving up just one earned run on two hits. He looked strong, fanning five during
his nearly three innings of work.
In the Bears' eighth inning, Washington sent to the
mound Troy Rallings, the Pac-12 saves leader. He walked Cumberland, giving Cal something to
cheer. Sean Peters pinch ran for the catcher. Rallings promptly struck out the next two Berkeley
When the reliever came out in the ninth, the score was
then 4-2 and Rallings retired the side, icing the Washington win, while earning his 13th
The Huskies outhit the Bears 10-7, while the home team
made two errors (a wild throw by Halamandaris on a double-play attempt, and an error by
shortstop by Preston Grand Pre (his 12th), who knocked in Cal's first run in the second
Following the game, head coach David Esquer was
heard tongue lashing his veteran squad, reminding them of this missed
opportunity to take a game from the conference co-leader (Huskies share the top spot with
After the game, Mason summed the loss perfectly: "They
played a clean slate out there and we didn't. That was the difference." The senior pitcher said
he felt strong and was proud of keeping the ball low through most of his outing.
Mason said he could have gone deeper in the game if Cal had needed
Esquer added "Again, mistakes are the difference.
And we can feel sorry for ourselves or just not make mistakes." He laughed, but you could hear
him crying as well, as Cal's chances at a return to regional playoff action could be in jeopardy
if they don't rebound soon.
Cumberland, who still leads the conference in several offensive categories,
has cooled off of late, going 3-for-15 with one double, no homers and no RBI in his last five
games. Leadoff hitter Aaron Knapp (Granite Bay) had another tough game, going 0-4 as his
average dropped to .241. He continues to sparkle on defense in center
The two teams meet again Saturday night at 6 p.m.,
followed by an afternoon contest on Sunday. Saturday the Bears will send out freshman
pitcher Tanner Dodson of Jesuit.
It was Krazy Kids night at the ballyard, as Cal welcomed Little Leaguers
(and others with nothing else on their minds but just getting crazy) from the East
(Sac State
Media Relations)
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – New Mexico State used a six-run third inning to open up
a big early lead and went on to complete a 14-4 win in eight innings in the opener of a
three-game series against Sacramento State on Friday night in Las
Sacramento State (25-16, 12-4 WAC) saw its nine game winning streak against
the Aggies come to an end, losing to the team for the first time since 2013. New Mexico State
(23-18, 11-5 WAC) entered the game as the highest scoring team in the WAC and showed it on
The Aggies totaled 14 runs on 18 hits, both season highs against the
Hornets in WAC play. The Hornets put up four runs on eight hits, with freshman Matt Smith and
junior Brandon Hunley both going 2-for-4. Hunley hit a solo home run in the second inning
while Smith drove in two of the four Hornet runs.
Nogosek Saves Oregon's 7-6 Victory Over
Stephen Nogosek (Woodcreek High) earned his
10th save of the season Wednesday night as Oregon
(18-16) held on to defeat No. 10 Oregon State (26-11) 7-6 at PK Park in
With the win, the Ducks snap a four-game losing
streak which began with their midweek loss to the Beavers, followed by a weekend sweep at
The Ducks blew open the contest by scoring seven runs in
the second inning. Oregon State chipped away at the deficit by scoring three runs in the third
inning and two more in the fifth.
Stephen Nogosek
Courtesy Oregon State Athletics
When Nogosek took the mound in the ninth the Ducks clung
to a two-run lead. The junior struck out the first hitter, then allowed a walk which ignited the
Beavers comeback hopes. Christian Donohue rifled a single to right field, but Ducks' right
fielder Jakob Goldfarb allowed the ball to stream through his legs and roll to the
fence, allowing the runner to score and narrow the margin to 7-6. Donohue, standing at third
with one out, represented the tying run.
Pac-12 television announcer Ted Robinson was already
talking about the prospect of "free baseball" (i.e. extra innings) when Nick Madrigal (Elk Grove
High) stepped to the plate. Madrigal, who was 2-for-4 on the night and flashing a .358 average
entering the contest, battled Nogosek in a 2013 high school playoff classic en route to the
Herd's section crown.
After a long at-bat, Nogosek got Madrigal to pop-up to
first base, stranding the runner. Then the
right-hander struck out Oregon State catcher Logan Ice for the third out to preserve the
With that performance Nogosek notched his
10th save and lowered his earned run average to 1.11. His ERA would place him
among the Top 10 rankings in Division 1, except his 24.1 innings do not meet the minimum
~ ~ ~
(Sac State Media
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Trailing 4-2 with two out in the ninth inning
freshman Matt Smith (El Dorado High) delivered a 2-run single to tie the
score, and with two out in the bottom of the 11th junior Gunner Pollman delivered an RBI single to give Sacramento
State a 5-4 win over Fresno State on Wednesday night at Raley Field.
The game started out as a pitcher's duel and was scoreless into the seventh inning, with junior
Tanner Olson throwing six scoreless innings for the Hornets and allowing just four hits and no
Sacramento State (25-15) improved to 5-0 in extra-inning games this season
with its third walk-off victory of the year. The Hornets trailed Fresno State (26-16) 4-1
going to the bottom of the eighth inning but scored one run in the eighth, two in the ninth,
and the game winner in the 11th inning.
The Hornets currently are tied for first place in the Western Athletic
Conference with Seattle University at 12-3. Sacramento State has four more conference series
remaining, including this weekend's visit to third-place New Mexico State (Saturday's
game is televised--check your listings). That will be followed by a home series vs.
Utah Valley (May 6), Grand Canyon (May 13, away) and final series of the season against
rival Seattle (May 19, home).
Scattered in between are mid-week games against U.C. Davis (May 3, away and
May 10, home) and UOP (May 17, home).
EDINBURG, Texas – After UT
Rio Grande Valley was able to tie the game with a run in the bottom of the 13th the Hornets scored
twice in the top of the 15th and were able to complete a 5-3 win in the resumption of Saturday's
suspended game on Sunday afternoon.
On Saturday night
Sacramento State (24-15, 12-3 WAC) held a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the 13th but the Vaqueros
loaded the bases with none out when the rain started to fall and the game was suspended. The first
UT Rio Grande Valley (18-18, 7-5 WAC) batter upon resumption, junior Austin Oakes, singled up the
middle to bring in the tying run.
With the potential winning
run on third and nobody out, Hornet junior Tanner Olson got a fielder's choice groundball to third,
an infield popup, and a fly out to right field to send the game to the 14th
Both teams went down in
order in the 14th, but in the 15th inning pitcher Sam Long, who had entered the game as the right
fielder in the 13th inning and made three catches, led off with a single to left field for his
first career hit. Senior Trent Goodrich followed with a sacrifice bunt but the UTRGV third
baseman's throw to first sailed down the right field line and Long scored with Goodrich getting all
the way to third base.
Junior Gunner Pollman
followed with a sharp single to left to bring in Goodrich. In the bottom of the 15th UTRGV got a
two-out double but Olson got the final out to give the Hornets the win as Sacramento State improved
to 4-0 this season in extra-inning games and won its second suspended game of the
The game was tied for the
longest conference game in WAC history, matching a 15-inning win the Hornets had over Seattle U in
2014. It was tied for the second longest game in Hornet program history falling shy of the team's
18-inning marathon at Iowa last year.
When the game started on
Saturday the Hornets took an early lead with two runs in the second inning. Goodrich led off the
inning with a bunt single, senior Jose Egan drew a walk, and junior Brandon Hunley reached on an
infield single to load the bases. Sophomore Dan Deely followed with a 2-run single to put the
Hornets ahead.
Both teams created plenty
of scoring chances in the ensuing innings but no more runs were scored until the 13th. Both teams
had a runner thrown out at the plate in extra innings and the Hornets loaded the bases in both the
11th and 12th innings.
The Hornets were able to
take the lead in the top of the 13th when Goodrich drew a leadoff walk, advanced to second on a
passed ball, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on an RBI single up the middle by
sophomore Vinny Esposito.
UTRGV opened the bottom of
the 13th with a walk and Loncar followed with a single to right that moved the potential tying run
to third. Correy Davis drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch to load the bases, at which point the umpires
called for the field to be covered.
Senior Grant Kukuk had
another strong start for the Hornets, allowing just two runs on seven hits with two strikeouts in
six innings. After a scoreless inning from junior Chad Perry senior closer Tyler Beardsley came on
and ended up pitching five innings, allowing four hits and no runs while throwing 72 pitches. Olson
earned the win allowing just two hits in three innings of work
UT Rio Grande Valley
sophomore starter Robert Quinonez went 10 innings, allowing just two runs on five hits with 10
strikeouts throwing an astounding 136 pitches. Reliever George Lamb took the loss for the Vaqueros
as he allowed the run in the 13th as well as the winning run in the 15th.
Grubbs had his first career
three-hit game, going 3-for-6, while Deely was 3-for-7 with 2 RBIs and Goodrich scored three of the
five Hornet runs. UTRGV had a 14-13 edge in hits and stranded 15 base runners while the Hornets
left 13. The total game time was four hours and 26 minutes.
Sacramento State hosts
Fresno State at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Raley Field.
SUSPENDED IN THE 13th
EDINBURG, Texas – On a day with nearly seven hours of baseball played,
Sacramento State scored a season-high 12 runs in a 12-3 win over UT Rio Grande Valley in the
first game and the Hornets are leading 3-2 in the bottom of the 13th when play was suspended due to rain. Sunday's resumption time will
not be decided until the field is inspected in the morning.
The teams played a doubleheader on Saturday as Sunday's forecast showed
rain, but the showers showed up early and forced play to be halted Saturday night. Sacramento
State (23-15, 11-3 WAC) holds a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the 13th but UTRGV (18-17, 7-4 WAC)
loaded the bases with none out when the game was called for the
Senior Chris Lewis and Andrew McWilliam both posted multiple hits in the
first game and each drove in three runs. Vinny Esposito (Granite Bay High) had three hits
with one RBI in the opening contest.
The Hornets lost the first game on Friday 3-2. So, if the suspended game is
resumed today, it literally will act as the "rubber match" between these two conference
Behind Cumberland Blues,
Cal Downs Stanford
by Editor Rick
Brett Cumberland drove in
three runs tonight at Evans Diamond to lead No. 18 Cal
(22-11) to a 5-2 non-conference win over Stanford (19-12) at Evans Diamond in
Freshman Tanner
Dodson (Jesuit) closed the game with a
perfect ninth inning for his third save of the season.
In the third inning,
Cumberland homered from the right side against Stanford starter John Hochstatter to give Cal a
1-0 lead. It was Cumberland's conference-leading 11th home run. One out later, first baseman
Nick Halamandaris hit a long home run (his third)
that nearly cleared the track stadium wall in right field to make it 2-0
Stanford chiseled away and
scored single runs in the fifth and sixth inning to tie the game at
In the Bears sixth frame,
Aaron Knapp (Granite Bay) tripled and later scored on Brian
Celsi's (Jesuit) sacrifice fly to take the lead 3-2. Two batters later, with two Bears
on base, Cumberland--batting from the left side--drilled a
double down the right field line to give Cal a 5-2 lead.
Erik Martinez (3-1), who
quelled the Cardinal rally in the sixth, picked up the win with 1.2 innings of hitless ball. He
struck out two and walked one.
Martinez, who had been Cal's
closer until last week, appears to have lost the job to Dodson, who had been used as a Tuesday
night starter in recent weeks.
Tigers Come Back to Beat Hornets
University of the Pacific (16-18) broke open a tie game by scoring
three runs in the seventh inning, defeating Sacramento State (22-14) by a score of 6-3 at Klein
Family Field in Stockton.
Sacramento State saw its four-game winning streak come to an end while Pacific picked up its sixth
straight win.
The Tigers touched reliever Jonny Palsha (0-1) for three runs in the
seventh inning with Nate Verlin knocking in one run and Lucas Halstead two
That, after Sacramento State scored three earned runs in the first
two innings off starter Taylor Johnson.
Chris Lewis continued his hot steak with a leadoff
double to start the game.
In the first inning, leadoff hitter Chris Lewis—the current WAC
Player of the Week—doubled off the left field fence, moved to third on Bronson Grubbs' blooper over
first base, and scored on Matt Smith's sacrifice fly. Kody Reynolds followed with a hot smash to
give the Hornets runners at second and first base.
But Johnson got Trent Goodridge to ground into a double play to end a
promising inning.
In State's second frame, Brandon Hunley reached on an infield error
with one out and took second on a balk. Dan Deely doubled home Hunley, and then scored on
Goodrich's RBI single.
