SACRAMENTO — Western Athletic Conference play resumes with a three-game series in the "Valley of the Sun" this week as the Sacramento State baseball team travels to Phoenix to take on Grand Canyon. Due to the Easter holiday, this week's series begins a day earlier than usual, opening on Thursday (March 28) and running through Saturday (March 30). First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. for the first two games, with a Noon start for the finale.

PLAY BALL!
WHAT: Sacramento State (10-15, 4-5 WAC) at Grand Canyon (13-10, 7-2 WAC)
WHEN: Thurs.-Sat., March 28-30, 2024
TIME: 6 PM / 6 PM / Noon
WHERE: Phoenix, Ariz.
STADIUM: Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark
FOLLOW:
Game 1 - ESPN+ | Live Stats
Game 2 - ESPN+ | Live Stats
Game 3 - ESPN+ | Live Stats

GAME NOTES: Sacramento State | Grand Canyon | Western Athletic Conference

PROBABLE STARTERS:
THURSDAY: RHP Evan Gibbons (0-3, 7.11 ERA) vs. RHP Carter Young (3-1, 4.76 ERA)
FRIDAY: RHP Tyler Stewart (2-1, 4.06 ERA) vs. RHP Connor Mattison (3-1, 3.67 ERA)
SATURDAY: TBA vs. RHP Issac Lyon (2-0, 4.43 ERA)

ABOUT THE LOPES
• Grand Canyon enters the week with a 13-10 overall record and a 7-2 mark in WAC play for second in the standings
• The Lopes took 2-of-3 from UTRGV over the weekend on the road, including a 17-0 win in eight innings in the series finale
• GCU has won all three of its previous WAC series, taking 2-of-3 from Tarleton and sweeping Stephen F. Austin
• The Lopes are 5-6 at home this season, winning two straight
• Senior outfielder Cade Verdusco is batting a team-high .377, leading a group of six regulars hitting better than .300 on the year
• Junior infielder Beau Ankeney leads the team with nine home runs, while senior Tyler Wilson sports a team-high 25 RBI
• As a team, GCU is hitting .302 with an .849 OPS, outscoring opponents, 154-126
• The Lopes have gone with the weekend rotation of RHP Daniel Avitia (2-3, 5.40 ERA), RHP Connor Mattison (3-1, 3.67 ERA), and RHP Carter Young (3-1, 4.76 ERA)
• As a staff, Grand Canyon sports a 4.82 ERA with a .278 average against, striking out 234 in 201.2 innings

SERIES NOTES
• The series between Sacramento State and Grand Canyon is tied at 22 wins apiece dating back to 1991
• The Hornets are 6-9 on the road against the Lopes, having lost the last two
• Grand Canyon took 2-of-3 from Sacramento State in the last series played in Arizona in 2022, with the Hornets winning the opener, 8-5
• Prior to that, the last series between the two in Phoenix was in 2018, with the Lopes winning 2-of-3
• Grand Canyon has won 10 of the last 14 games dating back to a four-game Sacramento State winning streak in 2019, which included a pair of wins at the WAC Tournament

EIGHT(EEN) IS GREAT(EEN)
• Senior Gunner Gouldsmith extended his hitting streak to 18 games two pitches into the game at UC Davis
• It is the longest hitting streak by a Hornet since Nathan Lukes hit in 20 straight from March 21-April 21, 2014
• The 18-game run by the Reno, Nev., native is tied for the seventh-longest recorded streak in school history along with Derek Brown (1994) and Blake Crosby (2009)
• There have been only six recorded streaks of 20-or-more games in school history with Jesse Schmidt holding the record of 24 games (March 11 to April 22, 2003)
• During his run, Gouldsmith is batting .364 (28-for-77) at the top of the lineup, scoring 12 runs, driving in 13 more, and drawing eight of his nine walks on the year
• Gouldsmith has at least one hit in every game but two this year after opening the season with hits in each of the first five contests

