SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Sacramento State baseball team, fresh off a Tuesday win at Saint Mary's, will battle another Bay Area squad this weekend, hosting San Jose State in a four-game Western Athletic Conference series at John Smith Field.
The Hornets (14-28 (1-7 WAC) and Spartans (27-15 (6-6 WAC) will square off at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, play a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 11:30 a.m. and close out the series at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday.
For a full set of game notes, click the PDF link above.
SACRAMENTO STATE BREAKDOWN
Recently: The Hornets took 1-of-4 from No. 12 Fresno St. and won on Monday at Saint Mary’s.
All-Time Series: The Hornets are 18-33 all-time versus San Jose State in the Div. I era (1990+).
Notable: The Hornets are playing their second straight WAC home series. They have just one more series at home after playing SJSU.
SAN JOSE STATE BREAKDOWN
Recently: Took 3-of-4 from Louisiana Tech and beat up UC Davis, 13-1, on Tuesday.
Notable: San Jose State is fourth in the league standings. Craig Hertler is tied for second in the conference with 11 stolen bases while Roberto Padilla leads the WAC in innings pitched (70.1) and wins (7) and is second with 55 Ks.
ONE TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND
In his last four relief appearances, Brandon Creel has not allowed a run in 6.2 innings pitched. Creel has allowed seven hits, two walks and five strikeouts in that stretch. He notched his second save of the season at Saint Mary’s.
AROUND THE WAC
Last weekend Sacramento State went 1-3 vs. No. 12 ranked Fresno State and defeated Saint Mary’s. San Jose State took 3-of-4 at home against Louisiana Tech and blasted UC Davis 13-1 while the shocker of the weekend was Nevada’s four-game sweep of New Mexico State. The Wolf Pack outscored the big-hitting Aggies 31-6, including two shutouts. Nevada’s Brock Stassi and Fresno State’s Greg Gonzalez earned WAC player of the week honors. Stassi went 9-for-16 with four runs, four RBIs and two doubles in Nevada’s sweep of New Mexico State.
HORNETS TAKE ONE FROM #12 FRESNO STATE
Sacramento State took a game from No. 12 ranked Fresno State last weekend. The Hornets won 2-1 in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader. In the seventh and final inning, Derrick Chung singled with the bases loaded to tie up the game 1-1 and then Kirby Young slapped a single up the middle to score the game-winning run. It was the Hornets’ third walk-off win of the season and Young’s second walk-off hit. Young also hit a walk-off single in the 10th inning to beat UC Davis, 3-2, on Feb. 21.
DEL GRANDE, YOUNG IN WAC GAMES
In Sacramento State’s eight conference games this season, David Del Grande leads the team with a .344 batting average while Kirby Young is just behind him with a .313 BA. Young leads the team with four RBIs while Blake Miller is a perfect 3-for-3 on stolen base attempts.
SUCCESS IN DOUBLEHEADERS
Sacramento State has posted a 6-3 record in the opening games. The Hornets are 1-1 in the openers of WAC doubleheaders, but won their most recent, 2-1, over No. 12 ranked Fresno State.
SANDOVAL’S TRANSITION TO STARTER
In 25 innings pitched over four starts since switching from the bullpen, Brandon Sandoval has allowed just seven earned runs - a 2.52 ERA.
HORNETS AGAINST SJSU STARTERS
The Hornets faced Blake McFarland (the 2011 preseason pitcher of the year), Andy Hennessey and Esteban Guzman last season. Kirby Young went 2-for-2 with an RBI and a double against McFarland while he launched a three-run home run in his only at-bat against Hennessey. In 12 at-bats, the Hornets posted six hits and drew two walks vs. McFarland and went 2-for-4 with a triple and a home run against Hennessey. In four-at bats last season, the Hornets did not get a hit against Guzman.
POSITION STARTERS, LINEUP IN FLUX
First-year head coach has been searching for his best group of position starters all season. Because of that, each position has been manned by many different players this season. The Hornets have used four players at catcher, four at first base, four at second, four at third, two at short stop, 11 in the outfield and 10 at designated hitter. The lineup has been equally jumbled. A total of 10 different players have hit leadoff this season, with Derrick Chung’s 17 games the most. However, Jake Chilton has had the most success there, hitting .412 in 17 at-bats in the leadoff spot. The second position in the line up has had 12 different players take swings, while the clean-up spot has seen seven different players, the most (17 games) coming from Andrew Ayers. Kirby Young has done a solid job in the No. 2 hole, hitting .315 over 54 at-bats in 14 games, while Chung has been the most successful in the No. 4 spot, hitting .364 over 11 at-bats in three games. Ayers has been better off in the No. 5 spot, hitting .444 over 27 at-bats in eight games.
JOHN SMITH FIELD
Sacramento State’s Hornet Field was renamed John Smith Field, in honor of long-time coach John Smith, who retired in 2010 after 32 seasons at the helm. Smith still works in the athletics department, assisting with fundraising. John Smith Field still sports the same dimensions - 333 in left, 400 in center and 333 in right.