Johnson bore down and struck out the hot-hitting Lewis, and got
Grubbs to end the rally on a pop up. At that time Sacramento State led 3-0, but from then on the
Hornets' bats went cold, while the Tigers heated up.
Pacific scored solo runs in the second, fifth and sixth
In the second Halstead knocked in Verlin to make it 3-1. In the
fifth, Joey Mejia reached first on a throwing error by Deely, the third baseman. Jimmy Boras
(Jesuit) singled and Mejia took third base.
With Dylan Robertson at bat, Tigers skipper Mike Neu put on a
double-steal play. Hornets catcher Gunner Pollman gunned down Boras at second base, but Hunley's
return throw was high and late, as Mejia slid under Pollman's swipe tag for the Tigers' second
The caught-stealing was Gunner's 19th of the season, leading all WAC catchers.
Hornets starter Tanner Olson allowed three (two earned) runs over 5.1 innings in the
In the Tigers' sixth—after Johnson retired Sacramento in order—Olson
allowed back-to-back singles to UOP hitters, Danny Mayer and Gio Brusa (St. Mary's of Stockton).
With Mayer on third, Olson struck out the next hitter, and had an 0-2 count on Verlin, who then
knocked in Mayer with a fielder's choice to tie the game 3-3.
To start the seventh inning, Neu sent to the mound the most
euphonious-sounding pitcher on the West Coast: Fineas Del Monta-Smith. The freshman
right-hander (4-2) allowed just one hit, but whitewashed
the Hornets in his one inning to earn the victory. UOP broke the deadlock and scored those three
runs in the home half of the frame.
Vince Arobio pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn his first save
of the year.
UOP had 13 hits in the game. Halstead was the Tigers' leading batter
(3-for-4 with 3 RBI), and Brusa, who had a terrific weekend series against Portland, raised his
average to .341 with two more safeties.
State, which had seven hits, was led by Deely who went
Hornets get another shot at UOP when they host the Tigers on May 17. Meantime, Reggie
Christiansen's squad goes on the road for a series against WAC member University of
Texas-Rio Grande
After 5+ innings, Hornets' starter Tanner Olson
exited with the game tied 3-3.
Pac-12 Announced All-Century Baseball
(Pac-12 Media
A 36-member blue ribbon panel selected the Pac-12 All-Century Baseball Team, it was announced
last night on the Pac-12 Network's 'Sports Report.'
The panel cast ballots for 20 infielders/outfielders, 10 pitchers as well as Pitcher, Player and
Coach of the Century.
USC's Mark
Prior was named Pitcher of the Century,
Washington State's John G.
Olerud earned Player of the Century
honors and USC's legendary manager Raoul "Rod"
Dedeaux was selected as the Coach of the
Arizona State led all schools with seven members, followed by USC and UCLA with six, Stanford with
four and Oregon State and Arizona with two. Cal, Washington and Washington State each had one
player selected. In all, eight decades are represented – 1940s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s,
The sole local player to
be tabbed to the Pac-12 All-Century Team
was Dustin
Pedroia of Woodland. Pedroia starred at
shortstop for Arizona State.
Mark Prior pitching for Stanford at Cal's Evans Diamond
in 2013.
Photo by Rick Cabral.
Prior was named
Pac-12 Pitcher of the Century after establishing himself as one of the most dominating pitchers in
college baseball history. The hard throwing right-hander won 25 games and averaged 11.5 strikeouts
with just 2.1 walks per nine innings in his Trojan career. In 2001, he was only the second
collegian ever to sweep every National Player of the Year award and was the first Trojan to win the
Golden Spikes Award while going 15-1 with a 1.69 ERA and notching a Pac-10 record 202 strikeouts
with just 18 walks. He helped USC to College World Series trips both of his seasons. The Chicago
Cubs made him the No. 2 overall pick of the 2001 MLB Draft and he pitched for them for five seasons
(2002-06), including being named to the 2003 All-Star team. He then spent time in the minors before
the toll of various arm and shoulder injuries ended his career in
Olerud earned
Pac-12 Player of the Year honors after re-writing the WSU record books as both a pitcher and first
baseman. In 1988, he became the only pitcher in NCAA history to win 15 games and hit 20 home runs
as he was 15-0 and hit 23 that year. He was named College Athlete of the Year by Baseball America.
He still holds numerous WSU records, including career batting average at .434 and single season
batting average at .464. On the mound, Olerud was 26-4 and posted a 3.17 ERA while throwing 241.1
innings over his three seasons. During his career he set two Pac-10 records and 10 Pac-10 North
marks. Prior to his senior season, Olerud signed a contract with Toronto and went directly to the
Major Leagues. In 1993, he became the first Blue Jay to win a batting title, hitting .363, and
became just the ninth MLB player since 1900 to collect 200 hits and walk 100 times. Olerud played
for Toronto, the New York Mets and Yankees, Seattle and Boston during his 17-year career. He is a
member of the College Baseball Hall of Fame and the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award,
given annually by the College Baseball Hall of Fame, was named in his
Dedeaux was selected as Coach of the Century after ending his career
as the winningest baseball coach in NCAA Division I-A history with a 1,332-571-11 (.669) record
over 45 years (1942-86).
To read the complete roster, visit the Pac-12 Baseball
Michael Conforto appeared in Sacramento for two games against Sacramento State in
2014. This one was at Raley Field. Nick Madrigal, then a junior
for Elk Grove High, already was sporting his OSU cap. He is seen seated behind the
visitor's dugout. Madrigal is now a freshman infielder for the Beavers.
Photo by Rick Cabral.
DENVER - Sacramento State
senior outfielder Chris Lewis was named the Western Athletic Conference (WAC)
Hitter of the Week, the league announced Monday.
Lewis was 11-for-17 (.647)
with 8 RBIs and 5 runs scored over the week. He had multiple hits in each of the four games,
including a trio of three-hit games.
He drove in all four
Sacramento State runs in Sunday's 4-1 win over Chicago State, had three RBIs on Tuesday at Nevada,
and scored three times on Saturday.
The award is the first for the Hornets'
offense this season. Sacramento State also has one WAC Pitcher of the Week
honor this year as junior Sam Long earned that accolade on March 28.
Hornets Score 10, Shut Out Cougars Behind
"Karnos the Magnificent"
Max Karnos threw a three-hit shutout and was supported
by a thumping offense as Sacramento State (21-13) throttled Chicago State (7-27) 10-0 in an
eight-inning mercy game.
Max Karnos Tossed a Shutout
The Hornets played airtight defense behind Karnos (3-2),
notching four infield double plays and nailing an attempted steal for the second straight
Then there was the Hornets offense, which had a
season-high 16 hits, including three home runs.
Sacramento came out of the gate blasting when Chris
Lewis and Trent Goodrich hit back-to-back doubles off Cougars starter Justin Wyatt (1-8),
resulting in the Hornets' first run.
Beginning with the fourth inning, the home team scored
at least one run every frame, including three runs in the seventh when Brandon Hunley (Christian
Brothers) knocked in Kody Reynolds with a two-run homer, and the team scored again on a
bases-loaded walk.
McWilliam Watches His First Home
Andrew McWilliam hit solo home runs in the fourth and
eighth innings, the latter making it 10-0, which ended the game due to the 10-run mercy
Chicago State opened the game with an infield hit off
the pitcher. Two batters later, Karnos induced a double
play. In
the second, Karnos walked two batters with one out, but Julian Russell grounded to Goodrich
at shortstop, who stepped on the bag and threw out the runner at first for another double
In the fifth, Russell walked. With two outs he attempted
to steal second base, but catcher Gunner Pollman—for the second straight game—caught the runner
with a perfect throw to end the inning.
Gunner Pollman Maneuvers Around No. 5 Malik
Carpenter To
Throw Out a Runner At Second Base.
Leading the Hornets hitters was Hunley and Lewis, who
both went 3-for-4. Five others had a pair of safeties, as Sacramento State mauled Chicago State
pitchers, who came into the series with a 6.62 earned run
According to Andrew Tomsky, the Hornets media guru, the home-towners went 5-for-10 in
the game with two outs, and had a season-high 27 total bases. With his two round-trippers,
McWilliam had the team's first multi-homer game of the year and just the 73rd in the program's
Div. I era.
Sacramento, which is now 9-2 in Western Athletic
Conference play—will go for the sweep tomorrow. With the loss, the Cougars fell to 1-10 in
conference action.
Celsi and Knapp Lead Cal to 8-4 11 Inning Win Over Sun
Brian Celsi's 11th inning home run gave
Cal a 5-4 lead, and
No. 15 Golden Bears (21-10, 9-5
Pac-12) scored
three more times to win 8-4 and even the series at Arizona State.
Celsi (Jesuit), who missed several games due to an
injury sustained when jumped over the right field fence to prevent a home run at Oregon,
had a big day against the Sun Devils. Batting in the ninth position, he went 3-for-5 with two
runs scored, a triple and one RBI.
Centerfielder Aaron Knapp (Granite Bay
High) went 4-for-6 with two RBI. Knapp, a junior, also had a
Tanner Dodson (Jesuit) earned his second save by pitching a
shutout 11th inning for California.
Hornets Hold Off Chicago State
Southpaws Jake Perkins of Chicago State and Sam Long of
Sacramento State locked into a pitcher's duel for five innings, but the Hornets rebounded and
held on to win 5-4 in the first of a three-game series at John Smith
Both pitchers were superb through three innings, each
allowing only one hit. Perkins appeared more dominant, blowing away Hornets' hitters with
90-mile-per-hour fastballs. He fanned four during that span.
Sacramento State's Dan Dealy placed a perfect bunt down
the third base line for the Hornets first hit in the third inning.
In the top of the fourth, Chicago State bunched four
straight singles to take a 2-0 lead, courtesy of runs batted in by Sanford Hunt and Julian
Russell. The way this club came out raking, you couldn't tell Long Chicago
State was the worst hitting lineup in all of NCAA Division 1, with a .207 team
Perkins, meanwhile, was stingy and didn't
allow the Hornets a run until the bottom of the fifth. Junior Brandon Hunley (Christian
Brothers) launched a fly ball to the right field foul poll for a double. Hunley scored on
Bronson Grubbs' RBI single through the left side to cut the deficit to
By the Hornets' sixth, Perkins (2-5) was beginning to
miss high and low, and Sacramento State made him pay.
Senior Chris Lewis led off with a single. Then Perkins
walked Trent Goodrich. The runners advanced on a wild pitch. Freshman Matt Smith (El Dorado
High) lofted a sacrifice fly down the right field line that scored Lewis with the tying run and
moved Goodrich to third base.
Andrew McWilliam drilled a single through the left side,
plating Goodrich, and the Hornets took the lead 3-2. Kody Reynolds then hit what appeared to be
a double-play ball to shortstop, but McWilliam was safe as the umpire ruled the Cougars' second
baseman pulled his foot off the bag. In actuality, it looked like the runner was out courtesy of
the "old neighborhood play." But that ruling continued the rally and the Hornets
Junior Gunner Pollman lined a double down the left field
line, scoring McWilliam which gave Sacramento State a 4-2 lead.
Jonny Palsha came in to relieve for Long (4-5), who
allowed six hits and two earned runs in his six innings to claim the victory. Palsha allowed one
walk while shutting out the Cougars in his frame.
Meantime, Sacramento State added an insurance run in the
seventh inning against Perkins' brother, Josh, a right-handed pitcher. He issued a lead-off walk
to Dealy, who took second base on a passed ball. When Dealy attempted to steal third with two
outs, it appeared he'd be caught red-handed. But Cougars' catcher Andy Gertonson's throw sailed
into left field, and Dealy scampered home with the Hornets fifth run.
Good thing, too, as Chicago State scored two runs in the
top of the eighth off reliever Chad Perry to make it 5-4. The big play in that frame was a
sacrifice bunt by Russell who appeared to beat Perry's throw to first base, but was called out
for the second out of the inning.
Hornets' head coach Reggie Christiansen brought in
closer Tyler Beardsley, who got the next hitter to ground out, stranding the Cougars potential
tying run on second base.
In the top of the ninth Beardsley allowed a one-out
single to Cody Grosse. Chicago State's next hitter attempted a sacrifice bunt and flew out to
first base. And on the next pitch Grosse was thrown out trying to steal second base by Hornets'
catcher Gunner Pollman, notching his 17th picked runner of the year. Beardsley earned his seventh save of the
Although the Cougars outhit the Hornets (9-8), the
visitors managed only singles, while the home team had a pair of
With the win, Sacramento State (20-13, 8-2 WAC) remains
undefeated (7-0) at home in conference play.
The Hornets will host Chicago State (7-26, 1-9 WAC)
tomorrow afternoon in a 1 o'clock start.
