EUGENE, Ore. - The Sacramento State baseball team took home their seventh straight victory with a 10-5 triumph over Oregon on Tuesday, March 24 at PK Park.
With the win, the Hornets improved to 12-8 on the season, and have now won 11 of their last 12 games. The seven-game winning streak is the longest since the 1992 ran off 16 consecutive wins. Oregon dropped to 9-12 on the season.
Oregon opened the scoring in the bottom of the first, as Caleb Tommasini hit a solo home run to give the Ducks a 1-0 advantage. Sacramento State tied it up with a lone run in the top of the third, as junior Dan McCarthy scored from second on an error by Oregon first baseman Andrew Schmidt, tying the score at 1-1.
The Ducks retook the lead in the bottom of the third, as KC Serna hit a two-run homer to left field, his first of the season, to give Oregon a 3-1 advantage.
The Hornets struck next with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth with two outs, as senior Blake Crosby hit a grand slam to left, his second homer of the season, to give Sacramento State their first lead at 5-3.
The score would remain at 5-3 until the bottom of the seventh, when Oregon would tie it at 5-5 on a two out, two-run single by Serna.
In the top of the eighth, however, the Hornets blew the game open, scoring five runs to take a commanding 10-5 lead. Following a leadoff double by senior Jeff Roth, consecutive Hornets reached on errors by Oregon pitcher Geoff Nichols, with Roth scoring one the second of those errors to give the Hornets a one run lead. Then, following a failed squeeze play that saw a runner get thrown out at home, senior Hunter Martinez hit an infield single, loading the bases for sophomore Derrick Chung, who hit a two-run double off the center field wall. Later in the inning, with two outs and the bases loaded once again, junior Josh Powers hit a two-run single, giving the Hornets the 10-5 lead.
Oregon loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth with no one out, but Roth was able to strike out two straight hitters before forcing Danny Pulfer to groundout to end the game. Roth (2-0) picked up the win, allowing two runs on five hits in three innings of work. Nichols (1-2) picked up the loss, allowing five runs, none of which were earned, on four hits in 1.2 innings pitched.
Hornet freshman starter Jesse Darrah allowed three runs on four hits in three innings of work, while senior Nick Buchta pitched the middle three innings, allowing no runs on one hit while striking out two.
Martinez led the Hornets at the plate with a 3-for-3 day, extending his hitting streak to a team season-high 12 game mark. Crosby finished 2-for-5 with four RBI, while Roth and Powers each added two hits apiece. The Ducks had four players reach the two hit plateau, with Serna leading the team with four RBI.
The two teams will round out the two-game series tomorrow at 1 p.m., with the Ducks throwing freshman righthander Alex Keudell, and the Hornets countering with defending Western Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week, sophomore righthander Brandon Sandoval.
EUGENE, Ore. - The Sacramento State baseball team took home their seventh straight victory with a 10-5 triumph over Oregon on Tuesday, March 24 at PK Park.
