SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Sacramento State baseball team took home a series opening 4-2 victory over the Hawai'i Rainbows on Friday, March 28 at Hornet Field.
With the win, the Hornets improve to 7-14 overall, 2-3 in the Western Athletic Conference, while the Rainbows fall to 9-16 overall, 1-4 in WAC play.
The contest started as a pitchers duel, with neither team lighting up the scoreboard in the first four innings. In fact, the Rainbows first hit did not come until the top of the fifth with one out, as junior Jose Ramirez retired the first 13 batters he faced. The Hornets were able to put the games first run across the board in the bottom of the fifth, as senior Jeff Hannah leadoff the inning with a solo blast over the right field wall, his first of the season, to give the Hornets a 1-0 advantage.
Sacramento State added another run in the bottom of the sixth, as sophomore Tim Wheeler provided a bases loaded RBI ground out, scoring senior Ryan Blair and giving the Hornets a 2-0 lead. Hawai'i bounced back in the top of the seventh, loading the bases with one down, before Kevin Macdonald provided a two-run single, tieing the score at 2-2.
The score would remain tied until the bottom of the eighth, when Sacramento State junior Hunter Martinez drew a leadoff walk, and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Blair. The Rainbows then intentionally walked senior David Flores, changing pitchers and bringing up junior Gabe Jacobo. Jacobo doubled off of reliever Matt Daly, and Martinez scored on the play, and Flores eventually scored following a bobble by shortstop Nathan Young on the relay throw home. Flores had stopped at third, and Young was unable to stop his throwing motion toward home plate, dropping the ball to the ground, allowing the second run to score.
That was all the Hornets would need, as junior Jeff Roth (1-1) threw hitless ball over the final two innings, picking up his first career win. Roth, who ended up throwing 2.1 innings overall, came in relief of Ramirez in the seventh, after he allowed just four hits in 6.2 innings, striking out five batters. Rainbow starter Jared Alexander (3-3) picked up the loss, allowing four runs, three earned, while striking out four in 7.1 innings pitched.
Offensively, the Hornets got two hits apiece from Flores and Jacobo, with Jacobo, Wheeler and Hannah each providing a RBI. Hawai'i got a 2-for-2 performance from Macdonald, while Jeffrey Van Doornum and Brandon Haislet provided the other two Rainbow hits.
The two teams return to action with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 29 at Hornet Field. The first pitch of game number one is scheduled for 11 a.m., with a scheduled pitching matchup of Nicholas Rhodes (1-2) for Hawai'i against sophomore Trevor York (0-4) for the Hornets. Game two, which will begin approximately 30 minutes following game one, will featured a scheduled matchup of Josh Slatts (0-2) for Hawai'i versus junior Brian Smith (0-0) for the Hornets.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. 
