A Brief Preview

Mired in a four-game losing streak, the Sacramento State baseball team will attempt to end its recent skid when it welcomes Nevada and UC Santa Barbara this week. The Hornets face the Wolf Pack on Tuesday before squaring off against the Gauchos in a three-game Big West Conference series starting on Friday.

The Hornets, who are currently 17-22 overall and 1-5 in Big West

games, have lost 12 of their past 14 contests dating back to March

20. Last week, the team was swept by No. 9 Cal State Fullerton in a

three-game series. During those games, the Titans outscored

Sacramento State, 37-9, and the Hornets allowed 30 walks.

Nevada enters the week at 21-19 overall. The Wolf Pack dropped three

of their four games last week, falling to No. 1 Stanford on Tuesday

before losing their first two games against No. 8 Rice. Nevada

bounced back to down the Owls, 6-4, on Sunday. The Wolf Pack crushed

the Hornets, 18-8, on March 20 in Reno, Nev., and now own a 30-9 edge

in the all-time series.

UC Santa Barbara remained hot as it took two of three games against

Cal State Northridge over the weekend. The Gauchos, who own the

highest team batting average in Div. I, are now 27-10 overall and 2-1

in the Big West. UCSB leads the all-time series, 16-13.

A Look at the Hornets

* A New Leader

Midway through last season, it appeared that Aurelio Jackson would

end the year as the all-time hits leader at Sacramento State.

However, a shoulder injury sidelined Jackson for the final 10 games

of the year and left him 15 hits shy of Brandon Marshall's mark of

168.

Jackson broke the school record at San Diego earlier this season and

is closing in on others. Below is a list of where he ranks in each of

the career statistical categories:

* On the Leaderboard

Sacramento State is on a downward spiral in the Big West Conference

statistics. As a team, the Hornets are now last (seventh) in both

team batting average (.276) and team ERA (5.38). The team ranked

second in the league in ERA just four weeks ago.

Individually, Aurelio Jackson leads the conference with 30 stolen

bases. Jackson's closest competitor is Long Beach State's Jeremy Reed

(20). Michael Penbera is now second in saves with eight, one behind

LBSU's Josh Alliston.

Jeff Groeger is third in strikeouts with 64. Fullerton's Kirk

Saarloos leads the league with 99 K's and a 1.63 ERA.

Other notables include Jackson who is tied for the lead in triples

with four and Joe Evans who is third in the Big West with 10 home

runs.

* Quick Adjustment

Although the team is hitting just .211 through its first six Big West

games, two freshmen have had little trouble adjusting to Division I

baseball. Both Chris Kinsey and Bobby Ciani are hitting .333

(4-for-12). Kinsey has also added a pair of doubles and owns a .500

slugging percentage.

Overall, Kinsey has upped his average to .284 with seven doubles and

five home runs. Ciani is now hitting .273 with two doubles and one

homer.

* More Kinsey

Aside from his hot hitting, Kinsey has also served as the team's

utility player this season. The Elk Grove, Calif., has played at

first base, third base and left field this season. He has also

pitched in seven games and served as the team's designated hitter in

five.

* Wear It Well

Senior Carlos Morales secured his spot in Hornet history when he was

hit by a pitch on Saturday. The infielder has now been plunked 30

times in his two seasons moving him past Dan Vetter's career record

of 29.

Morales tied the single-season mark last season when he was hit 19 times.

* Chewing Up Innings

Its not every week that you can pitch 5.1 innings and be considered

the workhorse of the pitching staff, but that is exactly what Mike

Miranda did last weekend. The senior was the only Hornet hurler to

pitch more than 4.1 innings over the three games. Miranda allowed

five earned runs and struck out five in the loss. This season he has

lasted at least five innings in all but one of his starts and has two

complete games.

* Other Notes

Dave Lusk's attempt to tie the team-high nine-game hit streak fell

short on Thursday...Ciani now owns the longest active streak at five

games...Jackson is the only player to start every game at one

position.