SACRAMENTO — Sophomore JP Smith slugged a pair of home runs and the Sacramento State offense combined for four total round-trippers on the night, powering the Hornets to a come-from-behind 8-6 victory over the Bulldogs on Wednesday evening at John Smith Field.
Sacramento State won its second straight, improving to 2-2 overall on the year, while Fresno State suffered its first loss of the year, falling to 3-1.
Smith, who slugged his first home run of the season in the series finale against Loyola Marymount on Sunday, collected his third career multi-homer game and his first since slugging a pair against Utah Tech on May 20 of last season.
Trailing by a pair entering the home half of the sixth, Smith's first blast of the night was part of a back-to-back-to-back power display as senior Cesar Valero and junior Tyler White followed with their firsts of the season, staking the Hornets to a 5-4 lead they would not relinquish.
It marked the first time that Sacramento State had hit three straight home runs since May 3, 2007, against New Mexico State when Tim Wheeler, Gabe Jacobo, and current assistant coach
David Flores accomplished the feat.
Jose Ruiz added an RBI single later in the inning for a two-run cushion before Smith tacked on two more runs with his second home run of the night — a blast over the wall in left centerfield that proved to be the difference.
Fresno State rallied for two in the eighth, scoring on a wild pitch and getting an RBI single by Rocco Peppi to make it an 8-6 ballgame. Freshman
Kade Brown came on to shut the door for the Hornets, getting the final out of the eighth and inducing a double play following a walk to start the ninth before striking out Eddie Saldivar to end the game.
Brown picked up his first career save in his third appearance of the season, while
Max Pettey (1-0) earned the win in relief, striking out a pair in 1.1 perfect innings. Zach Statzer (0-1) suffered the loss, allowing four runs on three hits in only one-third of an inning.
After the Bulldogs broke onto the scoreboard with a run in the first, the Hornets answered with two scores in the second as
Ryan Christiansen drove home Ruiz to tie the game and Smith followed with an RBI single to left center for the 2-1 advantage.
Fresno State answered with one in the fourth on a Tommy Hopfe home run to tie the game and regained the lead with two in the top of the sixth on a Grady Morgan double down the right field line, scoring a pair for the 4-2 lead and setting the stage for Sacramento State's power display.
Smith tied his career high with his second straight three-hit game, finishing with four RBI, while Ruiz finished with two hits. Saldivar was 3-for-5 with three runs scored while Hopfe finished 2-for-3 with three runs scored for the Bulldogs, who also got a two-hit night from Morgan.
Originally scheduled to travel to Fresno, Calif., for this weekend's three-game series against UC Santa Barbara, Sacramento State will now host the Gauchos for all three games at John Smith Field. Game times are scheduled for 2 p.m. on Friday (Feb. 23), 6 p.m. on Saturday (Feb. 24), and 1 p.m. on Sunday (Feb. 25).
Any updates to the schedule will be posted online at HornetSports.com and on the Sacramento State baseball team's social media channels as they become available.
