SACRAMENTO -- The scene shifts to the Central Valley on Wednesday (March 15) as the Sacramento State baseball team hits the road for a midweek clash with long-time rival Fresno State at Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium in a game that was originally scheduled to be played at John Smith Field, but moved due to impending weather. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m., and will be streamed on the Mountain West Network.
PLAY BALL…
WHAT: Sacramento State (8-7) at Fresno State (8-6)
WHEN: Wednesday, March 15, 2023
TIME: 6:05 p.m.
WHERE: Fresno, Calif.
STADIUM: Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium
WATCH LIVE: Mountain West Network
LIVE STATS: GoBulldogs.com
MARK YOUR CALENDARS…
With Mother Nature doing her best to cancel contests, the Hornet coaching staff has been busy putting together additional games to make up for those that were missed. Sacramento State baseball has changed the date of one game and added two more home contests for later in the season. The game against San Jose State scheduled for April 4 will now be played at home on March 22 at 6 p.m. The Hornets have also added home games against Saint Mary's on May 10 and against Pacific on May 16 at John Smith Field. First pitch for both of those contests is also scheduled for 6 p.m.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS…
Fresno State enters the midweek clash with an 8-6 overall record and a 2-3 mark in Mountain West Conference play after taking 2-of-3 from Nevada at home last weekend… The Bulldogs are 7-2 at home this year and are in the midst of a run of eight consecutive contests on their home diamond… Fresno State opened its season at the MLB Desert Invitational against a trio of Power 5 programs, defeating Arizona (5-0) while falling to Michigan (6-2) and Michigan State (7-4)… Senior utility Nikoh Mitchell leads all regulars with a .297 average with eight runs scored, a pair of home runs and eight RBIs… The Bulldogs are hitting .236 as a team, outscoring opponents 56-49… On the mound, Fresno State sports a 3.27 ERA as a staff, holding opponents to a .244 average and striking out 132 against only 44 walks.
AGAINST FRESNO STATE…
According to records that date back to 1950, Fresno State leads the all-time series with Sacramento State by a 136-38-1 count, including a 58-21 record against the Hornets in Sacramento State's Division I history… The Hornets are 14-68 on the road against the Bulldogs, winning 11-9 on May 10 of last season to snap a three-game overall skid in the series and a three-game road losing streak… Last year's home-and-home midweek series was the first meeting between the two former conference rivals since 2017.
CONFERENCE CALL…
Sacramento State is a combined 187-328-4 against the current Mountain West Conference alignment, with the majority of games coming against Fresno State (38-136-1), Nevada (82-96-1), and San Jose State (47-70-2)… The 82 wins over the Wolf Pack are the most against any one Mountain West opponent in the program's recorded history… The Hornets were 3-3 against the league last season, taking two of three from San Jose State to close out the regular season, splitting a pair of midweek contests with Fresno State, and falling at Nevada… Sacramento State posted a 9-4 victory over the Wolf Pack back on March 2 and still has games against San Jose State (March 22), at Nevada (April 25), and at Fresno State (May 2).
LAST TIME OUT…
Following a midweek victory over Causeway rival UC Davis on March 7, Sacramento State played host to Central Michigan in a four-game series, downing the Chippewas in the opener, 5-3, before CMU bounced back to win the final three… Junior Jorge Bojorquez finished the series hitting a team-best .429 in the four games, sharing the team lead with Gunner Gouldsmith with six hits while driving in a pair.
LOOKING AHEAD…
Following Wednesday's stop in Fresno, the Hornets close out their home-heavy start by opening Western Athletic Conference play against Grand Canyon on March 17-19 at John Smith Field. The series begins with a 6 p.m. first pitch against the 'Lopes on Friday, followed by a 4 p.m. first pitch on Saturday. The series concludes with a Noon start on Sunday.
HORNET SHORT HOPS…
• Wednesday's battle with the Bulldogs will be the third midweek game of the year for the Hornets.