A Commentary by Editor Rick
You know the old adage "You'll see something new at the
ballpark every day." While watching the Utah at BYU game on television yesterday, I saw
something I would term "inexplicable" and it wasn't a 1-2-3 triple
Host BYU (which is hot right now with a .336 team
batting average, good for second in NCAA D-1) came to bat in the first inning. When the
second batter Hayden Nielsen was announced it
struck me, "That's odd; he's the second player on the Cougars squad with that unusual first name
(the Cougs starting pitcher was lefthander Hayden Rogers).
The next BYU hitter was Tanner Chauncey, and he was followed by Colton Shaver. When the final hitter of the inning Keaton Kringlen flied out, I realized there was an extremely rare pattern here,
something akin to a Mandlebrot fractal. Not
a Mike, Pete, Bill or Rick among the lot of 'em.
The parents of these fine Utah boys had selected what I consider atypical first names for their children, perhaps so they would "stand out"
and "be different." {Or as
Jerry Seinfeld might counter, "Not that there's anything wrong with that."}
And those weren't the only ones in BYU's
The leadoff hitter is a Brennon, the catcher a Bronson,
and the third baseman a Jackson, 'though the announcers referred to him as "Jack" (whew, finally
some normalcy).
The pitchers who followed Hayden Rogers were (by first
name only): Jordan, Riley, Keaton, Easton and Bo.
To show this isn't just a Mormon thing (and I recognize
that non-Mormons attend the school), over on the Utah side the heart of their lineup featured a
Dallas, Kellen, Hunter, a pinch hitter named Chandler, and a shortstop whose given name is
Plus the Utes pitchers included Tanner, Nolan, Hunter
and Andre. Not to mention Lars Lofgren who had mop up duty out of the
My goodness—what are odds of this occurring on the
same ballfield and afternoon?
Whatever happened to "Be Like
Well, I'm off to Davis Little League to watch my
Sac State Completes Season Sweep of Nevada With 7-2 Win In
State Media Relations)
RENO, Nev. – Sacramento State got six strong innings from starter Tanner
Olson, Chris Lewis went 3-for-5 with three runs batted in, and juniors Gunner Pollman
and Brandon Hunley (Christian Brothers) hit solo home runs as the
Hornets defeated Nevada 7-2 Tuesday night in Reno.
The Hornets beat Nevada for the second time this year after a 5-2 win at
Raley Field March 6.
Sacramento State (19-13) out hit the Wolf Pack 10-8 and allowed just one
extra base hit. Nevada (15-15) had won eight of its last 10 games.
~ ~
Cal Bears Maul Mustangs 7-1 In San Luis
No. 17 Cal (20-9) roared back from a series loss
at Oregon last weekend to beat Cal Poly SLO 7-1 in a non-conference
Bears starting pitcher Tanner
Dodson (Jesuit) won his first collegiate game. The freshman right-hander (1-2) hurled
six shutout innings, allowing the Mustangs just four hits and two walks while striking out
In the Cal fourth, the Bears batted around
scored six runs. It all began when the Pac-12's leading hitter Brett Cumberland doubled to open the
inning. He eventually scored when right fielder Denis Karas--in for the injured Brian
Celsi (Jesuit)--was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded (to read how Celsi was
injured on Saturday, see below).
In the same inning, with two outs Aaron
Knapp (Granite Bay High) singled through the right side, scoring two more runs,
making it 4-0 Cal. Two batters later, Cumberland copied Knapp and the Bears led
Both teams managed only five hits in the
contest. Cal Poly dropped to 19-12.
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – In
the resumption of Saturday's suspended game Sacramento State completed a 6-3 win to open action on
Sunday before senior AJ Monnarez threw a complete game leading CSU Bakersfield to a 4-2 win in the
series finale.
The defending WAC
Tournament champion, CSU Bakersfield (7-23, 2-7 WAC) claimed the series after recording a narrow
4-3 win in the first game on Saturday. Sacramento State (18-13, 7-2 WAC) remains near the top of
the WAC standings just one game behind league-leading Seattle U.
The Hornets had a 6-3 lead
through eight innings when the second game of Saturday's doubleheader was suspended due to rain.
The teams had to wait through another two hour delay due to field conditions before completing the
contest on Sunday.
Oregon Pitchers Silence Cal Thunder in
4-3 Victory
Eugene, Oregon--On a showery April afternoon when
rain postponed the Giants-Dodgers game at AT&T Park by almost an hour, in sunny Eugene
the Ducks thrived on springtime sunshine, nipping No. 11-ranked California (19-8, 8-3 Pac-12)
4-3 to even the series.
They did it with pitching and timely round
Oregon took a quick 1-0 lead in the first inning on
Austin Grebeck's homer off Cal starter Jeff Bain (3-2).
In the Bears third, Robbie Tenerowicz led off with a
single and stole second base. Aaron Knapp (Granite Bay High) continued his hot
hand with a single, knocking in the Bears' second baseman to tie the score at
In the fifth inning, Knapp drove in his second run (and
14th RBI of the season) with a fielder's choice to first base to tie the score again, this time
In the bottom half of the inning, the Ducks Kyle Kasser
drew a walk and A.J. Balta hit a line drive just over the wall for a two-run homer. Cal right
fielder Brian Celsi (Jesuit) attempted to snag it before the ball left the yard, and in the
process leaped over the fence like a high jumper using the Fosbury Flop, landing hard on his
back and shoulders.
Several minutes later after both trainers and Coach
David Esquer checked on his status, Celsi slowly walked off the field as the Bears trailed
Krook sailed through the top of the seventh inning,
fanning Tenerowicz and Grand Pre. But when he walked Celsi's replacement, Jeffrey Mitchell
Junior, Oregon Coach George Horton brought in right-handed reliever Brac Warren, who struck out
Devin Pearson on three pitches for the third out.
Krook (2-1) dominated Cal through six and
two-thirds innings, stingily limiting the Bears to two runs (one earned) on two hits, while
walking six and striking out nine batters.
Cal made things interesting, however, in the eighth
After Knapp flied out, Mitchell Kranson singled. Brett
Cumberland—the conference leader in six offensive categories and who was walked twice today—flew
out. Yesterday's hero Brenden Farney singled to right field, moving Kranson to third base.
Horton then went to his closer Stephen Nogosek, who came in with a 1.43 earned
run average.
Cal first baseman Nick Halamandaris lined the first
pitch he saw into center field, driving in Kranson to cut the Oregon lead to 4-3. Nogosek, who
pitched Woodcreek High to a Section II Sac-Joaquin Championship in 2013, retired Tenerowicz on a
fielder's choice to maintain the Duck's one-run lead.
Nogosek (1-1) retired the side in the ninth inning to earn his seventh save of
the season as the Ducks improved to 3-5 in conference play.
Cal starter Bain allowed Oregon four runs (three earned) on four hits with two
walks and five punchouts. Cal managed only five singles all afternoon off the excellent Oregon
pitching, yet that was one more than Oregon managed. Balta was the Ducks' hero at the plate,
driving in three of the team's four runs.
Tomorrow the teams meet at noon for the rubber match at PK
The result of the Giants game? The Dodgers won 3-2 in 10 innings...in the
Hornets Drop Game One 4-3
Lead Bakersfield 6-3 in 9th of Suspended Game
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – After CSU Bakersfield
rallied for a 4-3 win in the first game of the doubleheader the Hornets (17-12, 6-1 WAC) held a 6-3
lead going to the ninth inning in game two when the contest was suspended due to
Bakersfield (6-22, 1-6 WAC) scored three runs in the seventh inning and
then blanked Sacramento State through the final two frames for the win. All four runs were charged
to Sacramento State lefty Sam Long (3-5), who pitched 6.2 innings and took the loss.
The second game will resume in the top of the
ninth inning at 11 a.m. on Sunday. The series finale, originally scheduled for noon on Sunday, will
be played following the conclusion of the suspended game. The teams were playing a doubleheader on
Saturday because rain postponed the first game of the series on Friday.
Berkeley Blasts Ducks 12-2 Behind
Mason's CG Win
(Cal Bears Media
Cal pitcher Ryan Mason (Placer High)
pitched another nine-inning gem to lead Cal to a 12-2 victory over the Ducks in Eugene this
Pitcher Ryan Mason
Courtesty of Cal Athletics
When Mason took the mound in the bottom of the first,
the No. 11 Bears (19-7) offense had given him a 5-0 lead.
Knapp (Granite Bay High)
started it off with a one-out single, and later scored on Brett Cumberland's single to give
Berkeley a 1-0 lead. Cumberland—the Pac-12 Player of the Week— leads the conference in several
offensive categories. With Mitchell Kranson on second base and Cumberland on first, Brenden
Farney smoked a three-run homer.
Mason gave up a two-RBI single to Jak Bennett as the
Ducks cut the lead to 5-2.
But that was about all the 6'6" right-hander would
allow, as Mason limited Oregon to two earned runs on six hits and two walks while striking out
eight. In recording his second complete game of the season, Mason earned his 23rd win
of his career, tying him for sixth all-time in Bears history.
Mason finished the game with four consecutive 1-2-3 innings, retiring 15 out of
the last 17 hitters he faced. He struck out four in the last four innings, touching 94 miles per
hour in the ninth. The Auburn, California native tossed a season-high 119 pitches in the
"We are just a tough team to beat when we are
doing everything right and we did everything right tonight," Mason said following the game. "I have
to give the offense a lot of credit for making me comfortable and I have to give the defense a lot
of credit for always being there for me. Everything kind of just fell into place tonight and it's
another good win."
The Cal offense totaled 21 hits, including Farney's
4-for-5 night with four RBI. Cumberland, who went 3-for-4 with one RBI, raised his average to
Knapp, who is on a tear, had a pair of hits. On Tuesday
in the 8-6 loss to Stanford, the junior center fielder went 2-for-4 with an RBI, three stolen
bases and two runs scored.
Freshman Tanner Dodson (Jesuit) started
against the Cardinal. He allowed seven hits, two walks and four earned runs in the no
Wins 6-5 Over UC Davis in 10 Innings
Visiting Hawai'i (14-15, 3-1 Big West) snapped an
extra-inning tie to defeat UC Davis 6-5 in the first of a three-game series this
With one out in the 10th inning J. Sheldon-Collins singled. He advanced to second on a wild
pickoff attempt, and later went to third base on a passed ball. He scored on a sacrifice fly by
Marcus Doi to give the Rainbow Warriors a 6-5 lead, which stood up when they retired the Aggies
in order in the bottom half.
UC Davis (8-16, 1-3 Big West) led 5-1 after the second
inning. Jacob Thomas doubled to knock in a pair of runs for the Aggies in the bottom of the
second after an RBI single by Tanner Bily.
But Hawai'i plated a pair of runs in the sixth and the
eighth inning to tie the game. The 'Bows had 18 hits in the contest, and left 16 runners on
Cody Culp (2-1) was winner and Blake Peters (3-3) the loser
for UC Davis in this Big West conference game.
River Cats announce 2016 Opening Day
The Sacramento River Cats have announced their 2016 Opening Day roster,
n the eve of their 17th season in Sacramento. Five of the players spent time with the San Francisco
Giants last year.
The Opening Day roster also includes seven of MLB.com's Top 30
Prospect Watch players in the Giants organization in Mac Williamson (7), Clayton Blackburn (12), Steven Okert (17), Jarrett Parker (19), Ty Blach (24), Derek Law (27), and Chris Stratton (28).
The pitching staff looks to continue its
success from last season after coming off a team record single-season 3.85 earned run
average. The rotation is headlined by Blackburn, who claimed the Pacific Coast League ERA
title (2.85) in 2015, and Blach, whose 11 wins were tied for third best in the
Behind the plate for the River Cats is local
product Andrew Susac
(Jesuit), along with veteran
talents George
Kottaras and Miguel Olivo, who have a combined 20 years experience in The Show. The
infield includes five new faces, with Juan Ciriaco the only returner from the 2015 season.
The outfield will see a number of familiar faces
in Parker, Williamson, and Darren Ford. The
outfield will be deeper than ever with the addition of Gorkys Hernandez, a fleet-footed centerfielder who swiped 24 bases last season across three
different levels.
Leading the way in 2016 will be new
manager Jose
Alguacil, who joins the River Cats after one season
as the skipper in Double-A Richmond. Alguacil – or Augi, for short–led the Flying Squirrels to a
72-68 in what was his managerial debut.
