BASEBALL WRAPS UP REGULAR SEASON AGAINST FRESNO ST.
5/15/2008
HORNETS WRAP UP REGULAR SEASON AGAINST FRESNO ST.
The Hornets, who finished last weekend with a 1-3 series mark against the second place team in the Western Athletic Conference, Nevada, will face the conference’s top team, Fresno State, in a season ending four-game series at Hornet Field.
The Bulldogs took 3-of-4 from visiting San Jose State this past weekend, and enter the series with the Hornets with a one-game lead over Nevada, who is at San Jose State, and a three-game lead from Hawai’i, who are in the clubhouse with an 18-14 conference mark. The Hornets can finish anywhere from the fourth to the sixth seed for the conference tournament next weekend in Ruston, Louisiana, while the Bulldogs are assured of one of the top two seeds.
Alan Ahmady leads Fresno State at the plate, batting .383 with 10 home runs and a team-leading 70 RBI. Steve Susdorf, the conference’s preseason player of the year, is batting .349 with a eight home runs, 63 RBI and a conference leading 25 doubles, while Erik Wetzel, the WAC’s preseason choice at second base, is hitting .362 with four HR and 24 RBI.
LATE LEAD NOT ENOUGH AS BASEBALL FALLS TO NEVADA 13-12
The Sacramento State baseball team took a 12-9 lead into the ninth inning, but fell to the Nevada Wolf Pack by a score of 13-12 on Sunday, May 12 at Peccole Park.
The Hornets, as they had the previous three games of the series, opened the game with a run in the first inning, as senior David Flores hit a solo home run to left field, giving Sacramento State a 1-0 lead.
After the Wolf Pack scored a run in the bottom of the second to tie the game at 1-1, sophomore Tim Wheeler then provided a solo home run of his own in the top of the second, marking the third straight game the Hornets have scored a run apiece in the first and second innings, giving Sacramento State a 2-1 lead.
Flores was not done, however, as in his next plate appearance in the third inning he connected on another home run to left field, a two-run shot, increasing the Hornets lead to 4-1. Two more runs scored in the inning on a two-run single by junior Blake Crosby, giving the Hornets a 6-1 advantage.
Nevada fought back to tie the score up at 6-6, as Shaun Kort connected on a RBI single in the third, Matt Bowman and Jason Rodriguez had RBI base hits in the fourth, and Kort followed Rodriguez’ single with a two-run home run to tie the score. The Hornets immediately retook the lead in the top of the fifth, as on a failed suicide squeeze attempt by Crosby, senior Wes Oberlin stole home to give Sacramento State a 7-6 lead. Later in the inning, junior Hunter Martinez connected on a two-run triple, pushing the advantage to 9-6.
The Wolf Pack scored a run on a RBI ground out by Mike Hale in the sixth, but the Hornets had an answer in the seventh. With runners on second and third and one out, senior Travis Kirkman hit a single down the right field line that appeared to score two runs, but Nevada appealed at third that Hornet senior Brian Boyd did not touch the bag, and he was ruled out, taking a run off the board from a 11-7 Hornet lead to a 10-7 advantage.
In the bottom of the seventh, Nevada closed the lead to a lone run as Bowman connected on a RBI double and Rodriguez hit a RBI single to pull the Wolf Pack to within a run at 10-9. Sacramento State extended the lead back to three runs in the top of the eighth, as with two outs Oberlin followed a double by junior Gabe Jacobo with a deep home run to left field, giving the Hornets a 12-9 advantage. After freshman Derrick Chung pitched a 1-2-3 eighth, Nevada connected on back-to-back singles, followed by a hit by a pitch to load the bases, removing Chung from the game. Rodriguez hit a sacrifice fly to left field to pull the Wolf Pack to within one, leaving two aboard for Kort, who hit his second home run of the game, a three-run blast to left field to end it.
Junior Jeff Roth (2-4) picked up the loss for the Hornets, as he was charged with one run on one hit, the Kort home run, in a third of an inning pitched. Sammy Miller (3-1) picked up the win for the Wolf Pack, allowing two runs on two hits in two innings of relief.
The two teams combined for 31 hits on the afternoon, Wheeler leading the way for the Hornets with a 3-for-5 day with three runs scored, falling just a triple short of the cycle. Flores went 2-for-4 with three RBI, while Oberlin and Crosby each added two RBI apiece. Kort finished the day 3-for-5 with six RBI, while Rodriguez was 4-for-5 with four runs batted in to lead Nevada.
HORNET HITTING STREAKS TOP THE WAC
Sacramento State hitters have produced the two longest hitting streaks in the Western Athletic Conference, as sophomore Tim Wheeler and senior Ryan Blair each reached 20 consecutive games of hitting safely. The duo are tied for fourth place in Hornet history for the longest hitting streak in a season, and are tied for the 18th longest hitting streak in the nation in 2008.
