The Hornets improve to 5-6-1 on the year and win the series without surrendering a loss, 3-0-1. The Bison are still winless on their season with a record of 0-7-1.

In the first game, Sacramento State junior Kyle Christensen pitched five innings without allowing a hit or run. The transfer out of Santa Ana JC is now 1-0 on the season and after three appearances, has an ERA of 4.50.

Senior Warren Rosebrock came on in relief, pitching three scoreless innings and striking out four in his fourth appearance of 2005. At the plate senior Cliff Hinkle and freshman Davis Flores had two RBIs apiece.

Sacramento State had an 1-0 lead going into the fifth inning, when Flores hit the Hornets’ first home run of the season. Flores, a Union City, Calif., native hit the two-run bomb over the left field fence, scoring senior Brett Flowers who had doubled earlier in the inning.

After scoring a run in the bottom of the seventh inning and taking a 4-0 lead, Sacramento State closed the door with a four-run eighth inning. Two fielding errors put senior Matt Wilson on third base and freshman Darnell Guary on second at the top of the inning. A single from junior Jim Strombach loaded the bases as Cliff Hinkle drove in Wilson and Guary with a single. Guary, a freshman out of Center HS, has now scored three runs this season in eight appearances.

Junior Pat Keiper’s sacrifice fly scored Strombach for the third run of the inning and a double from sophomore Billy Sinacori drove in Hinkle to score the Hornets’ final run of the game.

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, which ended after 10 innings tied at 4-4 because of darkness, junior Travis Kane got the start on the mound for the Hornets, allowing four runs in the first three innings. North Dakota State got its first lead during the series, 4-0.

Sacramento State was held without a run until the fifth inning, when freshman Brett Tanigawa scored his first run of the season from third base off North Dakota State pitcher Jared Sullivan’s wild pitch. Sullivan, who started the game, left after facing two batters in the seventh inning, giving up three runs and four hits.

At the plate, the Hornets were led by Keiper, junior Josh Levin and senior Buddy Morales, who each registered an RBI in the game. Senior Pedro Santiago still leads all batters with an average of .355 as well as a team-high seven RBIs. Wilson and junior Brian Blauser follow with five RBIs apiece. Santiago also leads the team with five multiple-hit games.

Sacramento State continued its comeback scoring two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning when Keiper drove in Flores and a double down the left field line from Morales scored Keiper. The Hornets evened things up in the bottom of the ninth inning when Levin singled down the left field line to score Strombach, who had singled earlier in the inning. Strombach currently has a four-game hitting streak.

Sacramento State was able to keep the Bison offense at bay after the third inning with a combined effort from sophomore Justin Demé and seniors Ken Livesey and Marshall Plouffe who combined to go 6.2 innings without allowing a run and only one hit. Livesey, in his third appearance of the season went 4.2 innings, striking out four.

Sacramento State travels to Hawai’i for a five-game tournament beginning on Tuesday against Hawai’i with the first pitch scheduled for 9:35 p.m. PST. The Hornets will also play Wichita State, Louisiana-Lafayette, South Florida and UC Davis in their final game of the tournament on Saturday, Mar. 5. The team returns to Hornet Field at 2 p.m. on Friday, Mar. 11 against UC Riverside.