Sacramento State is now 7-4 on the year while Saint Mary’s fell to 3-6. The Hornets are now 3-0 on the year when playing an opponent in a three-game set.

The Gaels led 1-0 in the first inning after a solo home run by Bryan Byrne over the center-field wall. Saint Mary’s added two more runs in the fourth when Adams Bellows hit a two-run homer to left center.

Sacramento State took the lead in the bottom of the fourth (5-3) after scoring five runs on six hits against Saint Mary’s starter Jordan Simo. With one out, junior Buddy Morales hit a single to third base and then advanced to second after junior Ronnie Machado, Jr., was hit by a pitch. In the next at-bat, senior Jack Arroyo single to left field to load the bases. In the next at-bat, Johnson drove in Morales with a single to left before junior John Acha drove in two runs with a single to center. Junior Brett Flowers followed with an RBI single to right field before junior Andy Hnilo ended the scoring with a sacrifice fly to center.

The Hornets added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth when Flowers drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to center field and Hnilo stole home. Johnson led off the inning with a single to center and then advanced to second on a balk by Simo. After Johnson advanced to third on a groundout to short by Acha, Flowers hit a long drive to center to score Johnson. Hilo followed with a triple to left center and then stole home on the second pitch by Gael reliever Kevin Trochez. The last Hornet to record a straight steal at home was Aurelio Jackson at Pacific on March, 18, 2001.

Saint Mary’s staged a late rally with two outs in the ninth when J.P. Musgrove hit a solo home run to left center but freshman Billy Sinacori ended the threat in a non-save situation.

Demé earned the win (1-0) after allowing three runs on three hits while walking one and striking out three in 6.2 innings of work. Senior Renecke Stelzriede and freshman Mick Joyce combined for 1.1 innings of scoreless relief.

Simo (1-2) was tagged with the loss after allowing seven runs on nine hits while walking two and striking out two in 5.2 innings.

Senior Jack Arroyo and junior Bret LeVier each finished with two hits to also lead the Hornet offense. Arroyo and Acha also extended their season-high hitting streaks to 11 games.

Bellows finished 2-for-3 with a run, a home run and two RBI to lead the Gaels.

Sacramento State will next travel to Cal on Tuesday, Feb. 15, at 2 p.m. before returning home to host the River City Classic on Fri.-Sun., Feb. 20-22. The tournament will feature Cal Poly, Saint Mary’s, San Francisco, Santa Clara and Washington State. Games will be played at Hornet Field and at Beaver Field on the American River JC campus. The Hornets will open against Saint Mary’s on Friday, Feb. 20, at 1:30 p.m. at Hornet Field. For more information log onto www.hornetsports.com.