After its most successful week in recent memory, the Sacramento State baseball team will look to keep its new-found momentum rolling in four games this week. The Hornets open the week by hosting San Jose State on Tuesday, May 7. The team will then travel to UC Irvine for a three-game series against the Anteaters that will span from Friday, May 10, through Sunday, May 12.

Sacramento State enters the week with an 18-28 overall record and an 0-15 mark in Big West Conference games. The Hornets posted a 3-1 mark last week in four games. The team started its week with an 8-7 win at Nevada on Tuesday, April 30. It then proceeded to take two of three games at Fresno State. The Bulldogs took the first game, 11-1, before the Hornets bounced back for an 8-3 win on Saturday and an 8-5 victory on Sunday.

The Spartans come to town having won six-straight games and 13 of their last 14 outings. SJSU is 39-13 overall and 17-7 in the Western Athletic Conference.

UC Irvine is currently 29-20 overall and 10-5 in the Big West. The Anteaters, who swept Long Beach State two weeks ago, went 1-2 against Cal State Fullerton this past weekend.

• Meet the Coach

Since taking over the program in November of 1978, Sacramento State graduate John Smith has only eight losing seasons. In his 24 seasons as a head coach, he has posted 692 wins, ranking him among the top-60 active Division I coaches.

In his tenure with the Hornets, Smith has led the team to four NCAA postseason appearances, winning two regional crowns and two trips to the NCAA Div. II Championship.

Smith was named American Baseball Coaches Association/NCAA Western Regional Coach of the Year twice, in 1986 and 1988.

In 1999, Smith added the title of Associate Athletic Director to his resume. In his current capacity he oversees the school’s football program as well as all facility improvements.

• A Look at Last Week

After losing eight-consecutive games, Sacramento State captured three wins in a four-game span last week. The three wins ended a stretch that saw the team lose 18 of its previous 20 games.

The Hornets began the week with an 8-7 win at Nevada. In the game, which was halted twice due to snow, four Sacramento State players hit home runs. The top four hitters in the lineup combined for eight hits and scored seven of the team’s eight runs. Freshman Warren Rosebrock earned the win by tossing three innings and allowing just one earned run. Senior Jeff Groeger threw the final two innings for his first career save.

The opening game of the Fresno State series (May 3) was all Bulldogs. The team scored four runs in the first and six in the second inning to take a 10-0 lead. Bob Runyon held the Hornets scoreless through 8.1 innings until Matt Wilson hit a solo home run.

Saturday, May 4, Groeger returned to the mound and earned a complete-game win (8-3). The top of the order (1-4) again tallied eight hits, drove in eight runs and scored six times. Chris Kinsey (16) and Mario Celillo (4) each homered for the Hornets.

Sunday, May 5, the team captured the series win with an 8-5 victory. The series win was the first since the team won two against Washington State (March 8-9). Sacramento State scored three runs in the first, one in the fifth and four in the sixth to build an 8-0 lead. Casey Fuller led all players by going 4-for-5 including a three-run home run. Marshall Plouffe improved to 4-7 with the win and Dusty Decker picked up his second save.

A Look at the Hornets

• Blistering Brown

After a slow start to his senior season, Ryan Brown might be the hottest hitter in the Big West. Over the last 10 games, the senior is hitting .483 (14-29) with five doubles and a home run. He also has a .759 slugging percentage and a .531 on-base percentage during that span.

Last week, Brown was 6-for-12 in the team’s four games. He homered in the Hornets’ win at Nevada and picked up a double against Fresno State.

Overall, he ranks second on the team with a .305 batting average and leads all players with a .430 on-base percentage.

• Loving the WAC

Maybe Sacramento State is in the wrong conference. Despite posting an 0-15 record in the Big West the Hornets have managed to go 6-3 against the Western Athletic Conference this season.

The team opened the year by taking two of three games at Hawai‘i to win a series against the Rainbows for the first time since 1994.

The Hornets have also managed to sweep the two-game series with Nevada and win two of three games at Fresno State.

The win in Reno, Nev., was the first for Sacramento State since March 3, 1993 while the series victory in Fresno was the first since 1995.

The team’s only other loss against WAC competition came at the hands of San Jose State.

• Fuller Bat Man

Senior Casey Fuller has taken a unique path to get where he is today. After graduating from Dixon HS, Fuller played one season at Sacramento City College. He then left Sac City to play one year at Ole Miss. Fuller returned to Northern California last season where he served as a pitcher for the Hornets.

Fuller made the transition to the outfield this season where he has started 34 games. Last week, the 6-6 left-hander hit .500 (7-14) with a double, home run and seven RBI. His career-best game came on Sunday where he was 4-for-5, hit his fifth home run of the year and drove in four runs. Prior to that game, he had never recorded more than two its in a contest.

• Going the Distance

One year after setting the school record with 122.1 innings pitched, senior Jeff Groeger is again chewing up innings. Over his last five starts, Groeger has tallied three complete games and now has 88.1 innings logged this season.

Last week, the Diamond Bar, Calif., native earned the save at Nevada and the win at Fresno State. Against the Wolf Pack, Groeger threw two innings and allowed a run while striking out three to earn his first career save. He followed that outing by limiting Fresno State to three runs in a complete-game victory.

The win against the Bulldogs marked the second-straight season that Groeger has gone the distance in Fresno. Last year, he struck out six in the team’s 4-3 victory.

• News and Notes

Tuesday’s game against San Jose State marks the final midweek game for the Hornets this season...Mario Celillo currently leads the team with eight assists from right field this season, including six at home plate...senior Kevin Marzion could possibly return to action this week. Marzion has been sidelined since April 9 when he had his appendix removed...the Hornets used a different starting lineup in each game last week.

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