SACRAMENTO -- Freshman Wehiwa Aloy finished 5-for-8 with four runs scored, the first two home runs of his collegiate career and five RBI combined to help back a pair of stellar starts by Noah Takacs and Noah Lucchesi and lift Sacramento State to a doubleheader sweep of visiting St. Thomas on a frigid Saturday at John Smith Field.
The Hornets won the opener 2-0 before opening the floodgates for a 10-1 win in the nightcap, improving the team to 5-1 overall on the year and taking their second series victory of the season.
With the two losses, the Tommies fell to 1-5 overall on the year, managing just two hits in the opener before striking for their first run of the series in game two.
Weather permitting, game three of the series is scheduled for Sunday (Feb. 26) at 11 a.m. If necessary, any changes to the schedule will be posted at HornetSports.com and the Sacramento State baseball social media accounts when they become available.
GAME 1: SACRAMENTO STATE 2, ST. THOMAS 0
Junior right-hander Noah Takacs allowed just one hit over seven shutout inning while striking out seven and three Hornet hurlers combined on a two-hit shutout to start the day, blanking the Tommies, 2-0, in the opener.
Takacs (2-0), who was fresh off a seven-strikeout performance over five innings in his first start of the year against North Dakota State, was stellar on Saturday, facing just three over the minimum in his second victory of the season. The junior allowed a double to lead-off the game before retiring 17 of the next 18 hitters — and 12 in a row at one point — allowing only a walk in that stretch.
His seven strikeouts matched his season high and Takacs has only allowed a run on three hits while walking only two over 12 innings to start the year, posting a 0.75 ERA and a .079 average against.
The two teams matched one another zero for zero until the Hornets were finally able to break through in the fifth for the only run the team would need. Junior Garet Crenshaw led-off the inning with a single to right, moved to second on a balk, and advanced to third on a ground ball to short. Crenshaw wasn't there for long as he quickly scored on a passed ball with Griffin Harrison at the plate for the 1-0 lead.
Sacramento State wasted little time in making it a two-run game in the sixth as Aloy sent the first pitch he saw over the wall in left for his first career home run. The freshman finished the game 2-for-4 at the plate for his second multi-hit game of the season.
After a 1-2-3 seventh, the bullpen took it from there as Max Pettey pitched a scoreless eighth with a strikeout before handing the ball to senior Jack Zalasky, who nailed down his third save of the year with a 1-2-3 ninth, including a strikeout of Ben Vujovich to end the game.
St. Thomas starter Kolby Gartner (0-2) went the distance for the Tommies, allowing one earned on four hits while striking out four in the complete-game effort.
GAME 2: SACRAMENTO STATE 10, ST. THOMAS 1
Aloy finished a single short of the cycle, ending the night 3-for-4 with three runs scored a home run and four RBI as the Hornets scored early and often en route to the 10-1 romp in the nightcap.
Six different Sacramento State players finished with hits as Josh Rolling added a 2-for-4 night, while Jorge Bojorquez, Martin Vincelli-Simard, Carson Blatnick, and Zack Malone, also collected hits.
Aloy doubled and drove in a run in the first, cranked a three-run home run in the second, walked in the fourth, and tripled to lead-off the sixth. The freshman had one more chance to complete the cycle, but his line drive in the seventh was snagged by the St. Thomas shortstop.
Sophomore left-hander Noah Lucchesi (2-0) was solid on the hill for the Hornets, allowing a run on four hits while striking out a pair of notch his second win of the season. Jasper Nelson, Tyler Stewart, and Cooper Rons, then setted down St. Thomas from there, combining to give up just two hits while Rons ended the game by striking out the side swinging in the ninth.
Aloy's RBI double and Vincelli-Simard's single to left in the first staked Sacramento State to the early lead before the Hornets opened the floodgates in the second. Malone walked and Bojorquez drew another free pass shortly thereafter to bring up Aloy, who launched his second home run in as many games over the wall in straight away center field for the 5-0 advantage.
Joe Vos got one of the runs back with his lead-off home run in the third, but that would be it for St. Thomas as Sacramento State plated four in the sixth and another in the eighth for the final score.
Aloy scored on a wild pitch after his lead-off triple in the sixth, while Blatnick plated a pair later in the inning with a two-run single to center. Malone added the fourth run with an infield single that ricocheted off a fielder into foul ground, allowing Josh Rolling to score.
Malone then added the finishing touch, plating Jeffery Heard with a sacrifice fly for the final tally.
Starter Jacob Mrosko (0-1) took the loss for the Tommies, allowing five runs on five hits, walking three and striking out three over two innings of work.
