Sacramento State is now 18-15 on the year while Pacific dropped to 14-12.

The Tigers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning after infield RBI singles by Aaron Harper and Nicholas Sekiya and a sacrifice fly to left field by Evan Bishop.

The Hornets cut the lead to 3-1 in the third when Flowers drove in senior Jack Arroyo from third with a sacrifice fly to right field. Arroyo led off the inning with a walk and then stole second base. After advancing to third on a groundout to second by junior Craig Johnson, Flowers hit a drive to right to score the Hornets’ first run.

Sacramento State tied the contest 3-3 in the fifth after an RBI single by Flowers and an RBI fielder’s choice by Acha. With one out, Arroyo was hit by a pitch and then stole second. After Johnson walked, Flowers hit a shot to center to score Arroyo from second. With runners on first and third, Acha grounded to short and beat out a double play to allow Johnson to score.

Pacific made it 4-3 in the seventh when Harper scored from third on a throwing error by sophomore Jim Strombach in left field. With two out and Harper on first, Bishop singled through the left side. Strombach fielded the ball and attempted to throw out Harper at third but the ball went high off of Acha’s glove at third, allowing Harper to score.

The Hornets recaptured the lead 5-4 in the eighth after an RBI single to center by Flowers and an RBI fielder’s choice by Acha. Junior Buddy Morales led off the inning with a single to left. Junior Travis Kassebaum pinch ran for Morales and then advanced to third on a bloop double over first base by Arroyo with one out. After Johnson was intentionally walked, Flowers hit a bloop single to center to tie the game. With one out still remaining, Acha grounded to third and beat out another double-play attempt to score the eventually game winner.

Katz (6-1) earned his third-consecutive victory after allowing four runs (three earned) on nine hits while walking one and striking out nine in 8.1 innings of work. In his past three starts, the Los Angeles native has struck out 27 batters in 26.1 innings. Senior Renecke Stelzriede tallied his second save of the season by walking one and striking out one in 0.2 innings of relief.

Josh Schmidt (3-1) was tagged with his first loss after giving up two runs on five hits while walking two and striking out five in 3.1 innings of relief.

Arroyo (2-for-3), Flowers (2-for-3), and Morales (2-for-4) each led the Horents with two hits. Arroyo, a native of Manteca, Calif., now leads the squad with 49 hits ana a .350 batting average. Acha, a native of Turlock, Calif., increased his team-leading RBI total to 30.

Jesse Kovacs led the Tigers with a 3-for-3 performance from the plate.

Sacramento State and Pacific will conclude its four-game series at Hornet Field on Sunday, Mar. 28, at 1 p.m.

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