SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Sacramento State swept its three-game series against the Texas State Bobcats, cruising to a convincing 7-1 win Sunday afternoon at John Smith Field.

With the win, Sacramento State is now 4-2 overall on the season. Texas State, which arrived in Sacramento with a winning record, dropped to 3-5 overall.

For the second straight day, the Sacramento State offense continued to produce, putting up seven runs on eight hits, including four doubles and two home runs. The Hornets scored a run in both the third and fourth innings, added two more in the fifth and put together a three-run frame in the eighth.

The scoring started in the third after the first of four Hornet doubles. Chris Gonzalez opened the inning with a double to right-center, eventually coming around to score on a Jorge Bojorquez groundout. Sacramento State added one in the fourth on a Gonzalez sacrifice fly. 

Sacramento State started to open things up a bit with two runs in the fifth inning. With two outs, Ryan Walstad was hit by a pitch before scoring on Dawsen Bacho's two-out double. Bacho scored just moments later on Martin Vincelli-Simard's RBI-base hit. 

Texas state finally scratched one across in the sixth inning, but the Hornets eliminated any threat of a Bobcat comeback with three runs in the eighth. Vincelli-Simard led off the inning with a screaming line drive home run out to left field, his second of the year. After a Trevor Doyle double, Aaron Zeidman, who entered the game as a defensive replacement just the inning prior, lifted a two-run shot out to left, his first home run of the season.

Simard finished with two hits on the afternoon, going 2-for-4 with a run and two driven in. Zeidman was 1-for-1, also with a run and two RBI. Doyle reached base three times and scored twice. 

Not to be overshadowed, Sacramento State's pitching staff was excellent on Sunday, limiting Texas State to just one run, its lowest run total of the season. While the Bobcats had seven hits, they were scattered throughout the game, negating any serious threats.

Eli Saul made his second start of the year Sunday, throwing six innings of one-run ball. The freshman right-hander struck out four and walked one while allowing five hits. He threw 90 pitches, 62 of them for strikes.

Saul pitched around some early hits and was picked up by his defense, which turned two double plays behind him, erasing Bobcats runners in the second and fourth innings.

Sacramento State's defense turned three double-plays in the win, including one to end the game and secure the sweep.

Behind Saul, relievers Noah Takacs and Kevin Haynes made their John Smith Field debut on Sunday. Takacs tossed two scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out one, while Haynes tossed a scoreless ninth, walking one coaxing the inning and game-ending double play ball.

Sacramento State's pitching staff now owns a 2.60 ERA, a .234 batting average against, and a 3.67 K:BB ratio. 

The three-game sweep is the first of the year for the Hornets as the team improves to 4-2 overall. 

Sacramento State will look to improve that number yet again starting tomorrow evening when the Hornets host the Pacific Tigers at Johns Smith Field at 6 p.m. on Monday, March 1. The game is a late addition to the Sacramento State baseball schedule following Pacific's COVID-19 protocol clearance. More details are available here.

Monday night's game will get underway at 6 p.m. PT and will stream online for free on the WAC Digital Network. Links to live video streams, live stats, and more are available online on HornetSports.com.