TOP GUN-NER
• Gouldsmith's streak has him climbing in a couple of categories on the WAC leaderboards standing No. 13 in the league in average (.324), tied for second in hits (35), and tied for fifth in hits per game (1.40)

HORNETS HITTING IN BUNCHES
• Sacramento State's three home runs in the series opener against Abilene Christian last weekend marked the sixth time this year that the Hornets have hit multiple home runs in a single game
• The 10 hits on Tuesday at UC Davis also marked the eighth time in the last 10 games that Sacramento State has finished with double-digit hits in that category after doing so only three times in the previous 14 games

SWIPER, NO SWIPING
• The Hornets' six stolen bases in the series opener with the Wildcats gave them 16 overall on the year -- just four shy of last year's combined season total (20-for-30)
• The six steals were also the most since they had six against Pacific on Feb. 23, 2019

OH SO CLOSE
• One play or one hit goes the Hornets' way as of late and their record would look drastically different as five of the team's last seven losses have been by two runs or fewer -- four of those by a single run
• Sacramento State has had six games decided by one run, while nine have been by two runs or fewer

EXTRA, EXTRA!
• Thanks to a pair of doubles on Tuesday at UC Davis, the Hornets have collected an extra base hit in all but two games this year
• Sacramento State's 67 combined extra-base hits ranks fifth in the WAC behind Utah Valley (104), California Baptist (95), Grand Canyon (72), and Stephen F. Austin (70)

SMITH SMASHING
• Sophomore JP Smith slugged two more home runs in the series opener against Abilene Christian on March 22, collecting his 12th and 13th of the year
• It also marked his fourth multi-homer game of the season and the sixth of his career
• The 13 home runs are one shy of his total for all of last season, which were tied for 10th on the single-season chart and shared the single-season record for home runs by a freshman in the program's Division I history
• His 27 career home runs are tied for eighth along with Vinny Esposito (2015-18) and Tim Wheeler (2007-09)
• Aside from leading the WAC, Smith's 13 home runs have him ranked tied for sixth in the NCAA, trailing national leader Charlie Condon of Georgia, who has 17
• Smith one of 49 players in the nation with double-digit home runs and one of only 13 underclassmen
• Should Smith end the year atop the WAC leaderboard for home runs, he would become only the third Hornet to lead the league, joining a pair of Major Leaguers: Rhys Hoskins (12 in 2014) and James Outman (11 in 2018)
• 14 of his 27 hits this year have gone for extra bases
• Smith enters the weekend leading the WAC with a .698 slugging percentage while ranking in the top 10 in runs (7th - 21), RBI (2nd - 27), and total bases (2nd - 67)

WE HAVE COME TO PRAISE CESAR
• Senior Cesar Valero has collected hits in nine of his last 11 games, including slugging four of his five home runs on the year in that stretch
• His solo home run against Abilene Christian on March 22 marked the 28th of his career, breaking a tie for seventh on the all-time list
• Valero now stands just one back of Gabe Jacobo (2006-08) for sixth and seven shy of the career record of 35 shared by Harvey Hargrove (1995-97) and Martin Vincelli-Simard (2019-23)

MASCIANGEL-OW!
• Junior Matt Masciangelo has been plunked by a pitch a total of 16 times this season
• His total is tied for the NCAA lead entering the weekend with three other players
• He stands tied for seventh on the school's single-season list with David Del Grande (2012) and stands three shy of the school record shared by Buddy Morales (2006), Carlos Morales (2000) and Dan Vetter (1995)
• Aside from leading the WAC in the category (Abilene Christian's Maddox Miesse is second with 11), Masciangelo enters the weekend standing second the WAC with a .485 on-base percentage
• He has reached base safely in 21 of his 22 starts
• Masciangelo had quite a debut in the green and gold after being hit by a pitch in eight of his first nine plate appearances during the Hornets' opening weekend
• He was hit three times in the opener against LMU, four more times in game two, and was plunked in his first appearance in the series finale
• His four HBP's in game two set a program Division I single-game record
• The performance gained national attention with the video of his first seven HBPs garnering close to 10 million views on social media

