BASEBALL'S COMEBACK BID AGAINST SAN FRANCISCO FALLS SHORT
4/14/2009
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Trailing 12-0 entering the seventh, the Sacramento State baseball team scored seven runs over the next two innings, but fell short in its comeback attempt against the San Francisco Dons by a final of 12-7 on Tuesday, April 14 at Hornet Field.
With the loss, the Hornets fall to 20-14, while the Dons improve to 17-20.
San Francisco took a 12-0 lead in the contest into the seventh inning, after they scored three runs in the third, four runs in the fifth and five runs in the sixth off of three different Hornet relievers. The Hornets struck for their first run of the game in the bottom of the seventh, as senior Blake Crosby led off the inning with a double, and came home on a RBI single by junior Josh Powers.
Sacramento State continued the comeback in the bottom of the eighth, as senior Hunter Martinez led off the inning with a walk, junior Justin Mezzaneras followed with his first hit of the season, and junior Tim Wheeler walked, loading the bases. Crosby proceeded to drive in the first run of the inning by being hit by a pitch, making the score 12-2 in favor of the Dons. Senior Jeff Roth stepped to the plate next and connecting on a two-run double down the left field line, and the hits continued as Powers stepped to the plate and connected on his second RBI single of the contest.
With two on and still no one out in the inning, redshirt freshman Ivan Otsuka stepped to plate and connected on his first career hit, a double through the right side that rolled all the way to the wall, scoring two runs on the play to cut the lead to 12-7. But that would be as close as the Hornets would get, as the Hornets were unable to produce any additional runs, and San Francisco took home the victory, with the two team's splitting the season series.
Sophomore Trevor Paine (0-1) picked up the loss for the Hornets, allowing three runs, two of which were earned, on four hits in one inning of work. Alex Kalogrides (3-4), picked up the win in relief for the Dons, throwing a scoreless fifth inning.
Crosby led the Hornets with a 2-for-3 day at the plate, extending his career-high hitting streak to 18 games. Powers and Roth each went 2-for-5 with two RBI on the day, while Otsuka provided the first two RBI of his career. The Dons offensively were led by Drew Johnson, who went 5-for-5 with three runs scored on the day. He was the only San Francisco starter who remained in the game until the final out.
All told, the teams used a combined 42 players on the day, with the Dons using 24 players, which included the use of eight pitchers on the day. No Don pitcher faced more than nine batters on the afternoon.
Sacramento State will look to rebound as they travel to Hawai'i to play a four-game Western Athletic Conference series against the Rainbows, Friday-Sunday, April 17-19.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Trailing 12-0 entering the seventh, the Sacramento State baseball team scored seven runs over the next two innings, but fell short in its comeback attempt against the San Francisco Dons by a final of 12-7 on Tuesday, April 14 at Hornet Field.
