SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Junior Ethan Katz hurled the Hornets’ first shutout of the season after striking out a season-high 10 batters as the Sacramento State baseball team defeated San Francisco State, 4-0, Friday afternoon at Hornet Field. It marked the first shutout of the season for Sacramento State and the first Hornet to blank an opponent since Chris Kinsey defeated San Francisco, 3-0, on May 16, 2003.Sacramento State improved to 13-11 on the year while San Francisco State fell to 12-11.
The Hornets jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning when junior Craig Johnson and sophomore Brian Blauser drove in a runs with a pair of doubles. With one out, junior Ronnie Machado, Jr., reached on a throwing error by Mike Marquez at short. In the next at-bat, Johnson hit a shot off of the top of the right-center wall to score Machado, Jr., from second. After Johnson advanced to third on a groundout by senior John Acha, Blauser followed with a double down the left-field line to score the Hornets’ second run of the inning.
Sacramento State added another run in the fifth inning after an RBI groundout by Machado, Jr. With one out, junior Andy Hnilo double to left-center field and then advanced to third on a single to right by senior Jack Arroyo. In the next at-bat, Machado, Jr., drove in Hnilo from third with a groundout to short.
The Hornets made it 4-0 in the seventh when Arroyo drove in Hnilo from third with a sacrifice fly to right field. With one out, Hnilo doubled down the left-field line and then advanced to third on a wild pitch. In the next at-bat, Arroyo hit a towering ball to right field to add the insurance run.
It was more than enough for Katz (4-1) who scattered four hits while walking three and striking out 10 batters. The Los Angeles, Calif., native surpassed his previous high of nine (Washington - Feb. 27) by striking out Shane Stover for the last out of the game. The right-hander also saw his ERA drop from 4.15 to 3.30.
Jon Bierly (1-4) was tagged with the loss after allowing four runs on eight hits while striking out two in 7.0 innings.
Johnson (2-for-4) and Hnilo (2-for-3) led the Hornet offense with two hits apiece. Hnilo, a native of Palo Alto, Calif., tied Machado, Jr., for the team lead with seven doubles after recording two against the Gators. Acha, a native of Turlock, Calif., extended his current hitting streak to eight games and tallied two stolen bases in the game.
Sacramento State and San Francisco State play the second game of the three-game series on Saturday, Mar. 13, at 1 p.m. before the series finale on Sunday, Mar. 14, at 1 p.m.
