BASEBALL SWEEPS MENLO WITH SECOND STRAIGHT DOUBLEHEADER TRIUMPH
3/29/2009
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Sacramento State baseball team battled the wind, but was able to post a second straight doubleheader victory over Menlo College, winning game one 5-1 and game two 9-5 on Sunday, March 29 at Hornet Field.
With the victories, the Hornets improved to 16-9 overall, winners of 15 of their last 17, while the Oaks fell to 10-14 on the season.
The two games were played under a county-wide wind advisory, with sustained northerly winds of 25-30 mph and gusts upwards of 40 mph. The northerly winds meant that the wind was blowing in at Hornet Field, making defensive plays difficult and driving the ball to all fields nearly impossible.
In game one, Hornet sophomore starter Brandon Sandoval, the reigning Western Athletic Conference pitcher of the week, pitched another gem, allowing one run on four hits in seven innings, striking out eight Oaks batters.
Sandoval (3-2) got all of the run support he needed in the bottom of the first, as senior Blake Crosby scratched out a RBI single, and junior Josh Powers produced a RBI sacrifice fly, giving Sacramento State a 2-0 lead.
The lead grew to 3-0 in the bottom of the third as sophomore Derrick Chung led off the inning with a walk, stole second base, and scored after stealing third base and having the attempted throw to catch him stealing go over the third baseman's head. Chung made it 4-0 in the fourth with a RBI single that scored senior Hunter Martinez, who had produced a wind-aided double to left field with two outs in the inning.
After Menlo scored their lone run of the game on a RBI groundout in the top of the fifth, Sacramento State pushed one more run across in the bottom of the sixth, as Crosby hit another RBI single that scored Martinez to round out the games scoring at 5-1.
Senior Jeff Roth threw the final two innings for the Hornets, striking out the side in the top of the eighth before allowing a lone hit in the top of the ninth. Brian Phillips (2-1) picked up the loss for the Oaks, allowing five runs, three earned, on eight hits in 5.2 innings pitched.
Game two saw the Hornets explode for eight runs in the bottom of the second to take command of the contest. After Crosby and Roth produced singles to start the inning, freshman Justin Lamb connected on a two-run double off the right center field wall, giving the Hornets a 2-0 lead. The final six runs scored with two outs, as junior Dan McCarthy reached on an error, scoring Lamb to keep the inning alive. Martinez then singled up the middle, and after a Chung walk, junior Tim Wheeler reached on a fielding error by the first baseman, scoring another run.
Crosby then came up for the second time in the inning, producing a two-run single, and Powers followed it up with a ground-rule double which scored two more runs, giving the Hornets an 8-0 lead.
Menlo chipped away with two runs in the top of the fourth and two more in the top of the fifth. In between, the Hornets added one insurance run, as Powers produced a RBI doubled down the left field line, scoring Wheeler. The Oaks scored one more run in the top of the seventh, but could not extend the game past the scheduled seven innings, falling 8-4.
Junior Tommy Elrod improved to 3-0 on the season, picking up the win after six innings of work where he allowed four runs on 10 hits. Brian Priestley (4-2) threw all seven innings for the Oaks, allowing nine runs, three earned, on nine hits while striking out seven.
Crosby led the Hornets with a 5-for-7 day, driving in four runs, while Powers also posted four RBI on the day. Lamb finished the day with two doubles, while Martinez went 3-for-8 with a double.
The Hornets start WAC play on Friday, April 3 at New Mexico State. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. Mountain time.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Sacramento State baseball team battled the wind, but was able to post a second straight doubleheader victory over Menlo College, winning game one 5-1 and game two 9-5 on Sunday, March 29 at Hornet Field.