Joining him on the staff is new Hitting
Coach Damon
Minor, who re-joins the Giants organization from the
New Orleans Zephyrs, where he served as the hitting coach for five seasons. Pitching
Coach Dwight
Bernard returns for his second season in
Fresno State Takes Sac State 7-5 At
(Sac State Mediar Relations)
Sacramento State Hornets (17-11)--on the road for the first time after a 13-game homestand--took it
on the chin in Fresno as the Bulldogs (21-9) held on for a 7-5 win.
The Bulldogs are now 16-2 on their home field.
The Hornets' Andrew McWilliam went 4-for-5 with three runs batted in, but Fresno State homered
three times, limiting Sac State to go 1-for-12 with runners in scoring
Sacramento State got a quick run in the ninth on a leadoff
single from freshman Matt Smith and a McWilliam RBI double but Bulldog closer Dylan Lee retired the
next three batters to close it out.
In his second start as a Hornet junior Tanner Olson was solid again,
allowing just two earned runs on five hits in five innings pitched but took the
Bears Sweep UCLA on Cumberland Bombs in 5-3
Berkeley, Calif.— The Cal Bears (18-6 / 7-2 Pac-12), behind the big
stick of Brett Cumberland and six shutout innings by starter Matt Ladrech, downed UCLA 5-3 to sweep
the series at Evans Diamond.
The 13th-ranked Bears, who swept Oregon State last weekend at home,
are now tied for first place with Utah in the Pac-12 Standings.
Cumberland came up in the first inning with Aaron Knapp (Granite Bay
High) standing on second base. Cumberland blasted the
first pitch he saw—a fastball— from UCLA starter Kyle Molnar (2-2) over the wall near the foul pole
in right field to give the Bears a quick 2-0 lead.
Cumberland—who came into today's contest with a Pac-12-leading .406
batting average—led off the fourth inning and Molnar again poured in a fast ball, and got the same
result—a line shot over the right field wall for the Bears catcher's 10th home run of the season (also best in the Pac-12).
Ladrech (3-1) was given today's spot start due to a late
pull-out by Friday starter Daulton Jeffries. The last-minute change (literally) moved the weekend
starters up a notch (more on that later). Cal coach Dave Esquer was immensely impressed by the
left-hander's relief appearance last Saturday against Oregon State (six shutout innings), so he
started him today.
Again, Esquer was amply rewarded.
Ladrech tossed six shutout innings, allowing nine hits and one run
against a UCLA team that has dropped five straight (they're now 12-13 / 4-5 Pac-12). UCLA head
coach John Savage showed some of the frustration of losing when in the bottom of the third inning
he challenged a check swing call that went in favor of the Bears batter, Mitchell
Savage was heard yelling from the visitor's dugout "G**dammit, let's
go!" toward home plate umpire Heath Jones. Jones—who's large enough to play offensive lineman for
the Dallas Cowboys—issued a warning to the Bruins skipper, who tried to fire up his boys
to go after Cal's crafty lefty, Ladrech, who seemed to mesmerize the Bruins like an
Indian snake charmer.
In the Bruins fourth inning, Ladrech plunked lead-off hitter Kort
Peterson with a curve ball to put the leadoff batter on base. But Cumberland the sophomore catcher
nailed the runner attempting to steal second. Ladrech allowed a single just before retiring the
last batter to hold UCLA scoreless.
The Bruins got the leadoff man aboard with a single to start the
fifth inning. UCLA's Daniel Amaral then laid down a sweet sacrifice bunt along the first base line.
Ladrech fielded it, wheeled and barely nipped the runner in time at first base. Then with a runner
in scoring position, the southpaw continued mixing fast balls on the outside corner with curves and
change ups. After five innings, he had allowed UCLA seven hits, but no
Meantime, Molnar settled in and began mowing down the Bears
In the sixth, when Cumberland came to bat with one out, the freshman
right-hander wisely threw an off-speed pitch for a strike, and then a second one for a quick 0-2
count. Cumberland, who's leading the Pac-12 in almost every offensive category, worked a full count
before Molnar struck him out.
In the top of the 7th inning, the Bruins broke through the ice. With two quick outs, Ladrech seemed
headed back to the bench, but Luke Persico singled up the middle and then the pitcher walked Eric
Filia, who leads UCLA in batting with a .365 average. Coach Esquer had seen enough from his starter
and brought in reliever Keaton Siomkin.
Sean Bouchard hit a screamer toward the left side of second base. It
appeared Cal shortstop Preston Grand-Pre would field the ball at his belt and step on the bag to
end the rally. Instead, at the last moment, the ball took a giant hop, glanced off the shortstop's
glove (which at that point was around eye level) and landed in the outfield. The scorer gave
Grand-Pre an error, but it could have easily gone for a base hit. Either way, the Bruins were on
the board and threatening for more.
Siomkin worked a full count to Peterson, who fouled off the next two
pitches before fanning at a changeup that ended the rally, leaving Cal ahead
The Bears padded that lead with single runs in the seventh and eighth
innings (the latter courtesy of Cumberland's 4th RBI) and took a 5-1 lead into the ninth inning.
Cal closer Erik Martinez allowed two runs with one out, and had the
tying run on base when he got pinch hitter Brett Stephens to hit into a game-ending double play to
seal the 5-3 victory.
The Bruins, who had 12 hits (but also left a dozen on base), were led
by Persico and Filia who each went 3-for-4 with three RBI.
Meanwhile, Cal's Cumberland (who prepped at Turlock High) led
all hitters. The Bears, who also had 12 hits this afternoon, were led by Knapp, Grand Pre and first
baseman Nick Halamandaris, who each had two hits for the winners.
Today's victory was especially sweet for Dave Esquer, as it
represented a tie-breaker in the long history between these two University of California schools.
The Bears now own bragging rights as they have one more win than UCLA
On Friday evening, about 15 minutes prior to game time, Cal pitcher
Ryan Mason (Placer High) was informed he was starting in place of Daulton Jefferies, who reported
"lower body stiffness."
(4-1) went out and threw seven sterling innings, scattering six hits and two walks while
allowing one run to earn his fourth win of the season in Cal's 9-1 victory (he also had 7 K's).
After the game, Coach Esquer was quoted by the Bears media relations,
"I've said it before, if he's [Ryan Mason] not the best competitor I've ever coached, he's right
there…He competes…and gives you a chance to win."
Friday's win gave Mason a career record 22-8, good for 7th place all-time among Cal
The Bears are riding a seven-game winning streak
as they host Stanford under the lights on Tuesday for a 7 p.m.
Aaron Knapp,
who went 4-for-12 this weekend against UCLA, was all smiles after Sunday's
"Awesome weekend. Sweeps do a lot for you in this
Knapp is the beneficiary of a family tradition. His dad Mike Knapp
played for Cal and his older brother Andrew was an All-American catcher for the Bears, who was
taken in the 2nd Round of the 2013 MLB Draft by Philadelphia.
"It's a blast coming to the 'yard every day, knowing that your pops
is here. Got to see Andrew play a bunch. My grandparents come to games, too; they came here. So, it
starts way back. I'm just tryin' to carry it on."
Last year as a sophomore Knapp batted .310 with seven doubles and
four triples.
Photo courtesy of Cal Athletic Dept.
Knapp, who was standing on second base this afternoon in the first
inning when Brett Cumberland homered over the right field wall, confirmed his teammate is locked in
at the plate. "I've never seen anyone hit like that. Unbelieveable."
Asked if this is Cal's year to finish strong in the NCAA
tournament, Knapp is confident, but also cautious about
We're just taking it day by day.
"That's the main goal when you begin the season. (It starts) when you
win the first game of a series. Then win the series. Then win at the Regionals…" he says, reciting
the litany that is indelibly etched in his mind.
Having come from a long-time lineage of Cal Bears
(Sac State Media
Sophomore Andrew McWilliam
tied the program record with four stolen bases and had 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored as Sacramento State
completed a weekend sweep of Northern Colorado with a 6-3 win on Sunday.
Hornets Take Game Two 5-1 on
Junior Max Karnos allowed
just one run over seven innings and senior Chris Lewis was 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles out of
the leadoff spot as Sacramento State defeated Northern Colorado 5-1Saturday at John Smith
Sacramento State (16-10,
5-0 WAC) remained undefeated in the WAC and clinched a second series win to begin conference play.
Northern Colorado (5-18, 0-2 WAC) remained winless in league games.
Karnos allowed just six
singles and walked only one batter with five strikeouts in his fourth straight start allowing two
runs or fewer. Junior Chad Perry struck out the side in the eighth inning and senior Tyler
Beardsley struck out two in a perfect ninth in a dominant Hornet pitching
In 21 innings pitched, Beardsley owns a team-low 0.43
earned run average (10 innings or more), and leads the
pitching staff with a perfect 4-0
record, plus five saves.
~ ~
Hart Starts In USC 11-8 Loss at
Pitcher Mitch Hart (Granite Bay High) made his first appearance on the mound this season as
visiting Southern Cal lost to Stanford 11-8 at Sunken Diamond.
According to Pac-12 color analyst J. T. Snow, Hart has been on the shelf all season due to "a
sore shoulder" and had planned to throw only two innings.
Unfortunately, it didn't last that long.
In the bottom of the second inning, Hart took the mound with a 5-0 lead. But Stanford generated two
runs off the 6-4 right-hander, who showed signs of command issues. He was replaced after
one-and-a-third innings.
USC took an 8-3 lead into the fifth inning, but Stanford mounted a comeback. The Cardinal scored
five runs in the sixth inning to tie the game at 8-8, then plated three more to win the contest
As a freshman last year for the Trojans, Hart started 15 games, posting a 7-3 mark with a 4.07
earned run average. Post-season honors included Pac-12 Honorable Mention and Louisville
Slugger Freshman All-American.
Hornets Maul Bears 8-5 in Game 1 WAC
Chris Lewis blasted a home run off the scoreboard
in the fifth inning to give Sacramento State (15-10 / 4-0) a 3-2 lead, and the Hornets held on
to beat Northern Colorado 8-5 in the
first game of the conference series.
In the top of the fifth inning, the
Bears (5-17 / 0-1) tied the game with two runs against Sac State southpaw Sam Long
(Del Campo High).
Homeplate umpire Jim Garman confirms Chris
Lewis steps on the plate after hitting his home run which gave the Hornets a 3-2
lead in the fifth inning.
Nick Tanner drove in Payton Tapia with
a single to left field. Tanner then stole second and went to third on an overthrow by catcher
Gunner Polman. Jacob Ek leaked a single through the left side to plate Tanner and tie the
score 2-2.
Sacramento State had taken an early lead in the
first inning off of Northern Colorado right-hander Corey Nakakura
With two outs, Kody Reynolds walked. Designated hitter
Matt Smith (El Dorado High) appeared to make the third out with a sky-high fly ball to right
field. But when Tanner, the Bears right fielder, settled under it near the foul pole, he
lost the ball in the sun. Reynolds scored easily while Smith wound up on third
Smith scampered home on Nakakura's wild pitch to the
backstop to give the Hornets the 2-0 lead.
Long--this week's WAC Pitcher of the Week for his
seven shutout innings against North Dakota--pitched six innings today, allowing those
two earned runs on five hits. He walked three while fanning five
Right-handed relievers Jonny Palsha and Chad Perry
(Marysville High) each pitched a scoreless inning.
Meantime, the Hornets had padded their lead to 8-2 with
two runs in the sixth and three runs in the seventh courtesy of their "small ball" offensive,
featuring infield singles, scores on wild pitches and a steal of home by Brandon Hunley
(Christian Brothers).
But the boys in blue from Colorado made things
interesting in the final frame.
With the Hornets leading by six runs, Coach Reggie
Christiansen turned to outfielder Blake Edmondson to pitch the ninth inning. Most of the
relievers had been used in the two-game series earlier in the week against a hot-hitting New
Mexico squad. Turns out that decision didn't work out well, as Edmondson walked the bases loaded
with one out.
Christiansen summoned closer Tyler Beardsley, who
gave up a three-run double to Tanner, which cut the lead to 8-5. Beardsley allowed two more
base runners, but retired the last two outs to preserve the
Nakakura only allowed two hits during his five innings,
but the Lewis blast was his undoing. Sacramento State scored five more times off three Bears
Tanner led all hitters, going 3-for-5 with two doubles
and four runs batted in. Both teams managed seven hits and made one error. The Hornets'
Andrew McWilliam went 2-for-3 with one RBI.
The two teams meet tomorrow at 1 p.m. for the second
game of the series.
Matt Smith's fly ball in the first inning
fell for a triple,
scoring the Hornets' first run.
Blaser and Titans Feast on
UCLA Pitching, Win 14-7
Dalton Blaser (Roseville High/Sierra College) doubled in
two runs in Fullerton State's eight-run second inning last night at Jackie Robinson
In the top of the
fourth for good measure the left-handed slugger led off with a solo home run, his
second of the season.
