SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Sacramento State baseball team split a doubleheader with the visiting Hawai'i Rainbows on Saturday, winning game one 3-2 before dropping a 7-4 decision in a seven inning contest in game two.
With the day's results, the Hornets move to 13-18-1, 2-1 in Western Athletic Conference play, while the Rainbows move to 18-17, 2-5 in the WAC.
Game one was a pitchers duel between Hornet sophomore righthander Jesse Darrah and his counterpart, lefthander Sam Spangler of the Rainbows. Spangler retired the first nine batters in order, and his team held a 1-0 lead after five innings following a solo home run off the bat of Jeffrey Van Doornum on the first pitch of the top half of the inning.
Sacramento State had his first strong scoring chance in the bottom of the seventh, and took advantage of the opportunity. Junior A.J. Nunez started the inning with a pinch hit single with one down, and junior Kirby Young followed with a single to left field. Following a fielder's choice putout of Nunez at third, freshman Blake Miller reached base on a infield single deep behind the third base bag. This set the stage for sophomore Justin Lamb, who was walked on five pitches to tie the score at 1-1. The next batter, junior Andrew Ayers, then was hit by a pitch by reliever Jesse Moore, giving the Hornets a 2-1 advantage.
The Hornets added a run in the bottom of the eighth, as senior Josh Powers singled to right field, stole second, and came around to score on a RBI single by Nunez, increasing the Hornet lead to 3-1. The extra run came into play in the top of the ninth, as Van Doornum connected on two-out RBI single to right field, cutting the lead to 3-2. But Kevin Macdonald lined out to left field, and the Hornets took home a 3-2 game one victory.
Darrah (3-2) pitched well, allowing one run on five hits in 7.2 innings, walking a pair while striking out two. With runners on first and second and two down in the eighth, junior Logan Todd came out of the bullpen and forced Kolten Wong to fly out to center field and escape the jam. Junior closer Andrew Galvan pitched the ninth, allowing one run to pick up his fifth save of the season. Spangler (2-5) pitched equally well for the Rainbows, allowing two runs on five hits in 6.2 innings, walking two and striking out two.
Game two started in an opposite fashion from the first game, as neither starter was still in the contest to start the third inning of play. After Hawai'i was sent down in order in the top of the first, the Hornets posted three runs in the bottom half of the inning to take an early lead. Powers led off the inning with a triple to right field, after Van Doornum lost the ball in the sun, and came around to score on a RBI single by Ayers to give the Hornets a 1-0 lead. After Chilton walked to give the Hornets two aboard, Nunez drove both runners in with a double off the right field wall, increasing the lead to 3-0.
Hawai'i scored two runs in the top of the second, as Van Doornum hit a deep home run to right center, his second of the day, to pull the Rainbows to within one at 3-2. The Hornets then got a run back in the bottom of the second, as with two down, Powers walked on four pitches, stole second base, and scored on a RBI single by Ayers, increasing the Hornet lead to 4-2.
The Rainbows then took the lead for good in the top of the third, taking advantage of a pair of Hornet errors to plate five runs. Van Doornum started the charge with a RBI single, and Greg Garcia followed with a sacrifice fly to tie the score. Collin Bennett gave the Rainbows the lead with a RBI double to right-center, and Kevin Fujii finished out the scoring with a RBI single where Macdonald scored as well on a Hornet error, giving the Rainbows a 7-4 lead. The Hornets had five baserunners over their final four at bats, but were unable to score, and the game ended with Hawai'i winning 7-4.
Moore (1-1), who pitched in relief in game one, picked up the win in relief in game two, pitching four innings allowing four hits and no runs. Todd (1-4), who also pitched in game one, picked up the loss in game two, allowing three runs on three hits in 1.1 innings. Lenny Linsky picked up his seven save of the season, allowing one hit while pitching a scoreless seventh. Senior Tommy Elrod pitched 4.1 innings of scoreless relief out of the Hornet bullpen.
Ayers led the Hornets on the day, going 4-for-7 with three RBI, while Nunez finished the day 3-for-5 with three RBI. Van Doornum led the way for the Rainbows, going 4-for-8 with two home runs and five runs batted in.
The two teams will conclude the four-game conference series on Sunday, with first pitch from Hornet Field scheduled for 1 p.m.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Sacramento State baseball team split a doubleheader with the visiting Hawai'i Rainbows on Saturday, winning game one 3-2 before dropping a 7-4 decision in a seven inning contest in game two.
