COACH JOHN SMITH ERA CONCLUDES AT SACRAMENTO STATE

5/23/2010

FRESNO, Calif. - The Sacramento State baseball team completed the 2010 season and played the final game of the John Smith era on Sunday, May 23 at Beiden Field in Fresno, dropping an 8-4 decision to the Fresno State Bulldogs.

Coach Smith retires after 32 seasons at the helm of the Sacramento State program. He has produced 11 seasons with at least 30 wins and four years with at least 40 wins. His teams have advanced to the NCAA West Regionals on four occasions and to the College World Series twice, finishing second in the nation in 1988. Under Coach Smith, 83 Hornets have signed professional contracts, 44 have earned all-conference honors since 1993, and 16 have earned All-America honors. An alumnus of Sacramento State with a bachelor’s degree in social science and a master’s degree in physical education, Coach Smith has posted an impressive 879 victories, the most wins by a head coach in any sport in Sacramento State athletics history.

The Hornets took an early lead in the top of the third, as senior Josh Powers scored on a fielding error by Bulldog third baseman Isacc Vivas, and junior Jake Chilton was plated on a RBI sacrifice fly off the bat of senior Justin Mezzaneras, giving Sacramento State a 2-0 lead. The lead would grow to 4-0 in the top of the fourth, as after freshman Andrew Ayers was hit by a pitch, junior Kirby Young hit a two run homer to right-center, his sixth of the season to increase the lead to 4-2.

After the Bulldogs pulled to within 4-1 with a lone unearned run in the bottom of the fourth, the floodgates opened as the Bulldogs scored six runs in the bottom of the sixth to take a 7-4 lead. They went on to add one insurance run in the bottom of the seventh, and held the Hornets scoreless over the final innings, taking home an 8-4 victory.

Cody Kendall (4-3) picked up the victory out of the Bulldog bullpen, pitching 3.2 innings of scoreless baseball while allowing five hits and striking out two batters. Sean Bonesteele (2) picked up his second save of the season, retiring all four batters he faced to close out the ballgame. Brandon Sandoval (2-5) pitched well over the first five innings, allowing just one unearned run, but gave up six runs, five earned, without recording an out in the sixth in picking up the loss.

Junior Kyle Baskett and junior Trevor Paine led the Hornets with two hits apiece, while senior Dan McCarthy, who was a late scratch from the lineup due to injury, provided a pinch-hit single, recording a base-hit in his final collegiate at bat.