• Sacramento State is 2-0 in midweek contests, posting a 9-4 win over Nevada on March 2 and a 9-6 victory over UC Davis on March 7.
• The Hornets have won five of their last six midweek games dating back to the end of last season.
• In the "all good things must come to an end" category, freshman Wehiwa Aloy's nation-best 13-game hitting streak came to an end in the third game of the series against Central Michigan over the weekend. He had been tied with Auburn's Bryson Ware for the longest in the country as of March 9.
• There is still some good news, however, as Aloy has still made his presence known on the base paths, reaching base safely in the first 15 games of his collegiate career.
• Aloy's 13-game hitting streak was the longest by a Hornet since Cesar Valero had a hit in 13 straight from March 11 - April 2 of last season.
• Sacramento State's offense has produced an extra base hit in every game this season, at least one double in all but one contest, and has slugged a home run in 10 of the team's 15 games — including a run of six straight games with a homer from Feb. 25-March 5.
• The power has been spread throughout the lineup as eight different players have cleared the fence this season and the team's last seven home runs have been hit by seven different players: Garet Crenshaw (3/2 vs. Nevada - the first of his Hornet career), JP Smith (3/3 at USC - the first of his career), Josh Rolling (3/3 at USC), Jeffery Heard (3/4 at UCLA), Martin Vincelli-Simard (3/5 vs. Tulane), Aloy (3/9 vs. Central Michigan), and Gunner Gouldsmith (3/11 vs. Central Michigan).
• Gouldsmith became the latest Hornet to hit their first career home run as the junior cleared the screen in right field in the series finale against Central Michigan.
• Since returning from injury against Nevada on March 2, Gouldsmith has been one of the team's hottest hitters, collecting a hit in eight of his nine appearances (batting .444), including a career-high 4-for-5 day in the second game of the series against the Chippewas and a career-high tying three RBI in the opener that brought the Hornets back from a 3-1 deficit.
• Gouldsmith's four hits were the most by a Hornet since Dawsen Bacho finished 4-for-5 with a pair of runs scored and two RBI against Grand Canyon on May 6 of last year.
• Junior Jorge Bojorquez enters Wednesday's game with a team-best five-game hitting streak, batting 7-for-19 (.368) with two runs scored and a pair of RBI.
• Bojorquez's three hits in game three of the series against the Chippewas tied his season high and are just one short of his career high set at Tarleton on March 13, 2021.
• Senior right-hander Jack Zalasky has appeared in six games thus far this season and posted the save in five of them, allowing just one run and two hits in eight innings of relief combined.
• His five saves are tied for third in the nation — and first in the WAC along with UT Arlington's Connery Peters — standing just one behind national leaders Terry Busse of Georgia Tech and Nolan McLean of Oklahoma State entering the week.
• Zalasky struck out five of the seven batters he faced in the series opener against Central Michigan, lowering his ERA to 1.12 on the year.
• Zalasky has struck out 14 over those eight innings, walking only three in that span.
• Zalasky's five saves give him 20 for his career, placing him third on the school's all-time list behind only Sutter McLoughlin (2013-15), who had 33 in his career, and Mike Frame (1987-89), who finished with 26 saves.
• Fresh off his first start of the season in game two against Central Michigan, junior right-hander Jasper Nelson is still unscored upon this season, scattering just seven hits and walking four over his 12.1 innings of work.
• Nelson went the first 4.1 innings against the Chippewas, collecting a Sacramento State career-high seven strikeouts in the process — two more than he had in his previous four appearances combined.
• Right-hander Wesley Harper has also been difficult to hit thus far this season, posting a 1.93 ERA and a .211 average against while holding opponents to just one run on four hits over 4.2 innings of relief.
• Runners beware. Junior catcher Carson Blatnick has thrown out six would-be base stealers entering the week, tied with New Mexico State's Nick Gore for the most in the Western Athletic Conference.
• Speaking of defense, the Hornets have turned two 14 times this season, ranking third in the WAC and No. 20 in the nation in that category.
