FRESNO, Calif. -- Junior Carson Blatnick finished 2-for-4 while teammates Cesar Valero and Jeffery Heard both left the yard on Tuesday as Sacramento State scored five late runs, but could not complete the comeback, falling to host Fresno State by a 9-6 score at Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium.
The loss moved the Hornets to 23-22 overall on the year, splitting the two-game regular season series with the 'Dogs and moving to 8-3 in midweek contests. Meanwhile, Fresno State evened its record at 22-22 overall with the win, snapping a three-game losing streak.
Blatnick's two hits tied a career high that was last accomplished at UC Davis back on April 11, while five other Sacramento State batters finished with hits. Two of those hits left the yard as Valero in the sixth and Heard in the eighth both cranked their eighth home runs of the season.
The two blasts give the Hornets 70 on the year — becoming only the fourth team since 1979 to reach that number and ranking fourth on the all-time single-season list, just one behind the 1994 squad for third and 13 back of the 1998 team for the all-time record.
Fresno State threatened to run away with the game early, scoring twice in the second and three more times in the third before a sacrifice fly by Valero in the fourth plated JP Smith to get Sacramento State on the board. Smith was on the bases courtesy of a double, extending his hitting streak to 11 games in the process.
The Hornets continued to claw their way back on Valero's solo shot in the sixth, but the Bulldogs answered with a blast of their own as Tommy Hopfe slammed a three-run home run to right for the 8-2 advantage.
Griffin Harrison got one back in the seventh, plating Garet Crenshaw (who doubled) with a sacrifice fly, and then got even closer in the eighth as Martin Vincelli-Simard and Valero each drew walks to bring up Heard with two outs. The sophomore battled through eight pitches before sending the ninth over the wall in right to make it a two-run game.
Fresno State added another run in the home half and hung on for the win, working around a lead-off single by Blatnick in the ninth with a pair of strikeouts and a fly ball to end the game.
The Hornets wrap-up the week with a three-game series at home this weekend against Western Athletic Conference rival UT Rio Grande Valley, playing their first home games at John Smith Field since mid-April. First pitch for the opener on Friday (May 5) is scheduled for 6 p.m., followed by a 2 p.m. start on Saturday (May 6) and Noon on Sunday (May 7).
