SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Sacramento State baseball team dropped a 7-4 decision to the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs on Sunday, April 26 at Hornet Field.
With the loss, the Hornets fall to 23-18, 4-7 in Western Athletic Conference play, while the Bulldogs improved 21-18, 6-9 inside of the WAC.
Sacramento State opened the scoring in the bottom of the first, as junior Josh Powers doubled home senior Hunter Martinez, who had led off the inning with a single, to give the Hornets a 1-0 advantage.
One swing of the bat tied the game in the top of the second for the Bulldogs, as Clint Ewing hit a solo home to right center to make the score 1-1. Louisiana Tech scored two runs in the top of the third to take a 3-1 lead, but the advantage could easily have been three runs, as junior Tim Wheeler was able to knock down an apparent home run off the bat of Kevin Winn, holding him to a double.
Wheeler then pulled the Hornets to within a run in the bottom half of the inning with a deep home run over the right center field fence, his 15th of the season, making the score 3-2 in favor of the Bulldogs.
But the Bulldogs got the run right back on a sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth, and added three more runs in the top of the fifth on a pair of RBI singles and a sacrifice fly, pushing their lead to 7-2.
The Hornets, however, fought back in the bottom of the seventh, as following a double off the wall by freshman Aaron Crouch and a single by Wheeler, Powers once again laced a double down the left field line, scoring two runs and pulling the Hornets to within three at 7-4.
Sacramento State was able to load the bases with three straight one-out singles in the bottom of the eighth, and with two down Wheeler hit a towering fly ball to right that was caught at the base of the wall by the Bulldogs' Devon Dageford, ending the threat. The Hornets then brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth with one out, but Louisiana Tech reliever Mike Jefferson got back-to-back strikeouts to close out the Bulldogs victory.
Tommy Elrod (4-3) picked up the loss, allowing seven runs on eight hits in 4.1 innings of work. Dylan Moseley (4-3) allowed four runs on 12 hits in 7.1 innings of work, striking out two without walking a batter. Jefferson picked up his first save, allowing one hit in 1.2 innings pitched.
Powers led the Hornets offensively with a 3-for-5 day at the plate with three RBI, while Martinez went 3-for-5 with a run scored. Louisiana Tech got two hits apiece from Chris Kersten and Winn, with six Bulldog players driving in runs.
The two teams will close out the four-game series on Monday, April 27 at Hornet Field. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Sacramento State baseball team dropped a 7-4 decision to the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs on Sunday, April 26 at Hornet Field.