Blaser's 4th Inning Home Run Vs. UCLA
Senior Jarrod Bravo (Ponderosa High) and freshman Hank
LoForte (Franklin High) also started in yesterday's rivalry game with the Bruins
Lobos Bludgeon Hornets
New Mexico (17-8) broke out the lumber today in an
impressive offensive demonstration at John Smith Field, accounting for 12 runs on 17 hits,
including two home runs, as the Lobos defeated Sacramento State
The Lobos, who play in the Mountain West conference,
figure in the Top 20 in several NCAA offensive categories, with six
hitters topping .300 or
They were hot right out of the gate as Chris DeVito took
Hornets starter Austin Root (0-1) deep for a two-run first-inning homer to give the Lobos an
early 2-0 lead.
There were so many thocks and whacks coming from the Lobos'
bats today one imagined Tito Puente playing in the
barbecue area.
New Mexico struck again in the top of the fourth
when leadoff hitter Jack Zoellner whapped a fast ball over the center field wall off reliever
Ryan Smith and the boys in red went up 3-0. They scored three more times that inning on
back-to-back doubles by catcher Andrew Pratt (a two-run knock) and Luis
The Hornets finally answered in the fifth (breaking a
scoreless skein of 13 innings against the Lobos) when junior Brandon Hunley (Christian Brothers)
doubled in two runs with a blast against the center field wall.
But the Lobos kept swatting the pellet around the 'yard,
no matter who was on the mound today. Even their screaming foul balls were
With the score 8-3, they scored four more runs in
the seventh inning. Zoellner led off the hit parade with a double, and the Lobos went single,
double, single crossing the plate three more times.
Then New Mexico's DeVito (who raised his average to .404
with a 3-hit afternoon) added a sacrifice fly to make it an even dozen runs, collecting his
4th RBI of the day.
Sophomore right-hander James Harrison (4-1) gave New
Mexico five strong innings, allowing three runs on seven hits.
After New Mexico stopped Matt Smith's hitting
streak at 16 games yesterday,
the Hornets freshman from El Dorado High started another
one with two singles. Smith is now hitting an even .400 for the season. Chris Lewis also had a pair of safeties.
Sacramento State (14-10) returns to Western Athletic
Conference action when they host Northern Colorado for a three-game series beginning Friday at 3
New Mexico Shuts Out Sacramento State
Sacramento State's (14-9) five-game winning streak was
snapped today when New Mexico pitcher Colton Thomson hurled eight shutout innings in a 1-0 win
over the Hornets.
In the third inning New Mexico (16-8) loaded the bases
on three straight singles off Sacramento State starter Tanner Olson (1-2). Jared Holley's
sacrifice fly plated the only run scored in the game.
Thomson (3-1) allowed four singles, one walk and fanned
eight Hornets hitters while lowering his earned run average to 2.33. Victor Sanchez pitched a
scoreless ninth inning for his seventh save.
The Hornets copied the Lobos in the 3rd inning, loading the bases with nobody out. But
Thomson struck out the next two hitters, and retired freshman Matt Smith on a fly out to center
field, wasting State's best scoring chance of the game.
Smith (El Dorado High) went 0-for-4, ending his 16-game hitting streak. The streak
started with the team's first game (he missed six games due to injury). He is now batting a
team-leading .393 for Sacramento State.
Olson only allowed the one run, one walk and five singles through five innings.
Reliever Jonny Palsha pitched three scoreless innings for the Hornets.
The Hornets were 8-0 in one-run games this season until they ran into the
The two teams play again tomorrow in a non-conference
game at 2 p.m. at John Smith Field. New Mexico is a member of the Mountain West
~ ~
DENVER - For his seven
shutout innings in a 1-0 Hornet win over North Dakota junior left-handed pitcher Sam Long was named
the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Pitcher of the Week, the conference announced
Long (Del Campo High)
allowed just four singles and two walks over seven scoreless innings in the win over the Fighting
Hawks. He tied his career high with seven strikeouts and faced just 25 batters in seven innings,
only four over the minimum.
He helped his own cause
defensively picking off a runner at second base and allowed just one stolen base.
Against North Dakota Long
recorded his fourth start this season where he allowed two earned runs or fewer.
Cal Bears Sweep Oregon State with Game Three 5-3
It's not often a game is won, or victory forestalled, in
the top of the first inning. Yet that was the case in Berkeley this afternoon, as Cal coach
David Esquer opted early to go to his bullpen.
With one out, and the bases crammed, starter Jeff Bain
had already allowed four hits, including a two-run homer by sophomore K.J. Harrison over the
left field fence. A walk to hot-hitting OSU catcher Logan Ice, followed by back-to-back singles
loaded the bases, and the Beavers were gnawing on the kitchen pantry door, demanding more savory
And it certainly appeared they were on their way to
salvaging the third game and avoiding a sweep to No. 20 Cal (14-6
Esquer summoned from the bullpen Matt Ledrech (2-1) who
owned a 1-1 record and a 6.43 earned run average.
Two pitches later Kyle Nobach flied out to left field,
scoring Ice on the sacrifice fly and extending Oregon State's lead to 3-0. A put out at second
base finally quelled the OSU rally.
Little did we know that was it for the Oregon State
(16-5 / 3-3) offense. As
Ladrech went on to hurl 7.2 hitless innings,
shutting down a Beavers lineup that had been raking at a .313 clip.
In the bottom of the second inning, Cal Bears roared
back against Oregon State starter Travis Eckert (2-2).
After the Bear's leading hitter Brett Cumberland swung
and missed at Eckert's curve for strike three, the ball bounced to the backstop and Cumberland
easily lumbered to first base. Brenden Farney singled sharply up the middle. Left-handed hitter
Brian Celsi (Jesuit) hit a smash that was
handled like a hot potato for an error by Harrison, the OSU first baseman. That loaded the bases
for the Bears.
Senior Nick Halamandaris—who went 3-for-4— scorched a
single to left center, scoring Cumberland and Farney, cutting the lead to 3-2. Robbie
Tenerowicz's sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position, and Preston Grand Pre's
single up the middle scored both runners to give Cal the 4-3
From there
Ladrech and OSU reliever Luke Heimlich traded
zeros for four innings,
Cal scored once more in the seventh inning when
Aaron Knapp tripled to the right field
foul pole, knocking in Devin Pearson for an insurance run. Knapp of Granite Bay High went
In the ninth inning, closer Erik Martinez came on for
After inducing a ground out, he walked Ice, with
Morrison representing the tying run at the plate. With the count 2-2, Martinez caught Morrison
looking at a backdoor curveball for strike three. Many of the 1,730 Cal fans stood and
cheered, and then Martinez induced a
comebacker for the third out, locking in his seventh save of the
The Bears had closed out the contest and earned a sweep
of Oregon State, which will surely drop from its number three position in the rankings,
according to several national polls. Conversely (Hey, when in Rome, speak as the
Romans), Cal will clearly climb closer to the Top
Another sour note for the Beavers: freshman second
baseman Nick Madrigal's 14-game hitting
was snapped. Also, this marked the first time in 21 games the flashy glove man from Elk Grove
didn't safely reach base.
Madrigal is still second in hitting with a .364
On a personal note, not only was it a
gorgeous day by the Bay, with temps in the low '60s, and the Pac-12 pennants blowing in leisurely from the west, we had the pleasure
of sitting next to Cal alumnus, Stu
Gordon, who pitched for the Bears in
1961-62, is credited with leading the fundraising charge in
2011 to raise the $10 million necessary to save the baseball program at his alma mater. As baseball
fans will remember, that was the miracle season when Esquer's club stared in the abyss of
cancellation, only to end their season in
Omaha at the College World Series.
As Gordon told me, "The only
way Hollywood could have written a better script is if
the Bears had won it (the CWS)."
But as we noted, no one would ever buy
(Sac State Media Relations)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Sacramento State picked up a pair of wins over North
Dakota on Saturday, with both victories coming from late-inning heroics.
The Hornets took game one of the doubleheader in 11 innings, 3-2, on a
walk-off single from Trent Goodrich and won game two, 3-2, on an RBI double in the bottom of the
eighth from Vinny Esposito (Granite Bay High).
Sacramento State (14-8 / 3-0) won its fifth straight game and swept its first
conference series of the season for the third consecutive year. The Hornets' five straight wins
have all come by a single run. The squad is 8-0 in one-run games and 3-0 in extra inning games this
season behind a strong bullpen and timely hitting.
The Hornets are now 6-2 on their record long 13-game homestand with five more
contests to come next week. The team hosts New Mexico at 3 p.m. Monday and 2 p.m. Tuesday at John
Smith Field.
Smith Continues Hot Hitting Streak
Freshman Matt Smith (El Dorado High) extended his
career-opening hitting streak to 16 games with his batting average at .421. Smith went 2-for-4 in
the second game and tallied a single in the first game on Saturday.
Claim First WAC Win With 1-0 Victory Over North Dakota
Sacramento State (12-8 / 1-0) defeated North Dakota 1-0,
winning their first conference game of the year in an old-fashioned pitcher's duel at John
Smith Field.
Sam Long spun a gem today in the Hornets 1-0 Win Over North
Hornets' starter Sam Long (2-4) hurled his finest
game of the season, throwing seven strong shutout innings. The junior left-hander limited North
Dakota (3-11 / 0-1) to four singles and two walks while striking out seven.
Over on the other side, lefty Zach Muckenhirn dominated
the Hornets lineup, striking out 14 in 7.1 innings. He threw 104 pitches, 71 of which were for
strikes. Muckenhirn allowed just four hits, but two of those came in the first
Trent Goodrich singled and stole second base. Hornets
freshman Matt Smith singled to knock in Goodrich for the game's only score. With that bingle,
Smith (El Dorado High) extended his hitting streak to 14 games (see our feature on the Fab Frosh
Long, (Del Campo High), who came into the contest with
an atypical 4.29 earned run average, won for the first time since March 4 against South Dakota
State, lowering his ERA to 3.86.
He worked out of a jam in the second inning when he had
runners at second and first base with one out. Long retired the next hitter on a pop-up that
yielded an infield fly rule. Then Dan Deely stopped a hot smash at third base, stepping on the
bag for the third out.
In the third inning, in a similar scenario, Long picked
off the runner at second base to end the Fighting Hawks rally.
Later in the sixth, Goodrich made a fielding error
with one out. Hornets catcher Gunner Pollman gunned down the attempted base stealer with a
perfect toss to second base. Long then fanned North Dakota's batter looking at a called strike
Chad Perry (Marysville High) pitched a scoreless eighth
inning. Sacramento State closer Tyler Beardsley came on in the ninth and did his job. But he
made it interesting.
Beardsley allowed an infield single. When the next
batter attempted a sacrifice bunt Beardsley fielded it on one hop, wheeled and
threw to second to begin a perfect 1-6-3 double play. The tall right
hander then struck out the game's final batter to
put an exclamation mark on a well-pitched game by both
The two squads meet again tomorrow in a double
header beginning at 11 a.m.
Matt Smith Hit his Game Winner in the 1st Inning.
Cal 5,
Ryan Mason (Placer High) hurled a four-hit complete game shutout this evening
as Cal defeated Oregon State 5-0.
Madrigal (Elk Grove High) got one of those hits, knocking a double off Mason and
extending his hitting streak to 14 games. Madrigal is hitting .381 for the season, and has
hit safely in 19 of 20 games in his young career.
No. 3-ranked
Oregon State has taken it on the chin twice this weekend to No. 20 Cal.
Matt Smith On 13-game Hitting Tear
for Hometown Hornets
Sacramento State's newest freshman sensation is Matt
Smith. Smith, an All-Metro player at El Dorado High last season, is leading the Hornets with a
.426 average and 12 runs batted in.
Matt Smith Leads Hornets Hitters with .426
Photo courtesy Sacramento State
Media Relations
Coach Reggie Christiansen isn't surprised that Smith has
quickly become the team's best hitter. "We knew when we recruited him that he had the ability to
hit. We just didn't know it was going to show up this early.
"He's someone you need to leave alone. He has a real
good understanding of what he's trying to do (in the batter's box). It's been fun to watch for
Early on Smith demonstrated he was made of steely stuff
when Sacramento State opened the season on an eight-game road trip, with six of those contests
coming against Southeastern Conference schools LSU and Auburn. Smith opened his freshman season
with nine hits and eight RBI, including a dramatic 9th inning single that tied the
game in the Hornets 5-4 win over No. 5-ranked LSU.
