RUSTON, La. - The Sacramento State baseball team dropped the final game of a four-game series to the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs by a score of 7-2 on Sunday, May 9 at J.C. Love Field.
With the loss, the Hornets fall to 16-29-1, 5-11 in Western Athletic Conference play, while the Bulldogs improve to 25-22, 10-10 in the WAC.
The Bulldogs opened the scoring in the bottom of the third, plating three runs, which included RBI singles by Devon Dageford, Joey Ford and Justin Gordey.
The Hornets got a pair of runs in the top of the fourth to pull to within one, as freshman Blake Miller doubled to left-center to lead off the inning, and junior Jake Chilton followed with a single, giving the Hornets runners on first and third and nobody out. Junior Trevor Paine drove in the first run with a RBI groundout, and junior Kirby Young followed with a RBI single to center, scoring Chilton from second to pull the score to 3-2.
The Bulldogs added insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth, an RBI double by Ford, the bottom of the seventh, a sacrifice fly by Clint Ewing and a RBI double by Clint Stubbs, and the bottom of the eighth, a sacrifice fly by Kyle Rolliard, to take a 7-2 lead into the ninth.
The Hornets loaded the bases in the top of the ninth with two down, on singles by senior Justin Mezzaneras, freshman Andrew Ayers and senior Josh Powers. Miller hit a blast toward the left field wall, but Rolliard made a leaping catch into the wall, robbing Miller of extra bases and ending the game.
Senior Tommy Elrod (0-3) picked up the loss for the Hornets, allowing three runs on seven hits in three innings, striking out three batters. Casey Jones (1-0) picked up a victory on a spot start for the second straight year against the Hornets, allowing two runs on nine hits in a complete game performance, striking out eight. Jones had not started a game this season prior to Sunday, and had thrown just 10.1 innings in nine appearances.
Chilton and Paine led the Hornets with two hits apiece, with Paine and Young providing the Hornets lone RBI's of the game. Seven of the nine Hornet hitters recorded at least one hit in the contest. Dageford led the Bulldogs with a 3-for-4 day at the plate.
The Hornets are back in action on Friday, May 14 as they host the Nevada Wolf Pack to start a four-game Western Athletic Conference series. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
RUSTON, La. - The Sacramento State baseball team dropped the final game of a four-game series to the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs by a score of 7-2 on Sunday, May 9 at J.C. Love Field.