D-FLO KNOWS RECORDS
Following his double in the Hornets victory over California on March 18, senior David Flores became the school’s all-time leader with 39 career doubles. He broke Chris Kinsey’s (2001-03) mark, which was 38, set in his three years in the Green and Gold. He has since added to his record, as his 23 doubles on the season give him 57 in his career, and also rank him second in the Western Athletic Conference and eighth in the country.
Flores leads the team in runs scored (49), while ranking second in hits (74), extra base hits (30), and total bases (118). He also ranks second in school history in hits (218), runs scored (124), and at bats (693), while ranking fifth in RBI (103). Aurelio Jackson (1998-2001) holds the school records for hits (229), runs scored (138) and at bat (713), while Will Fitzpatrick (1990-93) holds the mark from RBI (135).
The senior from Union City, Calif. broke the school’s all-time hit by a pitch record against Nevada this past weekend, having been hit 37 times in his career.
JACOBO SHOWING HIS VERSATILITY ON THE FIELD AND IN THE BATTERS BOX
Need a left-fielder? A first baseman? How about a leadoff man? During the 2008 season, Hornet junior Gabe Jacobo has done it all. Jacobo, who led the team with a .363 batting average and 14 home runs last season while playing first base, came to Sacramento State from Tulare Western HS as, of all things, a shortstop. This season, the native of Tulare, Calif. has started 27 games in left field, and 24 games at first base. He has hit in the cleanup spot in 49 of his 51 starts, with the biggest deviation coming in a game against San Jose State when he batted leadoff. Jacobo has shown power at the plate, with 13 home runs and a .672 slugging percentage, but also has two sacrifice bunts and a .430 on base percentage to his credit.
Jacobo also has been a threat on the basepaths, stealing seven bases on 10 attempts so far this season. For his career, Jacobo is 16-of-21 on stolen base chances. He now has 27 career home runs, placing fourth on the Hornets all-time charts, while being ranked third in school history in career RBI (108)
MR. SMITH GOES TO RECORD BOOKS
The Hornets 8-2 win over Hawai’i-Hilo on Sunday, April 20 marked the 829th career victory for Sacramento State head coach John Smith, as he passed Hall of Fame volleyball coach Debby Colberg to become the winningest head coach in Hornet history in terms of total victories.
HORNET BATS LEADING THE WAC
Sacramento State has seen its team batting average rise to .311 for the season, which is now the leading mark in the Western Athletic Conference. The Hornets also lead the conference in stolen bases and sacrifice bunts.
VIDEO STREAMING FOR THE WAC TOURNAMENT
The Western Athletic Conference, in conjunction with its Web site partner JumpTV Sports, has announced it will stream next week’s 2008 WAC Baseball Tournament. Viewers can sign up by visiting www.WAC.tv.
The double-elimination tournament will be held May 22-25 in Ruston, Louisiana, with the first game beginning at 11:00 a.m. (CT) on Thursday. Every game of the tournament can be viewed for a single subscription price of $18.95 which will include on-demand viewing of any of the games the following day.
ROSTER CHANGES FROM MEDIA GUIDE
There have been four roster changes to the Hornets’ lineup that are not reflected in the media guide. Three Hornets have changed numbers from what is established on the media guide roster: Richard Walker changed from #27 to #6, Doug Stinson changed from #39 to #27, and Mike Weiss changed from #42 to #35. Tommy Elrod (#8) joined the team. These changes are denoted on the stats available within the release, as well as the roster found on page four.
TOMMY ELROD BIO Note, Tommy Elrod’s bio is not found in the 2008 media guide, as he became an eligible member of the team after the guide had gone to press. His biographical information is found below. #8, Tommy Elrod, Sophomore, LHP Modesto, Calif./Cal State L.A./Modesto Christian HS
Prior to Sacramento State, Elrod pitched one year at Cal State Los Angeles for coach Pat Shine.He led Cal State L.A. to the Division II Championship Finals in Montgomery, Ala, after earning NCAA West Regional All-Tournament honors for throwing a three-hit shutout in game one of the regional final against Mesa State, while striking out nine. Made 14 appearances for the Golden Eagles, including six starts, while posting a 4-0 record with a 4.46 ERA. He struck out 37 batters in 38.1 innings pitched. Was a 2006 graduate of Modesto Christian High School in Modesto, Calif...four year letterwinner in baseball for coach Kelly Wheelock. He was born May 27, 1988. His parents are Tom and Jodie Elrod. He is majoring in civil engineering.
