EUGENE, Ore. — Picking up where it left off in an 11-run performance on Sunday against California Baptist, the Sacramento State baseball team powered its way past nationally ranked Oregon on Tuesday, collecting a season-high 19 hits en route to a 15-8 victory over the No. 17 Ducks at PK Park in Eugene, Ore.
The win improved the Hornets to 15-19 overall as they picked up their second victory over a ranked opponent this season after defeating then-No. 22 UC Santa Barbara back on Feb. 23. Oregon fell to 22-9 overall with the loss, suffering only its second defeat in its last nine contests.
Sacramento State's 15-run outburst is the second-highest run total for the Hornets this season, trailing only the 21 runs scored in a win over Nevada back on March 19 at John Smith Field. It marked the seventh time this year that they scored 10-or-more runs in a game, improving to 6-1 in those games.
Sacramento State also collected a season-high 19 hits on the night, surpassing the previous high of 17 in that same win over the Wolf Pack and the most since the Hornets had 22 against Pacific on May 16 of last season.
Eight of the nine Sacramento State starters finished with at least one hit, with seven of those eight batters finishing with multiple hits on the night. Freshman Cameron Sewell, a native of Medford, Ore., which is just a three-hour drive south of Eugene, led the way with a career-high 4-for-6 night at the plate with two doubles and a pair of runs scored.
Seniors Cesar Valero and Jorge Bojorquez added three hits apiece, while Gunner Gouldsmith, Tyler White, JP Smith, and Ryan Christiansen all added two hits. The three hits for Bojorquez were career hits No. 199, 200, and 201, making him only the 15th recorded player in school history to reach the 200-hit plateau.
Meanwhile, Christiansen's two hits both left the yard over the right field fence for his first collegiate home runs, driving in a career-high four runs on the night and logging the sixth multi-homer game by a Hornet this season. White also extended his hitting streak to six games on Tuesday, collecting multiple hits in five of those contests. He is batting .480 (12-for-25) with nine runs scored, four walks, and three RBI in that stretch.
Junior left-hander Noah Lucchesi (2-1) was credited with the win in relief, allowing an earned run on three hits over two innings of work. Junior Andrew Monson pitched a scoreless 1.2 innings while striking out four, while both Max Pettey and Kade Brown struck out four apiece to finish out the night.
Sacramento State wasted little time in jumping all over Ducks starter Michael Freund (3-1), using six straight hits to plate the first five runs of the day with one out in the first. An RBI single by Smith plated White for the 1-0 lead and was followed quickly by Valero, who worked the count in his favor before doubling to the gap in left centerfield to make it 2-0.
Bojorquez followed with a two-run double, Sewell added another two-bagger for a run, and Christiansen slugged his first home run of the night — a two-run shot — for the 7-0 lead.
Oregon clawed back with four runs in the second to make it a game again, but the sustained offense of the Hornets kept them just out of reach the entire night. An RBI single by Gouldsmith in the third got one of the runs back and Sacramento State answered Ducks runs in the third and fourth with a three-run fifth to make it 11-6.
With runners on first and second, an error on a sacrifice attempt by Jacob Cortez allowed Bojorquez to slide into third safely and then score when the ball got away. Another error later in the inning allowed two more runs to come across as Gouldsmith's ball to the right side deflected off a Duck defender and into the dugout.
Christiansen added on with his second home run to right field in the seventh — another two-run shot — to make it 13-6 before Oregon answered with a two-run home run of its own in the eighth to close the gap back to five runs.
However, the Hornets put the game away with a pair in the ninth on a triple to centerfield by White and a wild pitch for the final 15-8 score.
Sacramento State will look to sweep the two-game midweek series in the finale on Wednesday (April 10). First pitch is scheduled for 5:05 p.m.
