SEVEN-RUN FOURTH INNING PROPELS BASEBALL TO SWEEP OF HAWAI’I

3/30/2008

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Sacramento State baseball team pushed across seven runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, leading the Hornets to a 10-6 victory on Sunday afternoon, and a series sweep over Hawai'i.

With the win, the Hornets improve to 10-14, 5-3 in the Western Athletic Conference, while the Rainbows fall to 9-19, 2-6 in WAC play.

Hawai’i opened up the scoring in the top of the first, as the first four batters of the game all connecting on singles, giving the Rainbows a 2-0 lead. The lead would stay that way until the bottom of the fourth, when the Hornets started a rally. Senior David Flores led off the inning with a double, and following a fly out, sophomore Tim Wheeler batted him in with his second home run in as many days, a two run blast to right field, to tie the game at 2-2.

The Hornets were not done in the inning, however, as senior Jeff Hannah and junior Blake Crosby drew back-to-back walks, which brought up junior Hunter Martinez, who singled up the middle, scoring Hannah, and giving the Hornets the lead at 3-2. Senior Travis Kirkman then drew a walk, loading the bases. Following a pop out, senior Ryan Blair walked, scoring Crosby, and leaving the bases loaded for Flores, who hit a bases-clearing double down the left field line, giving the Hornets a 7-2 advantage.

The Rainbows, however, mounted a rally of their own in the top of the fifth, as Brandon Haislet doubled to lead off the inning, and was brought home on a RBI single by Kevin MacDonald, pulling Hawai’i to within three. Following a hit batter and a single to load the bases, Vinnie Catricala produced a sacrifice fly, scoring MacDonald, but on the play Wheeler threw out Jeffrey Van Doornum, who was attempting to tag up and advance from second to third. Hawai’i would produce one more hit in the inning, but could not produce any additional runs, giving the Hornets a 7-4 advantage.

Sacramento State then added more insurance in the bottom half of the inning, as Wheeler drew a lead off walk, and advanced to second on a walk by Hannah. Crosby next bunted over the runners to second and third, and then Martinez was hit by a pitch, loading the bases with one down. Kirkman smashed a comebacker right off of Rainbow pitcher Harrison Kuroda, scoring Wheeler. Senior Taylor Watanabe then singled up the middle, scoring Hannah, giving the Hornets a 9-4 lead.

Hawai’i added a run in the top of the sixth, but the Hornets got the run back in the bottom of the eighth, as Hannah hit a RBI single to center, scoring junior Gabe Jacobo, giving the Hornets a 10-5 lead. The Rainbows added another run in the top of the ninth, but could pull no closer, as the Hornets took home the 10-6 victory.

Freshman Trevor Paine (2-1) picked up the win in relief of senior starter Corey Weglin, who allowed four runs on eight hits in four innings, while striking out four batters. Paine came in during the fifth inning following the hit batter, allowing the Hornets to escape a bases loaded no-out jam with just one additional run scoring, which was charged to Weglin.  Junior Nick Buchta pitched 2.1 innings out of the ‘pen, allowing one run on four hits while striking out a batter. Junior Jeff Roth pitched two-thirds of an inning, inducing a double play groundout. Freshman Brandon Sandoval pitched the final inning for the Hornets, allowing a run on two hits and a walk. Hawai’i starter Joshua Schneider (2-2) picked up the loss, allowing three runs on three hits and three walks in 3.1 innings pitched.

Flores led the Hornets at the plate with a 3-for-5 day, including the two doubles in the fourth inning and three RBI. Wheeler was 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored, while Hannah was 1-for-1 with a RBI, two runs scored, and four drawn walks. The Hornets took the series four games to none, and have now racked up a five game winning streak.

“Any time you can sweep a series, it is very special,” head coach John Smith said following the game. “Whether it’s at home or on the road it’s a very tough thing to do in baseball, as any team can win on any particular day.”

For the series, Hannah led Sacramento State in batting average (6-for-12, .500) with a double, a home run and five RBI. Wheeler had the biggest power numbers in the four game set, as he was 7-for-15 at the plate (.467) with three singles, a double, a triple, and two home runs, while adding a team-high seven RBI and a Hornet-best six runs scored. Flores also had seven hits in the series, as he was 7-for-16 at the plate (.438) with three doubles and three RBI.

“We talked about turning the corner this week before the Stanford game, and then following the win we talked about staying there,” Smith said. “We pitched well this whole week, and the key to that was that everyone came in and did their job. We also hit extremely well with runners in scoring position and everyday we had a different hero in that regard. We’re finally playing relaxed on the diamond, and letting our abilities come to the forefront.”

Sacramento State will look to extend their winning streak as they host rival UC Davis at Hornet Field on Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m., and marks the final game of the Hornets nine game homestand.