RUSTON, La. -- Freshman Wehiwa Aloy finished 2-for-3 with a triple and a home run, while outfielders Garet Crenshaw and Griffin Harrison set career highs with two hits apiece, but a big fourth inning by host Louisiana Tech broke open a one-run game and the Bulldogs cruised to a 14-4 midweek win over the Hornets on Tuesday evening.
The loss was the third straight for Sacramento State, which fell to 12-12 overall on the year heading into this weekend's Western Athletic Conference series at Stephen F. Austin. Winning the first meeting between the two teams since they were both conference rivals in 2013, Louisiana Tech improved to 13-12 overall.
Aloy was responsible for the Hornets' first two runs, leading off the fourth with a triple and scoring on Gunner Gouldsmith's ground ball to the right side to make it a one-run game at the time, and launching his fifth home run of the year over the wall in right field in the sixth — the ninth time in the last 10 games that a Sacramento State player has slugged a home run.
In between, the Bulldogs took command of the contest with a seven-run fourth, slugging three home runs in the inning to turn a 2-1 game into a 9-1 advantage after four full innings.
Louisiana Tech added three more in the sixth to go up 10, but Sacramento State staved off the run-rule with a pair in the seventh, loading the bases with two outs and scoring twice on a wild pitch and a hit batter. It didn't last long, however, as the Bulldogs scored twice with one out in the bottom of the eighth to end the game.
Aloy, who collected his team-leading 35th and 36th hits of the year, tied teammate Martin Vincelli-Simard for the team lead with his home run. It was also his team-high 11th multi-hit game of the year and his fourth straight after collecting multiple hits in all three games against conference rival Abilene Christian over the weekend.
Crenshaw added singles in the seventh and eighth innings to collect his second multi-hit game of the year, tying his season high in the hit column set against UC Davis back on March 7. Meanwhile, Harrison notched his fourth and fifth hits of the year with singles in the fifth and eighth innings for his first career multi-hit game. His fifth-inning single was his first hit since doubling home the winning run against San Jose State back on March 18.
Vincelli-Simard and Jaxon Byrd also logged hits on the night for the Hornets.
Right-hander Zach Gagnon (1-1) suffered his first loss of the year, charged with four runs on six hits over three innings of work. Seven different arms saw action on Tuesday night. Starter Reed Smith (1-2) earned the win for the Bulldogs, allowing one run on three hits and striking out five over five innings.
This week's series against Stephen F. Austin begins on Thursday (March 30) at 4:30 p.m. PT, with game two scheduled for Friday (March 31), also at 4:30 p.m. PT. First pitch for the finale is scheduled for Saturday (April 1) at Noon. All three games are scheduled to be streamed live on the ESPN+ platform with links available on the baseball schedule page at HornetSports.com.