BOJORQUEZ GOES RECORD HUNTING
• Senior Jorge Bojorquez scored his 130th career run in game two at Utah Tech on March 16, moving him into a tie for eighth alongside Scotty Burcham (2012-15)
• His two walks on Tuesday at UC Davis gave him 92 for his career, moving him past Dawsen Bacho (2017-22) and Derrick Chung (2008-12) into fifth place on the all-time list and just seven back of Andy Braio (1960-62) for fourth on the chart
• He enters this week's series just 11 hits shy of 200 for his career and needs 22 more hits this year to move into the all-time top 10

PATIENCE, GRASSHOPPER
• The Hornet hitters have been very patient at the plate this season, drawing at least one walk in all 25 games
• That streak grows to 51 consecutive games with at least one walk dating back to a walk-less game two against Utah Valley on April 7, 2023
• Sacramento State drew a season-high 10 walks against Nevada pitchers in a 21-9 win on March 19
• The 10 walks were the most in a game since the Hornets drew 11 against Menlo College on April 3, 2023

THE 'PEN IS MIGHTIER
• Over the team's last four games, the Hornets' bullpen has been nothing short of stellar
• Sacramento State relievers have posted a 1.90 ERA and a .202 average against over their last 23.2 innings, allowing just five earned runs on 17 hits, while striking out 28 against only seven walks

"X" GONNA GIVE IT TO YA
• Sophomore right-hander Xavier Richards has been a big part of the bullpen's success as of late, allowing just three runs on 15 hits -- only four of those for extra bases -- over his last 15.1 innings (nine appearances) while striking out 19 against three walks
• Richards has posted a 1.76 ERA in that stretch while holding opposing batters to a .254 (15-for-59) average
• In the process, Richards has lowered his ERA by nearly 14 points down to 4.42 on the year 
• His 13 appearances this year lead the WAC and rank tied for 24th in the NCAA, just three off the national lead

QUALITY YOU CAN COUNT ON
• Junior right-hander Tyler Stewart posted his second "quality start" of the year in the opener against Abilene Christian, shutting out the Wildcats over the first five innings and finishing allowing just one run on three hits

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?
• Freshman Kade Brown enters the weekend with a WAC-low .113 average against, while his three saves are tied for second in the league
• He has allowed only seven hits in 18.2 innings, ranking third in the WAC in fewest hits allowed
• His 25 strikeouts rank second on the team while his 12.05 strikeouts per nine innings is fourth in the league
• He is coming off a stellar showing in the finale against Abilene Christian, setting career highs in innings (4.0) and strikeouts (6), while allowing just two hits

HANGING WITH MR. COOPER
• Right-hander Cooper Rons, who leads the team with three wins, has allowed only three earned over his last 15 innings (eight appearances) for a 1.80 ERA, scattering 14 hits and striking out 20 in that span
• Opponents are batting just .246 (14-for-57) against him in that stretch
• Overall, his 2.60 ERA is 13th in the WAC entering this week's series while his five earned runs allowed are tied for the ninth fewest in the league
• Rons, who ranks fourth on the team with 22 strikeouts, ranks sixth in the WAC with 11.42 strikeouts per game

TAKE A WALK... TO THE DUGOUT
• This week pits two of the top pitching staffs against one another when it comes to strikeouts: Grand Canyon is second (234) with the Hornets third (223)
• Sacramento State also ranks third in the fewest walks by a staff with 85, with Grand Canyon second at 81
• The Hornets are No. 20 in the nation and No. 2 in the WAC with 3.44 walks per nine innings
• Sacramento State also ranks No. 27 in the nation with a 2.62 strikeout-to-walk ratio behind only GCU, which is tied for 15th (2.89)
• Junior Noah Lucchesi is tied for fourth in the league in fewest walks allowed with three, while Richards is tied for ninth with four