BOYD HITS FIRST TWO CAREER HOME RUNS; HORNETS TURN TRIPLE PLAY IN 12-2 VICTORY OVER HAWAI’I-HILO
4/18/2008
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Senior Brian Boyd hit the first two home runs of his collegiate career, while the Hornets turned just their second triple play during the Division I era, as Sacramento State defeated Hawai’i-Hilo 12-2 in seven innings on Friday, April 18 at Hornet Field.
With the win, the Hornets improve to 16-18, while the Vulcans fall to 13-18. The game was shortened to seven innings as the 10-run rule was in effect.
Hawai’i Hilo opened up the scoring in the top of first, as the first three Vulcan batters all singled, and then with two outs, Peter Rodgers singled, scoring Ronel Trias to give the Vulcans a 1-0 lead. The Hornets got the run back immediately in the bottom of the inning, as with the bases loaded, junior Gabe Jacobo hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring junior Hunter Martinez to tie the game at 1-1.
Sacramento State then took its first lead of the game in the bottom of the third, as on a short pop out behind first base off the bat of senior David Flores, Martinez tagged up, and on a good piece of baserunning following a sliding catch by Vulcan second baseman Michael Higa, scored. Flores was credited with a sacrifice fly RBI, and the Hornets took a 2-1 lead. Hawai’i-Hilo tied the score at 2-2 in the top of the fourth, however, as Shane Kessel and Thomas Brown connected on back-to-back doubles.
The Hornets took the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth, as with one out Boyd stepped to the plate and hit his first career home run to deep center field, making the score 3-2 in favor of Sacramento State. Insurance began to pile up in the bottom of the fifth, as senior Wes Oberlin connected on a bases-loaded RBI single, scoring Flores. With the bases still loaded, Boyd got a RBI following a walk, and Wheeler scored on a double play ball, pushing the Hornet lead to 6-2.
But the Hornets weren’t done, as they connected for six runs in the bottom of the sixth, pushing the lead to 12-2. Following a fly out, senior Ryan Blair looked to connect on a single to center field, but the Vulcans’ center fielder waiting for the ball to come to him, allowing Blair to take second on a double following more heads-up Hornet baserunning. Flores then drove him home with a check-swing single to center field, which was followed by a towering blast to left-center off of the bat of Jacobo, his 10th home run of the season, making the score 9-2. Sophomore Tim Wheeler and Oberlin then hit back-to-back singles, bringing up the man of the day, Boyd, who hit an opposite field home run for his second career blast, bringing the total score to 12-2.
With the 10 run rule in effect, the Vulcans had one last chance to pull the lead back to single digits and extend the game, and looked in good position to do so following two straight walks to open the inning. With the walked batters standing on first and second, Trias hit a hard line-drive, right into the glove of the Hornets first baseman Jacobo, who tagged first base to record the second out, and threw on to shortstop Blake Crosby, who tagged second base a half-step ahead of the Vulcans’ Kessel, recording a game-ending triple play. The triple play was the second for the Hornets during the Division I era (1990-present), and first since March 31, 2000, when the Hornets defeated Long Beach State 5-4 on another game-ending triple play.
Junior Jose Ramirez (4-3) picked up the win for the Hornets, going five innings while allowing two runs, both earned, on nine hits while striking out five. Senior Alvaro Orozco pitched the final two innings for the Hornets, not allowing a run or a hit, while walking two and facing the minimum six batters. Joe Davis (2-4) picked up the loss for Hawai’i-Hilo, allowing six runs, four of which were earned, on 11 hits in four innings of work.
Boyd led the Hornet bats with a career-high five RBI, while going 2-for-3 at the plate. Jacobo was a perfect 3-for-3 at the dish with three RBI, while Oberlin finished 3-for-4 with three singles. Wheeler (2-for-4) extended his career-high hit streak to 13 games, while Blair (2-for-4) extended his hitting streak to 10 games and Crosby (1-for-4) pushed his to a career-high eight contests. The Vulcans were led by a 2-for-2 performance from both Higa and Kessel, while Trias went 2-for-4 at the plate.
Both teams will hit the field tomorrow for a Saturday doubleheader, with the first game scheduled to go seven innings, and the second contest schedule for the full nine. First pitch of game one is set for 11:30 a.m. at Hornet Field, with the probable starters being right-hander Trevor York (3-4) for the Hornets, versus right-hander Clayton Uyechi (1-2) for the Vulcans.
SACRAMENTO, Calif.
