SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Playing its fifth game in four days, Sacramento State still found a way to come from behind and walk off on the 24th-ranked Stanford Cardinal, 3-2, Monday night at John Smith Field.

Sacramento State improved to 18-6 overall on the season while #24 Stanford dropped to 14-4.

Stanford is ranked 24th in the nation in Monday's latest USA Today Coaches poll, the NCBWA poll, and Collegiate Baseball. 

With the game tied at two in the bottom of the ninth, Keith Torres led off the inning by being hit by a pitch. Jorge Bojorquez was next, and while the second baseman was ready to lay down a sacrifice bunt, he too was hit by a pitch, putting runners on first and second.

Trevor Doyle, who finished 2-for-4 on Monday, flew out to left, bringing Matt Smith to the plate. After fouling off the first pitch he saw, Smith lined a base hit into center field, scoring Torres from second and sending the Hornets home with the win.

It was Smith two innings earlier coming up with his first big hit of the night, a two-out, two-run double into the right-center gap. The double, his second of three hits on the night, one-hopped the wall in right center, scoring both Torres and Doyle.

In total, Smith finished 3-for-5 with a double. He was responsible for driving in all three of Sacramento State's runs on Monday.

Smith and the Hornets would not have been able to walk things off if it weren't for the excellent effort of the Sacramento State staff. The Hornets used five pitchers on Monday, who combined to hold the Stanford offense to just two runs on seven hits.

Stanford entered Monday's game averaging nearly seven runs per game and was coming off back-to-back games with 11 and 12 runs.

Jack Zalasky picked up his third win with three scoreless innings. He eight straight before allowing his first base runner with two outs in the ninth. He struck out the next batter, his sixth in three innings. 

For the year, Zalasky has struck out 28 batters in 18.2 innings. He has not issued a walk and owns an 0.96 ERA, the best on the team.

Before Zalasky took over in the seventh, Brady Rodriguez tossed two perfect innings, striking out two. Between Rodriguez and Zalasky, the pair retired 14 straight Cardinal batters from the fifth through ninth innings and allowed just one hit in five innings.

The veteran relievers followed a trio of newcomers, including Cole Tremain, who made his first career start against the Cardinal on Monday. Tremain allowed two runs on four hits over two innings, walked one and struck out another.

Rylan Tinsley tossed an inning and a third, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out a pair. He was pulled from the game after taking a liner back up the middle off his side and replaced by Kevin Haynes, who got the Hornets out of a two-on, one-out jam in the fourth.

With Monday's win, Sacramento State improved to 18-6 overall, matching the 1993 campaign for the best overall record to start season in the Div. I era of Hornet baseball. 

After playing five times in four days, Sacramento State will finally take a break before heading back on the road. Up next is a four-game series against Creighton. The Hornets will play at TD Ameritrade Omaha, the home of the College World Series, starting Friday, April 2. 

For the latest news, notes, and more, including links to streaming and live stats, be sure to visit the Sacramento State baseball schedule online at HornetSports.com.