SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The final series of the regular season returns the Sacramento State baseball team to the Lone Star State as the Hornets face UTRGV in a three-game series this week. The series runs Thursday (May 16) through Saturday (May 18), with first pitch scheduled for 4:30 p.m. PT each day. Please note, Saturday's finale has been pushed back from the originally scheduled start time of 10 am PT due to high temperatures forecast for the Edinburg, Texas, area that day.
PLAY BALL!
WHAT: Sacramento State (25-28, 13-14 WAC) at UTRGV (24-22, 13-14 WAC)
WHEN: Thursday-Saturday, May 16-18, 2024
TIME: 4:30 PM PT each day
WHERE: Edinburg, Texas
STADIUM: UTRGV Baseball Stadium
FOLLOW:
Game 1 - ESPN+ | Live Stats
Game 2 - ESPN+ | Live Stats
Game 3 - ESPN+ | Live Stats
GAME NOTES: Sacramento State | UTRGV | Western Athletic Conference
UNA "MESA" PARA LOS HORNETS
• Thanks to a pair of victories over the weekend, the Hornets secured a berth in this year's WAC Tournament in Mesa, Ariz. -- returning to the league's postseason event for the first time since 2022
• Sacramento State pulled four games ahead of both Seattle U and Utah Tech in the standings with only three to play thanks to the weekend's results
• It will be the program's 14th trip to the WAC Tournament, posting a 28-22 all-time record in the event
• No other active member has more than eight appearances (Seattle U) in the tournament, while the 28 wins are also the most, topping Utah Valley's 12 wins in second
GOULDSMITH EARNS WAC WEEKLY HONORS
• Senior infielder Gunner Gouldsmith was named the WAC Player of the Week for the first time in his career on May 13 after a blistering week at the plate against Nevada and Stephen F. Austin
• Gouldsmith becomes the second Hornet honored by the league office this year, joining Kade Brown's pitcher of the week award on April 22
• The senior shortstop logged hits in all four games for the Hornets last week -- including multiple hits in three of them -- to extend his hitting streak to seven games
• Gouldsmith hit .556 (10-for-18) with four runs scored, a double, a triple, and two home runs, while accounting for 10 RBI atop the Hornet lineup
ABOUT THE VAQUEROS
• UTRGV enters the final week of the regular season with a 24-22 overall record and a 13-14 mark in WAC play, tied with Sacramento State for seventh in the standings
• The Vaqueros travel to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Tuesday (May 14) before hosting the Hornets
• UTRGV is coming off a conference series loss to California Baptist over the weekend, dropping 2-of-3, after winning their previous two series against Stephen F. Austin and Abilene Christian
• This week marks the first home games for the Vaqueros since that series against SFA on April 26-28, playing its last seven games away from home
• Of the team's 24 wins this year, 15 of those have come at home, and the team has split its last 10 home contests at UTRGV Baseball Stadium
• Junior catcher Steven Lancia paces the offense with a .361 average, slugging 12 doubles, three home runs, and driving in 28
• Junior infielder Martin Vazquez provides the power, hitting a team-high 15 home runs and driving in 49 to go along with a .331 average and a 1.046 OPS
• As a team, the Vaqueros are hitting .288 with 50 home runs and outscoring opponents, 310-266
• Senior right-hander Zach Tjelmeland has started 13 games for UTRGV, posting a 5-3 record and a 3.72 ERA over 75 innings, striking out 78 in that span with a .268 average against
• As a staff, UTRGV sports a 5.48 ERA and a .278 average against, striking out 395 in 400.2 innings
SERIES NOTES
• Sacramento State leads the all-time series with UTRGV, 20-10, with all 30 coming since 2014
• Sixteen of the 30 meetings have been played in Sacramento, with five more meetings coming on a neutral field at the WAC Tournament
• Sacramento State is just 5-4 in games played in Edinburg, Texas, but the two teams haven't gone head-to-head in the Lone Star State since 2018 - a run of 15 consecutive games
• The Hornets won that series by winning the first and third games of that weekend
• The Vaqueros took 2-of-3 from Sacramento State in last season's series in Northern California -- the first since 2021 after the previous four meetings came in the conference tournament
• The Hornets' last series win over UTRGV came in 2021 when the Hornets took 3-of-4 at home -- including a pair of extra-inning affairs
• Sacramento State has won six of the eight all-time series between the two programs
MILESTONE IN SIGHT
• Head Coach Reggie Christiansen enters the weekend just two WAC victories shy of 200
• His 198 career conference wins are the most among current WAC head coaches
• Earlier this year, Christiansen picked up his 500th career Division I coaching win with a 7-5 victory over Minnesota on March 1
• In 2023, he earned his 500th overall win as a head coach at New Mexico State on April 30, and earned his 400th win as Sacramento State's head coach against Utah Tech on May 20
• He coached in his 1,000th career game earlier this year against Nevada on March 19 in a 21-9 victory
EARLY BIRDS
• Thanks to their 12-1 win in seven innings to open the series against Stephen F. Austin last weekend, the Hornets improved to 4-0 in games ended early due to the run rule (10-run lead after seven innings)
• Sacramento State also posted an 11-1 win in seven against California Baptist on April 7, an eight-inning 14-2 win on April 12 at Seattle U, and a 13-2 seven-inning win at UT Arlington on May 3
• However, the Hornets are 0-2 in extra-inning games this year, falling to LMU in 11 innings on Feb. 16 and a 14-inning, 4-3, heartbreaker against Tarleton State on April 26
CROOKED NUMBERS
• A four-run sixth inning in the opener and an eight-run first inning in the finale against Stephen F. Austin over the weekend marked the 20th and 21st times over 17 games this season that the Hornets have scored four-or-more runs in a single inning
• Sacramento State improved to 14-3 in those games following a loss to Nevada on May 7, but had won 11 straight such contests after 12-10 loss in the second game of the year against Loyola Marymount
FROM START TO FINISH
• Thanks to their win over Stephen F. Austin last Friday, the Hornets have now won four of their last five weekend openers
• Sacramento State is a solid 9-4 on Friday nights this season and has also finished well, posting an 8-5 record in series finales
• The Hornets, however, have stuggled in game twos this year, posting just a 3-10 record
• Sacramento State is hitting a season-high .289 and outscoring opponents 88-42 in the first game of the weekend, while the pitching staff has posted a 2.79 ERA and a .198 average against
• The Hornets have outscored opponents 86-79 in finales while slugging 45 extra-base hits (the most of any day of the weekend)
BETCHA CAN'T HIT JUST ONE
• Senior Gunner Gouldsmith is collecting hits in bunches for the Hornets as of late, collecting his team-high 19th and 20th multi-hit games of the year over the weekend against Stephen F. Austin
• A 1-for-5 performance in the opener against the Lumberjacks snapped a run of four-straight multi-hit games for Gouldsmith
• He quickly returned to form, however, and now has six multi-hit games in his last seven contests
• During his current seven-game hitting streak, Gouldsmith is batting .548 (17-for-31) with five runs scored and 12 RBI.
