SACRAMENTO — Sophomore JP Smith and junior Tyler White each collected three hits on the day and the Hornet staff combined to hold visiting San Francisco to a single run on six hits Monday night, helping lift Sacramento State to a 7-1 victory over the Dons at John Smith Field.
The Hornets improved to 12-17 overall with the win, winning the third straight meeting with San Francisco at home and the fifth in the last six meetings at John Smith Field. USF fell to 15-14 overall with the win.
Smith tied his career high with his three hits on Monday — the 12th time in his career he has had three hits in a game. White, playing in his first game in nearly a month, set a new Sacramento State career high with his three hits on Monday, scoring twice and driving in a run.
Five other Hornets finished with hits on the night as Sacramento State posted double digits in that category for the 11th time in 15 games.
Sophomore Xavier Richards (2-0) was credited with the win, throwing three innings while scattering just two hits and striking out four. He faced just one over the minimum and retired the final five batters he faced. Senior Jasper Nelson went two innings in his first start of the year, striking out a pair.
Cal Amborn (0-1) suffered the loss, allowing three runs on seven hits over two innings of relief.
Sacramento State loaded the bases on a single, a walk, and a hit batter for Elie Kligman, who also drew a walk to drive home run and give the Hornets the early lead.
A ground ball to the right side drove home the tying run for the Dons in the third before the Hornets opened the floodgates with six unanswered runs to pull away.
A single by Cesar Valero — the third of three straight hits — scored Gunner Gouldsmith with the tie-breaking run and Sacramento State plated a pair in the fourth on back-to-back RBI singles from Gouldsmith and Smith for the 4-1 advantage.
The Hornets then pulled away in the fifth with three more scores en route to the final score. Kligman led-off with a single and moved all the way to the third on a double by Jorge Bojorquez. After a strikeout, Kligman came home on a ground ball against a drawn-in infield that was thrown wide to the plate and another run scored when a pickoff caught Brett Ott between first and second, but the ball was thrown into centerfield, allowing Bojorquez to score for the 6-1 lead.
White then capped the scoring with a single to centerfield, scoring Ott from third after a wild pitch for the final tally.
Sacramento State makes the trip up the hill to take on Nevada for a second time this season on Tuesday (April 2) at 6:05 p.m. in Reno, Nev. The Hornets won the first meeting between the two by a 21-9 score at John Smith Field back on March 19.