In his previous four at-bats, Smith had fanned each
time, earning him the inglorious "golden sombrero."
"Nothing phases him; he's a free-spirited kid," notes
the Hornets skipper. "He has a great perspective on life, doesn't take himself too
"You have to have the mindset that when you go out
there, you're just going to put your best swing on the ball," Smith remarked. He credits
Christiansen and associate head coach Steve Holm (McClatchy) of "ingraining that in your head"
to "look for a fastball and drive it up the middle."
Christiansen likens Smith to another local prize
recruit, Rhys Hoskins (Jesuit). In his freshman season, Hoskins batted .353
with 10 home runs and 53 runs batted in, earning him a selection on the 2012 Louisville Slugger
Freshman All-American team. Hoskins was taken in the 5th by the Phillies in the 2014
MLB draft.
The following year Chris Lewis, now a senior outfielder
for the Hornets, had an outstanding freshman season. In 2013 Lewis led
the team in hitting with a .349 average, earning him Louisville Slugger Freshman
All-American, WAC Freshman of the Year and All-WAC First Team
Apparently the only one who wasn't expecting this kind
of early success is Matt Smith himself. "Not what I expected at all. We went out and played
those SEC schools, which are very competitive. It was pretty nice getting my first hit at
On March 6 against South Dakota State, Smith failed to
get out of the way of a fastball that struck him in the left eye, causing swollenness and zero
vision for three days. He visited enough doctors to fill out a lineup card, with one of them
prescribing surgery on the eye itself to relieve the swelling. That would have resulted in a
six-week recovery.
Fortunately, a subsequent doctor diagnosed the problem
as a compression fracture of the sinus, which required time and rest (a week's worth as it
turned out). And a new addition to his batting helmet—a facemask.
Smith returned to his designated hitter spot on March 16
at home against Cal Poly SLO and whacked the first pitch he saw into left field, continuing the
torrid hitting streak.
"Just getting back in the (batter's) box (was) a sigh of
relief, you're playing again, you're back on the field with your
Prior to college Smith said he'd had "a couple of helmet
grazes, but I've never been squared up."
In high school, Smith did most of the squaring up. In
his senior season at El Dorado High he was two ticks shy of batting .600 with 14 home runs,
earning a first team All-Metro selection by the Sacramento Bee.
Smith said he chose Sacramento State because it offered
"everything I wanted. It's really proven to be a great fit for me. I feel as if I'm a member of
the (baseball) family." While in high school he played on
the Stingers travel ball squad, getting to know his future coaches Christiansen and
Holm. "
"And Reggie has built a team that is
up-and-coming. It showed when we beat No. 5 LSU and
took 2-of-3 from Auburn," Smith
Although the hitting streak is likely to stop sometime,
we should expect to see more highlights from the Hornets newest hitting star, Matt
Hornets Edge Dons 6-5 in 10 Innings
by Editor Rick Cabral
Blake Edmondson doubled in two runs in the bottom of the 10th inning to give
Sacramento State a 6-5 walk-off victory over visiting San Francisco (7-16) this
The Hornets (11-8) roused themselves from a somnambulant first five innings
where the Dons had already scored four runs and the Hornets had only one hit—that by their batting
leader freshman Matt Smith, who extended his hitting streak to 13 games.
Bronson Grubbs (Pleasant Grove) who's been making a name for himself in
centerfield this season jump-started a sixth-inning rally with a bunt base hit. He stole second and
came home on Chris Lewis' single down the right field line.
In the seventh inning, the Hornets scored three times to tie the game 4-4.
Junior catcher Gunner Pollman doubled in Smith, another run came in on a fielder's choice, and
Grubbs knocked in the tying run with a single.
With the game still tied 4-4 in the top of the 10th, closer Tyler Beardsley
(3-0) allowed the Dons to take the lead. He gave up a single to Blake Valley, then made a throwing
error on a sacrifice bunt, sending Valley to third base. Matt Sinatro's sacrifice fly scored Valley
to give San Francisco a 5-4 lead.
The Dons sent out new pitcher Frank Waliczek (0-1), who gave up back-to-back
walks to Andrew McWilliam and Smith. Vinny Esposito's sacrifice bunt moved the runners into scoring
position. And Edmondson—pinch hitting for Pollman—lined the game-winning hit to right center for
the walk-off win.
San Francisco third baseman Dan James led all hitters, going 4-for-5 and
teammates Valley and Alan Smoot each had three hits for the Dons, who totaled 16 hits, but left 14
runners on base.
Grubbs went 2-for-5 for the Hornets. Right-hander Austin Root (Oak Ridge High)
pitched three shutout innings of middle relief to keep the Hornets in the game.
Coupled with Sunday's 3-2 win over Cal Poly, the Hornets are riding a two-game
winning streak. They meet conference foe North Dakota at home for a three-game series beginning
Thursday at 3 p.m.
State Wins 3-2 Over Cal Poly on Sunday
Sacramento State (10-8) defeated Cal Poly (13-6) 3-2 in the third and final
game of the series.
Andrew McWilliam's RBI-single in the bottom of the eighth off Mustangs
reliever Justin Calomeni (0-1) proved to be the game winner. Tyler Beardsley (2-0) tossed a
perfect ninth inning for the win.
Hornets starter Max Karnos limited a hot-hitting Mustangs lineup to three
singles and one earned run over seven strong innings for the no-decision. Karnos walked one
and struck out five.
Matt Smith continued his hot hitting ways with a 3-for-4 day, including a
double and an RBI. McWilliam enjoyed a two-hit day with two runs batted in, and Kody Reynolds
also had a pair of safeties for the Hornets, who outhit the Mustangs 11-5
Smith (El Dorado High) who has hit in all 12 games he has played in this
season is hitting a team-leading .432 batting average, and also has the most RBI (12),
despite missing a week's worth of games after being hit in the face with a pitch against
South Dakota State. Smith now wears a batting helmet with a protective
Sac State center fielder Bronson Grubbs (Pleasant Grove High) flashed leather
all game long, beginning with a crashing catch against the 400' marker to start the game. The
Hornets played another error-free game.
Just like yesterday, today's game was moved up to an 11 a.m. start to avoid
the predicted afternoon showers.
Sacramento State hosts San Francisco on Tuesday afternoon. The Hornets
will host a three-game series against conference foe North Dakota State on
Game 2: Mustangs Ride Long Ball and Uelmen's Arm to 4-0 Victory
Cal Poly (13-5) pitcher Erich Uelmen hurled a complete-game shutout while his
offense hit three homers to take the second game of today's double header 4-0 at Sacramento
State (9-8).
In the fourth inning Brett Barbier and John Schuknecht both hit solo shots off
Hornets' reliever Tyler Olson, who came in for starter Justin Dillon (El Dorado High). Dillon
threw just two innings before leaving with an injury.
The next inning Alex McKenna hit his second home run of the day, this time off
the Hornets' third pitcher, Ryan Smith (Rocklin High). McKenna's three-run blast won Game One
for the Mustangs, who are on a 10-game road trip.
Meantime, Uelmen (3-0) pitched a gem, shutting out the Hornets on five hits.
The 6'3" sophomore also allowed one walk, hit a batter and KO'd six Hornets on 109 pitches
(67 for strikes). His defense turned two double plays.
With today's sterling outing, Uelmen's earned run average dropped to 2.02.
Barbier, who had two hits in the second game, raised his batting average to
A third game is scheduled tomorrow, with the time to be
Last year, the two teams split a four-game series in San Luis Obispo, and the
year before in the NCAA Regional Tournament hosted by Cal Poly, the Mustangs defeated the
Hornets twice.
~ ~ ~Game 1: Cal Poly Wins 6-4 Over
Sac State
Cal Poly stormed back for six runs in the top of the fourth inning and rode
the arm of pitcher Kyle Smith through seven to take the first game of a double header 6-4
against home team Sacramento State (9-7).
Hornets starter Sam Long (Del Campo) was cruising through three hitless innings when he gave up
back-to-back doubles by Brett Barbier and John
Schuknecht. Kyle Marinconz then blooped one down the left field line for another double, knocking
in both runners to tighten the score at 3-2.
A single by Michael Sanderson put runners at the corners, causing a mound visit by associate head
coach, Steve Holm. Catcher Nick Meyer laid down a safety squeeze to tie the game. Long walked the
next hitter. Then with two outs, freshman Alex McKenna blasted a towering shot that struck two feet
shy of landing on top of the parking structure. That three-run blast proved to be the game winner
as Cal Poly took a 6-3 lead.
All six runs off Long (1-4) were earned, who gave way to long reliever Grant Kekuk in the fifth.
Kekuk pitched 4.1 innings of two-hit ball, quelling any future Mustangs
The Hornets opened the scoring in the second inning.
Freshman Matt Smith—after sitting out seven games with an injury—singled to start the rally. That
extended his hitting streak to 10 games (Smith went 2-for-4 in the game). He advanced to second
base on a wild pitch, and scored on Andrew McWilliam's double to right-center field. Brandon
Hunley's single to deep shortstop (plus an error) scored McWilliam to give Sac State a 2-0
The Mustangs' southpaw Kyle Smith (3-1) gave up two more runs over his seven innings, but scattered
10 Hornets hits to keep his team in the game. He struck out five while walking
Freshman Justin Bruihl pitched two scoreless innings to earn his second
The Hornets' notched a rare inning-ending double play in the third when Long fanned the batter and
catcher Gunner Pollman threw out the base runner attempting to steal third.
On the Ides of March...
Hornets Manage 6-1 Victory Over William Jessup
Sacramento State (9-6) scored four times in the seventh inning to crack open a
non-classic "pitcher's duel," defeating William Jessup 6-1 in a home contest at John Smith
Until the seventh, the Warriors and Hornets were locked in a 1-1
Sac State starter Matt Gorgolinksi had hurled five innings of no-hit ball,
allowing one run on a pair of walks and wild pitch. Meantime, William Jessup sent out a
committee of eight pitchers who held the Hornets to four hits and one run through six
Sac State broke open the contest when Andrew McWilliam led off the bottom of
the seventh with a double off Manuel Velasquez (1-1). Two batters later, the Hornets loaded
the bases with no out. A fielder's choice cut down the lead runner at home. Then Bronson
Grubbs (Pleasant Grove) laid down a bunt single and pinch runner P.J. Floyd (Whitney High)
raced home to give State the 2-1 lead.
Seniors Trent Goodrich and Chris Lewis drove in three more runs with a single
and a sacrifice fly, as the Hornets took a 5-1 lead. They padded it with one more run in the
The Warriors broke up Gorgolinki's no-hitter in the sixth
After a leadoff walk, freshman Steven Stockton (ironically of Stockton,
Calif.) popped up a bunt attempt, but it landed in no-man's land like a dying quail between
the pitcher and first baseman. With the no-hitter gone, when Gorgolinski hit the next batter
on pitch number 85, Coach Reggie Christiansen replaced the 6'-6"right-hander with senior
Grant Kekuk.
Although Gorgoliski had only allowed the one hit, he walked four and hit one
batter, mainly because his fastball often misfired up out of the zone.
Kekuk (2-1) hurled 3.2 innings of no-hit, shutout ball to earn the
Goodrich finished with three RBI and three Hornets hitters (McWilliam, Grubbs
and Dan Deely) each had a pair of hits.
William Jessup (2-18), a private four-year school in Rocklin, is playing only
its second baseball season in the NAIA.
Today's contest marked the first of a 13-game homestand for the
Hornets, the longest in the school's Division I era. On Saturday (2 p.m.), Sac State welcomes Cal
Poly for a three-game series.
On the Ides of March...
by Editor Rick
Hornets Manage 6-1 Victory Over William
Sacramento State (9-6) scored four times in the
seventh inning to crack open a non-classic "pitcher's duel," defeating William Jessup
6-1 in a home contest at John Smith Field.
Until the seventh, the Warriors and Hornets were
locked in a 1-1 game.
Sac State starter Matt Gorgolinksi had hurled
five innings of no-hit ball, allowing one run on a pair of walks and wild pitch. Meantime,
William Jessup sent out a committee of eight pitchers who held the Hornets to four hits and
one run through six innings.
Sac State broke open the contest when Andrew
McWilliam led off the bottom of the seventh with a double off Manuel Velasquez (1-1). Two
batters later, the Hornets loaded the bases with no out. A fielder's choice cut down the lead
runner at home. Then Bronson Grubbs (Pleasant Grove) laid down a bunt single and pinch runner
P.J. Floyd (Whitney High) raced home to give State the 2-1
Seniors Trent Goodrich and Chris Lewis drove in
three more runs with a single and a sacrifice fly, as the Hornets took a 5-1 lead. They
padded it with one more run in the eighth.
