HOSKINS HOMERS TWICE AS BASEBALL TAKES OPENING WAC SERIES AT LA TECH
4/8/2012
Hoskins has gone yard a team-high eight times this season after homering twice on Sunday.
RUSTON, La. – Freshman Rhys Hoskins hit a pair of home runs and the Sacramento State baseball team defeated Louisiana Tech, 11-6, to win the opening series of its Western Athletic Conference slate on Sunday at J.C. Love Field.
The Hornets (16-16, 2-1 WAC) scored 11 runs on 17 hits with one error while the Bulldogs (16-16, 1-2 WAC) tallied six runs on 11 hits with one error.
Hoskins extended his team-best hitting streak to 15 games in a big way. The Jesuit HS grad hit a two-run two-out bomb to center in the first inning and smacked a solo homer, his eighth of the season, to right to lead off the fourth. Hoskins has 16 RBIs and five home runs over his last 10 games while hitting .452 and slugging .881. He is hitting a WAC-best .416 overall on the season.
Junior Clay Cederquist followed Hoskins’ shot with another solo homer in the fourth for back-to-back jacks but it was a five-run third inning that put away the Bulldogs.
The Hornets did all their damage with two outs as Louisiana Tech starting pitcher Jamie Gilley got both Hoskins and Cederquist to fly out to center to starting the inning. But after the two fly outs, senior Trevor Paine drew a walk, senior Hunter Adrian singled and both came home on junior Andrew Ayers’ double to right center. Ayers came home after an error allowed freshman Scotty Burcham to reach safely. Sophomore Justin Higley followed with his third double of the series to score Burcham and, after Higley advanced on a wild pitch, senior Derrick Chung singled to right to drive him in.
Chung and Ayers each had a team-high three hits but every player in the lineup had at least one hit for Sacramento State. Dallas Chadwick (2-0) earned the win for the Hornets after allowing just one run on two hits in 3.1 innings with five strikeouts and no walks.
Louisiana Tech outfielder Sam Alvis and first baseman Alex Williams each had home runs but it wasn’t enough to rally the Bulldogs. Gilley (1-3) took the loss after surrendering seven runs (four earned) on seven hits in 2.2 innings with one strikeout and three walks.
Sacramento State returns home this week after an 11-game road trip to play rival UC Davis at 2 p.m. on Wednesday at John Smith Field before hosting New Mexico State for a WAC series starting at 2 p.m. on Friday. The Hornets play the Aggies only twice this season, with the second and final game of the series in Davis on April 17.
Sacramento State 11, Louisiana Tech 6 (Apr 08, 2012 at Ruston, La.)
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Sacramento State.... 205 200 011 - 11 17 1 (16-16, 2-1 WAC)
Louisiana Tech...... 210 201 000 - 6 11 1 (16-16, 1-2 WAC)
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Pitchers: Sacramento State - Nichols, Ty; Morgan, Zach(2); Chadwick, Dallas(4);
Greenwood, Hunter(8); Davis, R.J.(9) and Chung, Derrick. Louisiana Tech - Gilley, Jamie;
Petersen, Trevor(3); Carlisle, Ben(4); Dudley, Caleb(5); Alvis, Sam(9) and Qualls, Tyler.
Win-Chadwick, Dallas(2-0) Loss-Gilley, Jamie(1-3) T-2:45 A-177
HR SAC - Hoskins, Rhys 2 (8); Cederquist, Clay (2).
HR LATECH - Alvis, Sam (1); Williams, Alex (9).
Weather: 73 degrees
Nichols, T. faced 2 batters in the 2nd.
Petersen faced 3 batters in the 4th.
Game: 32TECH12
