STANFORD, Calif. -- The Sacramento State offense scored early and often against No. 9 Stanford, then got some clutch performances from its bullpen to hold off a late rally, out-scoring the Cardinal by a 15-13 score in a wild midweek victory on Tuesday night at Klein Field at Sunken Diamond in Stanford, Calif.
Opening a season-long run of nine consecutive games away from home, the Hornets improved to 19-18 overall with the victory, winning their second straight in the series with Stanford when you include a 3-2 win at home back in 2021. The Cardinal fell to 23-11 overall with the loss.
Sacramento State's 15 runs were the most its has scored in the history of the series and the most by either team in the series since 2004 (a 15-1 Stanford win). They are tied for the second-most runs by either team in the history of the series, trailing only the 18 runs scored by the Cardinal in a win back in 1997.
Tuesday night also marked the Hornets' second-highest run total of the season (17 at Stephen F. Austin on April 1) and the team's eighth game of 10-or-more runs, while the 13 hits marked the team's 14th contest with double-digit hits.
Eight of the nine Sacramento State starters finished with hits on the night, with JP Smith, Jeffery Heard, Josh Rolling, and Jacob Cortez collecting two hits apiece. Smith (his eighth) and Heard (his sixth) both slugged home runs and combined for eight RBI, while Smith's blast went for a grand slam as part of a seven-run second inning — his second grand slam of the year and the team's third overall.
Smith's two grand slams this season make him the first Hornet to hit two in the same year since Andrew Ayers did so against Nevada on April 30, 2013, and UT Arlington on May 16, 2013.
Martin Vincelli-Simard also drove in three runs with a two-run single and a bases-loaded hit by pitch, while Wehiwa Aloy added an RBI single as part of the Hornets' offensive outburst.
With two runners in scoring position, Heard opened the scoring with a two-run double to right centerfield to get his team on the board and Sacramento State answered a Stanford run in the home half with a huge seven-run second inning — it's second-highest single-inning run total of the year — to take control.
A single by Carson Blatnick, a double by Rolling, and a one-out walk to Jorge Bojorquez loaded the bases for Aloy, who sliced a single to right for a 3-1 advantage. After Vincelli-Simard with hit by a pitch to drive home a fourth run, Smith unloaded the bases with one swing, lofting a 2-1 pitch over the wall in left for an 8-1 lead.
Heard followed two pitches later with a home run of his own for the 9-1 lead and it looked as if the rout was on.
The Cardinal scored a single run in the third, but the Hornets came right back with two more runs in the fourth as a misplay in the outfield allowed both Cortez and Bojorquez to score for a 15-2 advantage.
That would be it for the Sacramento State offense for the night, but Stanford wasn't done, scoring 11 unanswered runs over the next four innings to make it a two-run game heading to the eighth. Kevin Haynes, who induced a double play to end the seventh, produced the Hornets' first 1-2-3 inning in the eighth on three ground balls.
He gave way to closer Jack Zalasky in the ninth, who got another groundout and struck out the final two batters of the ninth to lock down his eighth save of the year.
Freshman Benjy Tucker (1-0) was credited with his first collegiate victory on a designated staff night, allowing one run on two hits and striking out a batter over 1.2 innings of work. Braden Montgomery (1-2), one of the top two-way players in the nation, was stuck with the loss, allowing six runs on five hits over the first 1.1 innings.
The 53 home runs as a team in 37 games this season are two shy of last year's total, while the two home runs tonight marked the fourth straight contest with a home run for the Hornets and the 12th multi-homer game of the season for Sacramento State.
Western Athletic Conference play resumes for the Hornets this weekend in the Pacific Northwest as they take on SeattleU in a three-game series on April 21-23 at Bannerwood Baseball Park in Bellevue, Wash. Friday's opener is scheduled for 4 p.m., followed by a 2 p.m. start on Saturday, and a Noon first pitch on Sunday.