The Warriors broke up Gorgolinki's no-hitter in
the sixth inning.
After a leadoff walk, freshman Steven Stockton
(ironically of Stockton, Calif.) popped up a bunt attempt, but it landed in no-man's land
like a dying quail between the pitcher and first baseman. With the no-hitter gone, when
Gorgolinski hit the next batter on pitch number 85, Coach Reggie Christiansen replaced the
6'-6"right-hander with senior Grant Kekuk.
Although Gorgoliski had only allowed the one
hit, he walked four and hit one batter, mainly because his
fastball often misfired up out of the zone.
Kekuk (2-1) hurled 3.2 innings of no-hit,
shutout ball to earn the win.
Goodrich finished with three RBI and three
Hornets hitters (McWilliam, Grubbs and Dan Deely) each had a pair of hits.
William Jessup (2-18), a private four-year
school in Rocklin, is playing only its second baseball season in the
Today's contest marked the first of a 13-game
homestand for the Hornets, the longest in the school's Division I era. On Saturday (2 p.m.),
Sac State welcomes Cal Poly for a three-game series.
Arizona Trumps Sac
State 8-4 For Series Sweep
Tucson, Arizona—The Arizona Wildcats (11-4) swept the series with an 8-4 victory over
Sacramento State (8-6) today.
Kody Reynolds had a two-run homer, and Dan Deely and Chris Lewis each had a RBI double
to account for the four scores by the Hornets, who managed 10 hits to the Wildcats
Right hander Justin Dillon (El Dorado High) in his first start of the season went
three-plus innings for Sacramento State, allowing three earned runs.
The Hornets return home for a non-conference matchup with William Jessup on Tuesday
Hornets Bombed by
Wildcats 23-1
Tucson, Arizona--
Arizona (10-4) pounded seven Sacramento State pitchers for 24 hits and 23 runs in a 23-1
non-conference win.
The Hornets (8-5)
managed just seven hits, while making three errors.
The Wildcats J.J. Matijevic
went 4-for-6 with three doubles and four runs batted in.
Arizona goes for the sweep
tomorrow in a 1 p.m. start.
'Cats Take First Game Versus Hornets 3-1
Tucson, Arizona—Catcher Ryan Haug drove in two runs to break a
1-1 tie in the seventh inning as Arizona (9-4) defeated Sacramento State 3-1 in the first game of a
three-game series this evening.
The loss broke a four-game winning streak by the Hornets (8-4),
who were off to their hottest start since 1993.
Sac State opened the scoring in the top of the fourth inning on
a Bronson Grubbs (Pleasant Grove High) single to drive in Kody Reynolds.
In the bottom half of the fourth Arizona answered when Louis
Boyd doubled down the left field line and advanced to third on a perfectly placed bunt to the
pitcher by Ryan Aguilar. With runners at the corners, Zach Gibbons lashed a single to right field,
scoring Boyd and knotting the score 1-1. The next hitter's sacrifice bunt put Wildcats on third and
second base.
But Long got out of the jam with a lineout and a fly out,
limiting Arizona's rally to the one score.
Arizona starter J.C. Cloney (3-1) returned the favor in the
fifth, retiring all three Hornets hitters on fly outs.
With two out in the Wildcats half of the inning Cody Raymer
drilled a full-count triple in the gap. But a perfect relay from Hornets left fielder Chris Lewis
to shortstop Trent Goodrich to catcher Gunner Polman nabbed Raymer trying to stretch it into an
inside-the-park home run, keeping the game tied at 1.
With momentum in the Sac State dugout, Lewis doubled to lead
off the sixth inning and advanced to third on a fielder's choice. But he was stranded there,
erasing a promising opportunity to take the lead.
In the Arizona seventh, after the first two batters reached
base, Haug broke the stalemate when he knocked in two runs with a single, giving the 'Cats a 3-1
lead. After Haug reached second base, Long fanned Cramer to end the Wildcats'
Long (1-3) had his longest outing of the season, throwing 97
pitches through seven innings, while the Del Campo High grad allowed seven hits and three earned
Sacramento State outhit Arizona 8-7 and played an error free
Freshman Matt Smith (El Dorado High) missed his third
consecutive game due to injury. Smith, who is riding a nine-game hitting streak, leads all Hornets'
hitters (with a minimum 30 at bats) with a .406 average and 11 RBI.
The Hornets and Wildcats continue the weekend series tomorrow
at 1 p.m.
Sacramento State Shuts Out SDSU 4-0 in Game
Shortstop Trent Goodridge led the offensive
charge and starting pitcher Max Karnos and three relievers blanked South Dakota State (0-11) as
Sacramento State (7-3) took the third game 4-0 at Klein Family Field on the campus of University of
the Pacific this afternoon.
Goodridge went 3-for-3 with two runs batted in,
including the game's first score in the first inning when he drove in leadoff hitter Blake
Edmondson with an RBI double. Goodridge later scored on a single by Vinny Esposito (Granite Bay
High), giving Sac State a 2-0 lead.
In the fourth inning, junior catcher Gunner
Polman clubbed an RBI double, and Goodridge knocked in his second run with a single in the eighth
Karnos (1-1) pitched five sterling innings, allowing just two hits and two
walks, while fanning five in earning his first win as a Hornet.
The three relievers Austin Root (Oak Ridge
High), Chad Perry (Marysville High) and Tyler Beardsley limited the Jackrabbits to one hit over the
final four innings.
Goodridge, a senior, and Karnos, a junior, are
part of the community college transfers recruited by Hornets head coach, Reggie Christiansen this
Freshman Matt Smith (El Dorado High), who is
riding a nine-game hitting streak, did not play in today's contest.
In sweeping the three-game series, the Hornets
outscored South Dakota State 25-10.
For the second consecutive game Sacramento State hosted on a Stockton college
field, as this weekend's winter storms left John Smith Field unplayable for all but one game,
the win on Friday. Originally, the Hornets and Jackrabbits were scheduled to play four games at
Sac State.
Sacramento State will play its next home game
away as well, as the Hornets will battle Nevada (4-7) of the Mountain West Conference at 6 p.m.
Wednesday evening at Raley Field.
Teams Are Scheduled To Play Monday At Raley
(Sac State Media
STOCKTON, Calif. – After unplayable conditions
at John Smith Field forced a change of venue, Sacramento State defeated South Dakota State 11-3 at
San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton.
Sacramento State (6-3) and South Dakota State
(0-10) will play a third game in their rain-altered series on Monday night at Raley Field. Game
time will be 6 p.m.
The Hornets had season highs with 14 hits and 11
runs on Sunday, jumping on South Dakota State starter Ryan Froom with six runs in the first two
innings. Junior catcher Gunner Pollman went 3-for-5 with four RBIs and a run scored, recording
career highs in both hits and RBIs in a game. Senior Chris Lewis was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and
two runs while junior Kody Reynolds and sophomore Bronson Grubbs also had two hits in the
Freshman Matt Smith (El Dorado High) had a hit
and an RBI before having to leave the game when he was hit by a pitch. He extended his season-long
hitting streak to nine games and has an RBI in eight of nine games this
On the mound senior Grant Kukuk earned his first
win of the year, allowing just three runs (two earned) on eight hits with three strikeouts in 6.2
innings pitched. Relievers Ryan Smith and Jonny Palsha pitched the last 2.1 innings without
allowing a hit.
The teams were out on John Smith Field Sunday
anticipating a doubleheader beginning at 10 a.m., but a muddy warning track caused by overnight
rain made the field unplayable. The teams took the 45-minute drive down to Stockton for a 1 p.m.
first pitch at Nick Cecchetti Field on the campus of San Joaquin Delta
Weather permitting, the Hornets will be playing
two straight games at Raley Field with the contest Monday night against South Dakota State and a
game against Nevada at 6 p.m. Wednesday night under the Raley lights.
Hornets Pile On, Beat SDSU
By Editor Rick
Sacramento State's offense
broke out this morning and posted a 10-7 victory over visiting South Dakota State in the first
of a scheduled four-game non-conference series.
In the 7th inning, the
Hornets (5-3) padded their lead by four runs when Brandon Hunley (Christian Brothers) knocked in
two runs, preceded by RBI singles by Vinny Esposito (Granite Bay High) and Kody
Those tallies pushed the
Hornets lead to 10-4 and it's a good thing they added on, for the Jackrabbits notched three
tallies in the ninth, finishing with a final score 10-7.
Left-hander Sam Long (1-2)
pitched five strong innings, limiting SDSU to two earned runs (twice as many as LSU got off
him). Long, the former Del Campo High champion, won his first game of the 2016 season, allowing
six hits, no walks, while fanning seven during his short outing. He commanded his fastball
extremely well, and kept the Jackrabbits off balance with a 12-6 curve ball
Sac State scored two runs
in the first, third and fifth innings. But the Jackrabbits (0-9), who came into the contest
hitting .258 as a team, never gave in, knocking 13 hits to the Hornets 11. Five SDSU players had
two hits in the game.
Esposito, the sophomore
first baseman, led all Hornets hitters, going 3-for-4 with a double and three runs batted in.
Senior Chris Lewis knocked in two runs with a triple to right center field in the fifth
(following back-to-back errors by the J-Rabbits infield). Reynolds also had a pair of RBI on two
Freshman Matt Smith (El
Dorado High) went 2-for-3 with one RBI, extending his hitting streak to eight games. Plus, Smith
now has an RBI in all but one game for a total of 10, which— coming into today's game—led all
Western Athletic Conference hitters.
The Hornets rearranged this
weekend's schedule due to the predicted rains, starting today's first game of a double-header at
10 a.m. At 12:30, just as the game was concluding a light rain began to fall, throwing into
jeopardy whether the teams will start and/or finish the the 2 p.m. game (Those
thunderclaps in the background as we write suggest they won't).
And Saturday and Sunday's
games are in doubt as well due to a wave of storms predicted to slam Sacramento this
But are we complaining? No,
we are not, says this native Sacramentan who is not looking forward to a fifth consecutive
season of drought.
Plus, with Season 4 of
House of Cards premiering today, we'll find a way to pass the time.
Tigers Take Series with
11-1 Win Over Sac State
Baton Rouge, Louisiana—For six innings lefty starter John Valek
shut out Sacramento State, while his Tigers (5-2) teammates scored eight times, leading to a 11-1
LSU win and the series.
Sacramento State (4-3) didn't get a hit off Valek until Vinny
Esposito (Granite Bay High) singled in the fifth inning.
The Hornets finally tallied in the seventh inning when Blake
Edmondson doubled off the wall, and scored when Matt Smith (El Dorado High) golfed a curve ball for
a single to left.
The freshman Smith has now hit safely in all seven games of his
young collegiate career.
Valek regained the LSU momentum with two strikeouts to end the
inning. He gave up four hits, one earned run, no walks and struck out six.
Whereas Sac State played error-free yesterday in the win, they
posted three more errors today, totaling seven for the weekend series; uncharacteristic for a
Reggie Christiansen-coached Hornets team.
The Hornets return to Sacramento and will play a four-game home
stand beginning Friday March 4 against South Dakota State.
Their home game Wednesday March 9 against Nevada will be played
at Raley Field, where the Hornets play just twice in 2016.
Hornets Ninth-Inning Rally
Leads to 5-4 Win Over LSU
by Rick Cabral (with an
assist by Sac State Media Relations)
The Hornets of Sacramento
scored twice in the ninth inning and held on to win 5-4 against No. 5-ranked Louisiana State
(4-2) at Alex Box Stadium.
Reliever Ty Beardsley (1-0)
closed out the game with two shutout innings, retiring the side in the ninth to give Sacramento
State (4-2) the win.
Down 4-3 in the last
inning, senior Chris Lewis lined a sharp grounder off Tigers' shortstop Cole Freeman, who
misplayed the tough hop and came out of the game due to injury. Kody Reynolds promptly
Up stepped the freshman
Matt Smith (El Dorado High) wearing the proverbial Golden Sombrero for his previous four strike
outs. Smith singled through the right side, scoring Lewis, who tied the game. Reynolds
scored on Vinny Esposito's (Granite Bay High), sacrifice fly to give Sacramento State the 5-4
"This was one of the most
unbelievable wins I've ever been a part of," Sacramento State head coach Reggie Christiansen
said after the game.
The Hornets took an early
1-0 lead in the second inning thanks to Trent Goodrich's RBI-double.
The Tigers roared back with
four runs in the third inning against starter Grant Kekuk to take a 4-1 lead.
In the following frame,
Esposito homered off LSU starter Alex Lange to left field to cut the lead to 4-2. Catcher Gunner
Polman doubled and came home on Andrew McWilliam's single to trim the deficit to 4-3.
