SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Led by a 14-strikeout performance from junior right-hander Scott Randall, Sacramento State won its sixth straight game Friday afternoon, defeating the visiting Dixie State Trailblazers, 9-3.

Sacramento State (15-5, 8-1 WAC) returned to John Smith Field for the first time in nearly a month on Friday after playing 12 straight on the road. The Hornets welcomed WAC-newcomers, the Dixie State Trailblazers (5-13, 3-6) to the John for the first ever matchup between the two teams. 

Junior right-hander Scott Randall provided quite the introduction, striking out the side in order in the first inning on his way to tying a Sacramento State single game record with 14 strikeouts.

After sitting down the Trailblazers in order in the first, Randall struck out three more in the second before striking out two more in the third. Of his first eight strikeouts, four were swinging while the other four were looking.

After allowing a leadoff double in the top of the fourth, Randall retired the next three batters in order, including strikeout victim number nine.

"After the third inning, I was at eight, and I thought 'I can get this.'" said Randall after the game. "It seemed almost inevitable as the game went on."

Randall sat down the Trailblazers in order again in both the fifth and sixth innings while striking out three more across the two frames.

The Hornets' ace finally allowed a run in the seventh inning, the first and only he would give up all afternoon, while striking out two Dixie State batters. Strikeout 13 started the inning while 14 was out number three and Randall's final batter of the game.

In total, Randall struck out 14 over seven innings of one-run ball. He allowed four hits and did not walk a batter. Despite the record-tying strikeout total, Randall needed just 96 pitches (69 strikes) to get through seven innings.

"Today was a good combination of just everything," added Randall. "I had good fastball command, which was something we talked about this week, me and Reggie. So far I haven't had that 'down-in-the-zone fastball' like I want, so today that was all I really worried about."

Head coach Reggie Christiansen echoed his ace's comments: "This was one of the first times all year that he's really been able to command the ball down in the strike zone. Two or three starts he's been up a little more than we want, but today he was down and you saw that lead to all the strikeouts."

Friday's game was the fourth straight outing in which Randall has gone seven complete. In those four starts, he has one walk, 32 strikeouts and a 1.61 ERA (5er, 28.0ip).

Randall's 14 strikeouts on Friday are tied for most ever in a game by a Hornets pitcher. The Rocklin, Calif. native joined his former teammate and current Pittsburgh Pirates minor leaguer Parker Brahms, who struck out 14 on two separate occasions during the 2018 season.

His 14 strikeouts are the most by a Hornets pitcher since Austin Roberts, another current Pirates minor leaguer, struck out 13 in 2019.

While Randall stole the show on Friday with his work on the mound, the Sacramento State offense continued to do work, scoring nine runs on 11 hits. Friday was Sacramento State's eighth game with double-digit runs and the sixth in its last eight.

Matt Smith continued to hit, going 3-for-4 with a walk, two RBIs, and a run scored. He also stole two bases, his first of the season. For the year, Smith is hitting an even .500 in 12 games (10 starts). He leads the team in average, slugging (.881), and on-base percentage (.567) and is tied for the team lead with four home runs.

Jorge Bojorquez had two hits from the leadoff spot, including a double. He drove in two runs and scored another three. Dawsen Bacho also finished with two hits, going 2-for-4 with an RBI.  

Sacramento State did most of its scoring at the end of the game, scoring four times in the eighth to put the game out of reach. But as it has so many times this season, the Hornets offense did a good job adding on throughout the game. After scoring the game's first run in the first, they added two in the fourth and two more in the seventh before the eighth-inning outburst.

The Hornets have now won six straight games and are winners of eight of their last 10. In addition, Sacramento State is a perfect 5-0 at home this season.

Sacramento State will have a chance to defend their record at home tomorrow when the Hornets and Trailblazers play two at John Smith Field. Saturday's WAC doubleheader will get underway at 1 p.m. PT. Game one will be seven innings while game two will be a full nine. As always, both games will stream live online on the WAC Digital Network with live stats available at HornetStats.com.

Direct links for video, live stats, news and notes, and more can be found on the Sacramento State baseball schedule online at HornetSports.com.