SACRAMENTO -- Redshirt freshman Griffin Harrison's two-out RBI double that landed just fair inside the right field line scored Jeffery Heard from second base with the go-ahead run and senior Jack Zalasky shut the door with a perfect ninth, lifting Sacramento State to a 7-6 victory over visiting San Jose State on Wednesday night at John Smith Field.
The victory improved the Hornets to 11-9 overall on the season and kept them perfect in mid-week contests at 4-0 this year. The Spartans, who rallied to tie the game with two runs in the seventh, fell to 7-9 overall with the defeat.
Heard led-off the home half of the eighth with a single through the right side and moved to second on a ground out two batters later. Coming to the plate for the first time since entering as a defensive replacement in the seventh, Harrison then wasted little time, slicing a ball down the right field line that landed just fair, allowing Heard to score all the way from second to break a six-all tie.
Harrison was left there, but the damage was already done as Zalasky entered the game as the skies opened up and the rain turned from a light sprinkle to a heavy pour. Zalasky struck out the first batter he faced then closed out the game with a ground ball to short and a fly ball to centerfield to end the game.
It was the senior's sixth save in eight appearances this season and the 21st of his career, putting him just five behind Mike Frame (1987-89) for second on the school's all-time list. Junior lefthander
Max Pettey (1-0) — the Hornets' sixth pitcher of the night — earned his first win of the season, striking out three over a perfect 1.2 innings of work.
Sacramento State jumped out to the early lead with two runs in the home half of the first thanks to one swing of
Martin Vincelli-Simard's bat. With
Jorge Bojorquez drawing one of the Hornets' eight walks on the night, Vincelli-Simard sent a 3-2 offering on a line over the wall in left field for his fifth home run of the season and a 2-0 lead.
The blast was the 23rd of his career, moving him into a tie with James Outman (2016-18), Joe Evans (2000-02), and Derek Brown (1994-95) for 10th on the school's career list. The five home runs this season are just two off his single-season career high of seven during the 2019 campaign.
San Jose State answered quickly in the second, turning six hits into four runs to take its first lead of the night, but Sacramento State pulled one back on
Carson Blatnick's sacrifice fly after Heard went from first to third on a two-base error trying to pick him off.
Heard then gave the Hornets the lead in the third as three walks set the table for the sophomore with one out, driving a double down the right field line to score Bojorquez and
Gunner Gouldsmith for the 5-4 advantage. With Vincelli-Simard now at third,
Josh Rolling's fly ball to left was deep enough to score the senior, giving the home team a two-run lead.
It stayed that way until the seventh when a single and a walk put two on for the Spartans, who tied the game on a two-run double, setting up Sacramento State's late-inning rally.
Heard finished 2-for-3 on the night, scoring twice and driving in a pair to extend his hitting streak to five. Vincelli-Simard, who added a pair of walks to his home run, also extended his hitting streak to five games while notching his team-best sixth multi-RBI game of the season.
Sacramento State heads to the state of Texas for its first Western Athletic Conference road series of the year, taking on Abilene Christian in a three-game series from March 24-26. The first meeting between the two programs begins Friday at 4:05 p.m., followed by a 1:05 p.m. start on Saturday, and an 11:05 a.m. first pitch on Sunday.
