RENO, Nevada - The Sacramento State baseball team took a 6-5 lead into the ninth, but allowed two runs in the bottom half of the inning to fall 7-6 to the Nevada Wolf Pack on Saturday, May 10.
With the loss, the Hornets fall to 27-22, 8-10 in Western Athletic Conference play, while the Wolf Pack improves to 25-25, 10-9 inside the WAC. The Hornets took three of four in the series from Nevada.
Nevada opened the scoring with two runs in the bottom of the first, as Matt Bowman led off the inning with a double and Westley Moss moved him to third base with an infield single to shortstop. After Moss stole second base, Kort connected on a single off the glove of senior Hunter Martinez at second, scoring both runners to give the Wolf Pack a 2-0 lead.
The Hornets fought back in the top of the second to pull to within one run, as senior Blake Crosby connected on a leadoff single, advanced to second after sophomore Derrick Chung was hit by a pitch, and scored on a RBI single by redshirt freshman Ivan Otsuka.
The Wolf Pack ran their lead back to two runs at 3-1 in the bottom of the third as Brett Hart provided an RBI single scoring pinch runner Brock Stassi. Senior Jeff Roth got the run right back for the Hornets with a solo home run to left field in the top of the fourth, his 10th of the season, making the score 3-2. But Nevada answered with a home run of their own in the bottom of the fourth, as Bowman went deep to left field on a two-run blast, extendING the lead to its largest of the game at 5-2.
Sacramento State scored two runs to pull to within one once again at 5-4 in the top of the fifth, as junior Tim Wheeler reached on a fielder's choice and drove in a run, and Crosby provided a RBI single. Wheeler became the school's single season RBI leader in the inning, posting a Hornet-high 69 RBI during his third campaign in the Green and Gold. The Hornets then took advantage of two Wolf Pack errors in the to take their first lead of the game in the top of sixth.
Chung led off the sixth with a single, and freshman Justin Lamb layed down a sacrifice bunt that pitcher Daniel Timlin.threw away, giving the Hornets runners on second and third with no out. Otsuka grounded to shortstop, scoring Chung, but shortstop Kevin Rodland threw the ball away as well, giving the Hornets runners of first and third with no one out. Sophomore Brent Hottman took advantage of the situation to connect on his first hit of the series, a RBI single through the right side, giving the Hornets a 6-5 advantage.
The Hornets held off a Nevada rally in the bottom of the eighth, as after Bowman reached base after being hit by a pitch, Moss hit a hard line drive to right center that looked like a game-tying double. Roth came fast from his right field position, laid out, and made the diving catch to preserve the lead. Hottman then threw out Bowman trying to steal to end the inning.
Insurance looked imminent in the top of the ninth for Sacramento State, as they had the bases loaded and one out. Chung attempted a suicide squeeze with Wheeler breaking from third, but popped the bunt up to third baseman Tyson Jaquez, who tagged Wheeler to end the threat.
Nevada mounted a second rally in the bottom of the ninth, as Stassi connected on a leadoff double, and advanced to third on a groundout by Kort. Hart was then hit by a pitch, putting the go-ahead run on base for Tyson Jaquez, who took a 1-2 pitch into the right center gap for a game-winning two run double, giving the Wolf Pack a 7-6 victory.
Junior Trevor York (0-1) picked up the loss for the Hornets, allowing two runs on two hits in 1.1 innings in relief of sophomore starter Brandon Sandoval. Sandoval allowed five runs on nine hits in seven innings of work, not factoring into the decision. Stassi (6-3) picked up the win, throwing the final 1.2 innings, allowing no runs on two hits.
Crosby led the Hornets with a 3-for-4 day at the plate, while Otsuka finished 2-for-4 with two RBI. Five other Hornets added a lone hit on the day.
The Hornets return to action on Tuesday, May 12 as they travel to Berkeley to take on the Cal Golden Bears. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
RENO, Nevada - The Sacramento State baseball team took a 6-5 lead into the ninth, but allowed two runs in the bottom half of the inning to fall 7-6 to the Nevada Wolf Pack on Saturday, May 10.
