Senior Mario Celillo hit his fifth home run of the season on Sunday.

With the win, the Hornets improved to 19-33 overall and 2-19 in the Big West Conference. The Gauchos dropped to 21-30 overall and 7-14 in league games.

Sacramento State jumped to an early lead when Chris Kinsey singled to score Tim Reimer and Mario Celillo hit a two-run home run to left field to give the team a 3-0 advantage.

Neither team was able to score until the seventh when the Hornets exploded. Tito Barba led off the inning with his first career home run to straight-away center. Everet Rincon followed with a single before Reimer and Bret LeVier each drew walks to load the bases. After a pair of strikeouts, Casey Fuller hit a soft ground ball to second base that was mishandled allowing two runs to score. Joe Evans added a single to left to score another run and end the day for UCSB starter Matt Vasquez. Jeremy Sugarman came on in relief and hit Danny Gill to load the bases. Sugarman was then called for a balk which allowed Fuller to score. Barba ended the scoring in the inning with a two-run single to left to put the team on top, 10-0.

The Gauchos finally got on the board in the fifth inning with a run. After Sacramento State scored in the top of the sixth, UCSB matched the run in the bottom of the inning. Santa Barbara continued to gnaw away at its deficit with three runs in the seventh to make the score, 11-5.

The Hornets attempted to stop the momentum in the eighth when LeVier doubled to left center to score Reimer. The Gauchos bounced back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth but left two men on base.

Senior Kevin Marzion picked up the win to improve to 4-6 on the year. The Wilton, Calif., native threw 6.0 innings and allowed just two runs and no walks while striking out six. Dusty Decker threw the final 1.1 innings and did not allow a run to help seal the game.

Offensively, Sacramento State was led Barba, Celillo and Reimer with two hits apiece. Barrba’s three RBI marked the first time this season that he has had multiple RBI in a game. Reimer also drew a pair of walks and scored four runs in the game.

The UC Santa Barbara offense was paced by Matt Wilkerson (3-for-5) and R.J. Smith (3-for-4).

The Hornets return home to face the University of the Pacific next weekend. The three-game series will mark the final games for the team this season. Friday’s game starts at 2 p.m. while Saturday and Sunday’s contests will begin at 1 p.m.

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Sacramento State (19-33, 2-18) 300 071 010 - 12 11 2

UC Santa Barbara (21-30, 7-14) 000 011 320 - 7 13 2

Kevin Marzion, Chris Kinsey (7), Dusty Decker (8) and Joe Evans, Matt Wilson (7); Matt Vasquez, Jeremy Sugarman (5), Mike Sutherland (8), James Garcia (9) and Taylor Vogt.

TOP HITTERS: SAC – Tim Reimer 2x3, 4 R; Mario Celillo 2x4, HR; Tito Barba 2x5, HR; Bret LeVier 2B. UCSB – R.J. Smith 3x4, 2 2B; Matt Wilkerson 3x5, 2B; Dave Licht 2x4, 2B; Chris Malec 2x4.