MESA, Ariz. – CSU Bakersfield sophomore pitcher Steven Gee threw a four-hit shutout as the Roadrunners eliminated Sacramento State from the 2015 WAC Tournament with a 4-0 victory on Saturday afternoon at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa.

Sacramento State (33-27) saw its season come to an end after winning three straight tournament games to get to weekend play after losing its tournament opener on Wednesday. The Hornets recorded their fourth consecutive 30-win season, the longest such streak since a string of nine straight 30-win seasons from 1985-1993.

The No. 2 seed for the WAC Tournament, CSU Bakersfield (34-22-1) advanced to face top-seeded Seattle U and beat the Redhawks Saturday night and again on Sunday afternoon to win the league title. 

In the matchup on Saturday the story was the pitching as both Gee and Hornet sophomore Justin Dillon had strong outings. Dillon allowed just eight hits in seven innings with no walks and six strikeouts. CSUB scored four runs (three earned) against Dillon while Gee permitted just seven total baserunners, allowing four singles and two walks with a hit batter.

The Roadrunners scored what ended up being the winning run in the first inning as third baseman Joey Sanchez was hit by a pitch and, after a single, scored on a fielder's choice. Sacramento State had one-out singles from junior Chris Lewis and sophomore Brandon Hunley in the second inning and had the runners on 2nd and 3rd with two away before a diving stop and throw by Sanchez ended the inning.

Bakersfield went up 2-0 scoring a run on a single, failed fielder's choice, and wild pitch in the third inning. The Hornets had runners on the corners with one out in the fourth before a double play ended the inning, and in the fifth the Roadrunners tacked on another run on a Hornet throwing error with two away.

In the seventh inning Bakersfield made the score 4-0 on an RBI double from second baseman David Metzgar. The Hornets had a runner erased on a double play ball in the eighth inning and the squad was retired in order in the ninth.

Gee threw 114 pitches in his first career shutout, striking out two and facing just five batters more than the minimum. Hornet junior Sutter McLoughlin struck out two on 11 pitches in a perfect bottom of the eighth after Dillon threw 107 pitches over seven strong innings.

Chance Gusbeth went 3-for-3 with two runs scored out of the nine spot for the Roadrunners and Metzgar was 2-for-3. Lewis, Hunley, senior Scotty Burcham, and freshman Bronson Grubbs had single for the Hornets, who committed two errors in the game after just two errors in their four previous tournament games.

Lewis hit .421 with a homer and three RBIs in the WAC Tournament after hitting .500 and winning tournament MVP honors last season. All five Hornet starting pitchers in the tournament allowed three earned runs or fewer as the pitching staff had a 2.00 ERA. Over 37 innings pitched the Hornet starters totaled 32 strikeouts to just four walks while allowing just eight earned runs.

Burcham and senior left fielder Kyle Moses played their last games for the Hornets after senior pitchers Ty Nichols and Brennan Leitao, as well as super senior Jake Stassi, closed their collegiate careers with two outstanding starts earlier this week. The four seniors, who all played four seasons at Sacramento State, ended their careers with a 138-104 record with four straight winning seasons, including the first WAC Tournament title and Div. I NCAA Regional in program history last season.

Nichols and Lewis represented the Hornets on the All-WAC Tournament team.