Cal State Hayward jumped out to an early 2-0 lead after a solo homer by Caleb Cooper to left field in the first and an RBI single by Arce Estremera in the second.

Sacramento State recaptured the lead in the second after exploding for six runs on four hits while taking advantage of two Pioneer fielding errors. Junior Mikela Olsen led off the inning with a swinging strikeout but reached first on a passed ball. Junior Jesse Schmidt followed with a double down the right field line. In the next at-bat, junior John Acha reached on a fielding error by Tom Mazziotti at second, allowing Olsen to score. After Acha stole second, Schmidt would score from third on a wild pitch by Pioneer starter Jason Hotton. Sophomore Matt Wilson would then score Acha from third with a sacrifice fly to left field. In the next at-bat, sophomore Bret LeVier reached first after a throwing error by Cooper at third and then moved to second on a stolen base. With one out, freshman Brian Blauser drove in LeVier with a double to left center. After a groundout by senior Tim Reimer, sophomore Everet Rincon scored Blauser from third with a base hit down the left field line. Junior Chris Kinsey would end the scoring with an RBI double to left center.

The Pioneers cut the lead to 6-4 in the fifth after a two-run double to left field by Shane Rutledge with one out.

The Hornets added another run in the sixth when Rincon drove in Blauser from second with a base hit through the right side. Blauser reached safely to start the inning on a throwing error by shortstop Brandon Benavides.

Cal State Hayward made it a 7-7 tie in the seventh after an RBI single by Cooper to center field and a two-run double by Archie Gilbert to left center.

Sacramento State regained the lead in the bottom of the seventh when LeVier hit an RBI double to left center to make it 8-7.

The Pioneers tied the game again in the ninth when Rutledge scored on a passed ball with the bases loaded. Kinsey came into close the contest and allowed two-consecutive hits to put runner on first and third with no one out. In the next at-bat, Cooper hit a sharp grounder to third, allowing LeVier time to hold the runner at third base and get the runner at second. Gilbert followed with a pop-up to Acha at second but Kinsey hit Manny Mercel to load the bases. With the count at 1-2, Kinsey tried to get Jason Bumbaca to swing at a low pitch. The ball rattled between the legs of Wilson and slowly trickled behind the plate. Wilson was unaware of the ball behind him and Rutledge managed to beat the throw at home after a delay. Kinsey would then get Bumbaca to strike out swinging to end the inning.

In the bottom of the ninth, Pioneer pitcher Nick Krell struck out Acha looking and Wilson swinging to start things off. LeVier, who hit a two-run home run down the left field line to seal the Hornets’ win the day before, hit a 1-0 pitch over the wall in right center to end the game.

Kinsey (3-3) was credited with the win while Krell (1-5) was tagged with the loss.

Rincon finished 4-for-5 on the afternoon to earn the second four-hit game of his career. Olsen (three hits), LeVier (two hits) and Schmidt (two hits) also recorded multiple hits to lead the squad. Schmidt, a native of San Diego, raised his team-high hitting streak to 17 games. He is now fourth in the program record book and five games behind Casey Simpson (1992) for the team record.

Sacramento State will next travel to Nevada to face the Wolf Pack on Tuesday, April 8, at 2 p.m. at Peccole Park.