PHOENIX — Senior right-hander Evan Gibbons allowed just one run on three hits over a career-high tying seven innings while junior Matt Masciangelo tied a school single-game record with three of the team's seven doubles, helping the Hornets edge host Grand Canyon, 5-4, in a Western Athletic Conference series opener on Thursday night at Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark.
The win snapped a three-game skid for Sacramento State, which improved to 11-15 overall and 5-5 in WAC play. The Lopes, who had won four of their last six, fell to 13-11 overall and 7-3 in league play.
Gibbons (1-3) was masterful in his seventh start of the year, allowing only a single run in the third on a sacrifice fly while retiring eight in a row at one point. He also had help from his defense behind him, which turned three double plays in the game to erase baserunners in the first, fourth, and fifth innings.
Meanwhile, Masciangelo became the 13th Hornet to finish with three doubles in a game and the first since Ryan Walstad did so at Tarleton on March 14, 2021. Four other Sacramento State hitters added doubles on the night, helping the Hornets to their highest single-game total since they had eight doubles in this same ballpark on May 8, 2022.
Senior Jorge Bojorquez also ended the night 3-for-5 at the plate, finishing a triple short of the cycle thanks to a double and a home run to go along with three RBI, while senior Cesar Valero added a pair of hits, a double, and a run scored.
It was a pitcher's duel to start as neither team was able to break onto the scoreboard until Grand Canyon parlayed a lead-off double and a sacrifice into the first run of the game in the third on an Emilio Barreras sacrifice fly for the 1-0 lead.
The game stayed that way until the sixth when Sacramento State went on a run, scoring in each of the final four innings en route to the win. Junior Elie Kligman drew a one-out walk and scored two pitches later when Bojorquez lined a deep fly ball to left that looked like it hit off the netting that would have resulted in a home run, but was initially ruled to have hit off the wall, putting runners on second and third.
However, after a discussion between the umpires, it was ruled that the ball had indeed gone off the netting above the yellow line for a home run, giving Bojorquez his first of the year and giving Sacramento State a 2-1 lead.
Back-to-back doubles by Masciangelo and JP Smith drove home another in the seventh to make it a two-run game and a double by Jacob Cortez with one-out in the eighth turned into another score as Brett Ott's ground ball to the right side was enough to drive him home for the 4-1 advantage.
Grand Canyon rallied back to score a pair in the eighth against reliever Kade Brown as a one-out single and walk brought pinch hitter Blake Avila to the plate with two outs. Avila worked the count in his favor before lining a double down the right field line, cashing in both runners to make it 4-3.
The Hornets weren't done, however, as three straight two-out singles gave them an important insurance run. Valero reached on an infield single and went to second on Kligman's single to left center. That brought up Bojorquez, who rolled a single up the middle, enough to score Valero and make it 5-3.
The Lopes then made things very interesting in the ninth. A lead-off double turned into a score when a sure ground ball out was thrown away, allowing the run to cross the plate and make it 5-4. After another ground ball to the right side put the tying run in scoring position with two outs, another ground ball was misplayed, but senior Gunner Gouldsmith was in the right place at the right time.
Gouldsmith pounced on the loose ball on the infield grass behind the mound as the GCU runner thought about trying to score after the misplay, but he ended up too far away from the bag to get back safely. Gouldsmith fired to third where Bojorquez retreated and applied the tag for the final out of the game.
Brown notched his fourth save of the year, striking out three over the final two innings.
The Hornets' 13 hits on the night marked the team's ninth double-digit hit total in the team's last 12 games while the eight extra base hits were a season high and the most since they had eight in the 2023 regular season finale against Utah Tech.
Gouldsmith, who entered the night with hits in 18 consecutive games, had his hitting streak snapped but started two of the three double plays on the night for Sacramento State in addition to the heads-up play on the final out of the game.
Game two of the series is scheduled for Friday (March 29) at 6 p.m.
