ROTH'S 11TH INNING HOMER LIFTS BASEBALL TO EXTRA INNING VICTORY OVER SAN FRANCISCO
3/17/2009
SAN FRANCISCO - Senior Jeff Roth hit a solo home run in the top of the 11th inning to give Sacramento State a 6-5 extra inning victory over San Francisco on Tuesday, March 17 at Benedetti Diamond.
With the win, the Hornets improved to 7-8 on the season, while the Dons fell to 8-11.
Sacramento State took a 5-4 lead into the bottom of the ninth before USF sent it into extra innings, as with one out pitcher Matt Chavez doubled, and then advanced to third on a groundout before being lifted for pinch runner Derek Poppert. Cleanup man Drew Johnson then singled home Poppert to send the game to extra innings.
The Dons had the first opportunity to win the game, as in the bottom of the 10th they loaded the bases with just one out. Roth, who also pitched the final three innings for the Hornets, induced an infield popup off the bat of Zach Kim and struck out pinch hitter Chris Dittman to get out of the jam.
Roth then stepped to the plate in the top of the 11th with two down, and hit reliever Joe Oropeza's 1-1 pitch deep to left field, just clearing the yellow home run line found 45 feet up on the left field netting, for his second home run of the season, giving the Hornets a 6-5 lead.
USF fought hard in the bottom half of the inning in an attempt to continue action, as Ryan Lipkin singled through the left side, advanced to second on a sacrifice and after being lifted for pinch runner Mason Morioka, Morioka moved to third on a wild pitch. Robert Abel then drew a walk, giving the Dons runners on first and third with one out. USF chose to lay down a sacrifice bunt that moved Abel up to second base, bringing the winning run into scoring position, without trying to plate Morioka. This proved costly, as with two down, Dane Braunecker grounded out to Hornet shortstop Derrick Chung to end the contest.
The Hornets had taken the lead in the top of the first, as senior Hunter Martinez led off the contest with a single, and was sacrificed to second base by senior Blake Crosby. This brought up junior Tim Wheeler, who doubled to right field, scoring Martinez, to make the score 1-0.
San Francisco tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the first, as Kim was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a sacrifice and third on a balk, before scoring on a RBI groundout by Lipkin. The Dons took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the third on a sacrifice fly by Lipken, which scored Nik Balog.
In the top of the fourth, Sacramento State took the lead back, as sophomore Brent Hottman hit a two-run double off of the base of the right field wall, scoring Chung and junior Josh Powers to give the Hornets a 3-2 lead.
The advantage would stretch to 5-2 in the top of the seventh, as Crosby drove in a run on a perfectly executed suicide squeeze, and freshman Justin Lamb followed with a RBI double. The Dons got the two runs back in the bottom of the seventh, as Lipkin hit a two-run homer to right that cleared the 70 foot tall netting on the left field wall for his first home run of the season.
Roth (1-0) allowed one run on four hits in three innings of work, striking out two batters. Sophomore Chris Baek started the contest for the Hornets, allowing two runs on three hits in five innings, before giving way to senior Eric Fregosi, who allowed two runs in three innings of work while striking out four batters.
Chung was the lone Hornet to record two hits, while six Hornets each collected one hit apiece. Powers extended his team-high hitting streak to 11 games, while Chung and Martinez each kept their own streaks of seven straight games alive.
Oropeza (0-1) picked up the loss for USF, allowing one run on one hit, the Roth home run, in one inning pitched. Dons starter Cameron Love allowed three runs, one earned, one six hits in four innings. San Francisco used seven pitchers, and prior to the home run by Roth, their bullpen had retired 13 Hornet batters in a row.
The Hornets will be back in action on Thursday, March 19 as they host the Cornell Big Red to start a four-game series. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Thursday, with another 2 o'clock game to follow on Friday before the two teams play a Saturday doubleheader slated to begin at 11 a.m.
SAN FRANCISCO - Senior 