In his five innings, Lange
(1-0) allowed six hits, three walks and three earned runs, but struck out nine. Right-hander
Hunter Newman relieved Lange in the sixth inning and struck out the side.
Sac State rallied in the
seventh off Newman, placing runners at first and second with one out. Freshman Caleb Gilbert
(0-1) was summoned from the Tigers bullpen, and promptly fanned Matt Smith (his 4th strikeout of
the game). Gilbert then retired Esposito on an infield pop-up to squelch the rally.
In the eighth inning, Sac
State failed to deliver in a similar situation. With runners at the corners and one out Blake
Edmondson (replacement for catcher Polman) was thrown out at home by Gilbert on Bronson Grubbs'
safety squeeze. The Hornets' two base runners advanced to third and second on a wild pitch, but
Gilbert fanned McWilliam to end the rally.
Despite 17 strikeouts,
the Hornets managed 10 hits off Tigers pitching, including Smith's clutch hit that tied the game
(he has hit safely in all six games to open the season). Reynolds led the Hornets with
three hits, and Esposito knocked in two runs, including the game-winner.
The Hornets relief corp of
Tanner Olson, Chad Perry and Beardsley pitched six shutout innings to keep Sac State in the
game. Shortstop Goodrich made a nice play in the eighth inning throwing out a runner at the
plate to keep the Hornets within one run.
The two teams return
tomorrow at 11 a.m. (PST) for the rubber match.
Hornets Drop Game One at LSU
Baton Rouge,
Louisiana—Through the first six innings, visiting Sacramento State (3-2) committed four infield
errors, allowing Louisiana State (4-1) to score an equal number of runs as the Tigers took the
first game in the weekend series 6-0.
The loss snaps the Hornets'
three-game winning streak. They won once at Northwestern State (Louisiana) on Wednesday and took
the final two games at Auburn last weekend.
Hornets' starter Sam Long
(0-2) allowed six hits and four runs, but pitched well as he allowed only one earned run in his
second start of the season.
Meantime, Tigers' southpaw
Jared Poche' (1-0) silenced Sacramento State hitters on a cold night in Baton Rouge, allowing
just two singles in his six innings of work. Poche' walked three and fanned eight, primarily
with a wicked curve ball.
Down two runs in the sixth
inning, Long had kept State in the game. But he allowed a leadoff single. One batter later, Long
fielded a swinging bunt, but as the pitcher threw to first base he slipped, and his
errant throw hit the runner in the back, and both runners were safe. A sacrifice bunt followed
by a sacrifice fly scored one run, chasing Long (Del Campo High) from the game.
Right-hander Ryan Smith
entered the game and induced a grounder to shortstop, but the Hornets Trent Goodrich committed
his second error of the game, and the Tigers padded their lead to 4-0.
In the seventh, the Bayou
Bengals added on as Smith allowed a leadoff single to Jake Fraley, who then stole second base.
Beau Jordan's second base hit of the game scored Fraley, giving the Tigers a 5-0 lead and Jordan
his second run batted in.
LSU tacked on one more run
in the eighth inning when reliever Jonny Palsha allowed Kramer Robertson's RBI single,
resulting in the final score, 6-0. Like Jordan, Kramer went 2-for-4 with two RBI. O'Neal
Lochridge went 2-for-3 with one RBI for LSU.
The two teams tangle again
tomorrow at noon Pacific Time at Alex Box Stadium.
State Wins Rubber Match
with 7-6 Extra Inning Thriller at Auburn
Trent Goodrich's sacrifice
fly in the top of the 12th inning gave Sacramento State (2-1) a 7-6 win and the rubber match
in a see-saw battle as the Hornets took two of three from the Auburn Tigers
Freshman Matt Smith (El
Dorado High) doubled to open the Hornets final frame. He was sacrificed to third, and scored on
Goodrich's fly ball.
The Tigers made things
interesting in their half of the 12th inning, putting runners at first and second base with
one out. But pitcher Chad Perry (Marysville High) induced a 6-4-3 double play to end the
The Hornets took an early
2-0 lead in the first inning when senior Chris Lewis doubled in a run, and Smith's sacrifice fly
gave the Sacramentans their second run. But for the third consecutive game the Tigers' Niko
Buentello drove in three runs with one swing when he homered to center as Auburn retook the
lead. Buentello now has 10 RBI for the season.
Sacramento State answered
with another pair of runs in the second. Andrew McWilliam knocked in Brandon Hunley (Christian
Brothers) and later scored on a wild pitch to give State a 4-3 lead.
But Auburn plated two more
runs in the third inning and got an insurance run on Buentello's RBI in the fourth.
With Auburn leading 6-4 in
the eighth inning Hunley, the junior second baseman, knocked in Goodrich and eventually scored
on a wild pitch to tie the game.
Hornets relievers
whitewashed the Tigers for the final six frames, including two shutout innings by Perry, who
earned his first win of the season by allowing just one hit and a walk in the seven batters he
McWilliam, Hunley and
Goodrich each had two hits, while freshman Smith stroked three safeties, including his sixth
RBI. Smith is hitting .545 in his first three college contests.
Starting pitcher Max Karnos
allowed five earned runs in his three innings.
Sacramento State moves on
to face Northwestern State in
Natchitoches, Louisianafor two mid-week games against
the Demons, who play in the Division I Southland Conference.
They take on the LSU Tigers
for a three-game weekend series beginning Friday.
Sac State's 4-Run 8th Inning Leads to 6-5
Win Over Auburn
Visiting Sacramento State overcame a 5-2 deficit by scoring four runs in the eighth inning on Chris
Lewis' 2-run homer and run-scoring doubles by Matt Smith and Brandon Hunley en route to its first
win this season, a 6-5 victory at Auburn.
Pitcher Tyler Beardsley earned a save with two scoreless innings to close out the
With the score tied 2-2 in the seventh inning, slugger Niko Buontello slammed a two-out. three-run
homer over the centerfield fence off Austin Ragsdale (Bradshaw Christian) to give the Tigers
the 5-2 lead.
Despite giving up the three-run bomb, Ragsdale (1-0) earned his first victory of the
Hornets' starter Justin Dillon (El Dorado Hills) left the game after just five pitches due to a
possible leg injury. Right-hander Grant Kekuk came on in relief and shut down the first nine Auburn
batters. Kekuk limited the Tigers to two runs (1 earned) over his 4.2 innings.
The Hornets' offense pounded nine hits, led by catcher Gunner Pollman and Smith who each had a pair
of hits (including a double in the pivotal eighth inning). Smith, the freshman designated hitter
from El Dorado High, had two runs batted in. He now has five for the
The teams return to Plainsman Park tomorrow at 11 a.m. (PST) for the rubber match of the
three-game series.
Hornets Drop Opener at
Auburn 10-5
Sacramento State dropped
the season opener 10-5 at Auburn University this afternoon.
Starter Sam Long (Del Campo
High) had one of the shortest outings of his career, as the junior left-hander allowed five runs
(two earned) in four innings.
Three Tigers pitchers
limited the Hornets to seven hits but their defense made an equal number of errors.
State designated hitter
freshman Matt Smith knocked in three of the Hornets runs, while Bronson Grubbs went
2-for-4. Auburn first baseman Niko Buentello also had a pair of hits and knocked in three runs
for the Tigers, who collected 14 hits.
Long (o-1), who took the
loss, was tabbed the Western Athletic Conference preseason
Pitcher of the Year. The Tigers' Cole Lipscomb (1-0) went five innings and allowed just one
earned run for the victory.
Today's game marked the
first meeting between the two teams, and is just the second time the Hornets have faced a
Southeastern Conference team.
The teams return to
Hitchcock Field at Plainsman Park tomorrow at 11 a.m. for the second game of the
2/17/16 (updated 2:00
Hornets Open '16 Season On
Road Against Auburn
by Editor Rick Cabral
(with an assist from Andrew Tomskey, CSUS Media Relations)
Sacramento State this
Friday opens the 2016 season with an eight-game road trip in the southeast. The Hornets open
with a three-game series at Auburn and conclude with a three-game set at number-11 ranked
Louisiana State (by Baseball America).
The Hornets were picked to
finish second in the Western Athletic Conference in a recent coaches poll, just behind Grand
Canyon, which is again ineligible to claim the crown until it completes the transition to
Division-1. Sac State last year finished 33-27 (16-11 WAC).
The team is led by junior
Sam Long (Del Campo High) and sophomore Vinny Esposito (Granite Bay High) who were selected WAC
preseason Pitcher of the Year and first baseman respectively.
head coach
Christiansen, in a team-conducted interview this week, made this assessment about his
"I believe our
strength will again be our pitching and defense along with the depth we have on the position
player side."
Sac State
welcomes 17 returning players, including seven position players, with 12 newcomers joining
the roster. But Christiansen has some huge holes to fill.
His primary
challenge will be finding a shortstop to replace four-year starter Scotty Burcham. Plus, he's
seeking two frontline starters to compliment Long and junior Justin Dillon (El Dorado
he needs to find a closer after Sutter McLoughlin (Rio Americano) went pro last
summer. McLoughlin,
the all-time WAC Saves leader, set the school's career earned run mark as well.
Coach Reggie
knows there's no replacing three-year All-WAC outfielder Nathan Lukes who set the school
career hits mark last spring, but he has a number of options for the lineup's
Tigers | 2015: All: 36-26 | SEC: 13-17 | Home: 25-11
Auburn returns
every starting position player and seven pitchers but has 19 newcomers in 2016. The Tigers
made the NCAA Regionals last season and were ranked as high as No. 23 in the nation last
season, though they finished ninth in the SEC. The squad returned ace Cole Lipscomb, who was
8-2 with a 2.53 ERA last year, and closer Justin Camp, who will start for the Tigers on
Saturday. The Hornets and Tigers have never before met. Auburn is unranked but received votes
in the preseason NCBWA poll.
State has never faced Auburn before but has had recent success playing at power conferences.
In 2013 the Hornets opened their season at Texas and picked up a Saturday win, then in 2014
Sacramento State won at No. 21 Texas A&M, another SEC school, in the series opener
playing before a sellout crowd. Texas A&M is the only SEC team the Hornets have ever
previously faced.
About the
upcoming road trip to SEC territory, Christiansen noted "This trip is going to be a special
one for our team and I believe it will pay dividends as we make another run at a NCAA
tournament appearance, just as it did in 2014 when we traveled to Texas A&M."
season-opener will be at 1 p.m. Pacific time with first pitch Saturday and Sunday at 11 a.m.
Pacific. Friday and Saturday's games will be broadcast live on SEC Network +, available on
The Hornets open at home on
March 4 with a four-game series against South Dakota State.
Long, Esposito Earn Pre-Season WAC Honors
Sac State Media Relations
DENVER - The Sacramento State baseball team has been picked to finish second in the 10 team Western
Athletic Conference (WAC) by the league coaches, the conference announced Wednesday.
Additionally, junior LHP Sam Long was selected as the WAC Preseason Pitcher of the Year and
sophomore Vinny Esposito was chosen as the league's top first baseman on the Preseason all-WAC
The Hornets earned 74 points and four first place votes in the poll finishing just behind Grand
Canyon, which had 77 points and five first place votes to be picked to repeat as WAC champion. As
was the case last year, Grand Canyon is still not eligible to compete in the WAC or NCAA
Tournaments as it reclassifies to Div. I. Seattle U was a distant third in the poll with 57
Sam Long, Sacramento State
Long (Del Campo High), a former Freshman All-American, enters his junior year seventh in program
history with a 2.92 career ERA. He was also named a top collegiate prospect on D1baseball.com's
College 300 going into the 2016 season.
Last year Long led the WAC and ranked 13th in all of NCAA Div. I with a 0.85 WHIP. He was also
second in the WAC with a .198 opposing batting average and allowed just 64 hits and totaled a
team-high 63 strikeouts to just 16 walks. He started the 2015 season 5-0 with a 1.73 ERA through
seven games (six starts).
As a freshman, Esposito (Granite Bay High) led Sacramento State and was tied for third in the WAC
with eight home runs. He was also third on the team with a .423 slugging percentage, totaling 28
RBIs. Esposito was strong defensively at first base as well, leading the WAC with 548 putouts with
a .991 fielding percentage.
Sacramento State has 17 total returning letter winners and 12 newcomers in 2016, with just two
freshmen and 10 new transfers. The squad finished tied for fourth place in the regular season
in 2015 and got within one win of reaching the championship game at the WAC Tournament before
falling to eventual tournament champion CSU Bakersfield.
contents © Rick Cabral,