GOOD AS GOLD? NO, "GOULD" IS GOOD
• Gouldsmith has hit safely in 19 of his last 21 games, batting .359 (33-for-92) with 14 runs, 12 walks, and 22 RBI to go along with seven doubles and three home runs
• Gouldsmith has gone without a hit in a game only eight times with a team-high 20 multi-hit contests
• He has also driven in a run in 10 of his last 14 games atop the Hornets' lineup, including a career high-tying four RBI -- a mark that was set in the first meeting with Nevada earlier this year -- against both the Wolf Pack and Stephen F. Austin last week
• His 75 hits this season rank second in the WAC entering the week -- just four off the lead -- and are nearly double his personal single-season career high (previously 38 in 2023)
• His 18-game hitting streak from Feb. 27 - March 26 is tied for the seventh-longest recorded streak in school history along with Derek Brown (1994) and Blake Crosby (2009)
SMITH ALSO STREAKING
• Joining Gouldsmith with a seven-game hitting streak is sophomore JP Smith, who enters the week with hits in each of his last seven contests
• Smith is batting .407 (11-for-27) with nine runs scored and six RBI, slugging a pair of doubles and four home runs while walking seven times
• The Sacramento native has drawn at least one walk in each of his last five, including a pair in each of the final two games against Stephen F. Austin
CRUSHING IT
• Smith inched closer to history in game two against the Lumberjacks last weekend, slugging his 20th home run of the season and the 34th of his career
• Those totals rank second on both the school's single-season and career lists
• He becomes only the second Hornet to hit 20-or-more home runs in a single season, joining Harvey Hargrove and his record 26 home runs in 1997
• Meanwhile, his 34 career blasts are one shy of Hargrove (1995-97) and Martin Vincelli-Simard (2019-23) for the most in school history
• Should Smith end the year atop the WAC leaderboard for home runs (he is currently second, just two off the lead of California Baptist's Mitch Simon), 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)
HOMER HAPPY HORNETS
• Sacramento State has slugged a home run in each of its last five games -- and six of its last seven -- collecting nine of its 52 home runs over the last two weeks
• The Hornets hit two home runs in the first and third games at UT Arlington, as well as the opener against Stephen F. Austin, giving them 13 multi-homer games this year
• With 52 home runs on the year, Sacramento State ranks fourth in the WAC entering the week
EXTRA, EXTRA!
• Sacramento State has collected an extra base hit in all but five games this season
• The team's 151 combined extra-base hits are fourth in the WAC behind Utah Valley (211), California Baptist (199), and Grand Canyon (176) entering the week
• The Hornets rank eighth in doubles (84), fifth in home runs (48) and third with eight triples
CUBBY CAUGHT 'EM
• Sophomore catcher Jacob Cortez threw out a pair of runners in game two of the series against Stephen F. Austin, giving him 11 on the season
• The 11 would-be base stealers cut down by Cortez rank tied for seventh among WAC catchers
• His total this year is also the highest since Dawsen Bacho threw out 11 during the 2021 campaign
• A 12th this season for Cortez would be the highest total for a Hornet catcher since Gunner Pollman erased 29 would-be base stealers in 2016
MATT STANDS ALONE
• After being hit by a pitch in three of the team's four games last week, junior Matt Masciangelo continues to extend his school single-season record for being hit by a pitch with 26
• With at least three games remaining this year, Masciangelo stands just two HBPs shy of breaking into the school's all-time top 10, closing in on current teammate Jorge Bojorquez, who stands 10th with 28
• His 26 HBPs rank tied for third in the nation behind JT Landwehr of Mount St. Mary's (33)
• Masciangelo enters the week leading the WAC, standing seven ahead of Utah Valley's Luke Iverson
• Masciangelo had quite a debut in the green and gold, 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 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
BASES FOR BOJO
• Senior Jorge Bojorquez has a lengthy streak of reaching base, doing so in each of his last 18 contests over the last month of play
• In that span, he has hit safely in 13 of those, including a pair of three-hit performances and a career high-tying four-hit game in the opener at UT Arlington two weeks ago
• The senior is hitting .333 (22-for-66), scoring 19 runs and driving in 10 while walking 11 times
MOVIN' ON UP
• After setting the school record for runs scored during the team's trip to Southern California -- now up to 158 -- Bojorquez has his sights set on moving up a couple more lists
• With two walks last weekend, Bojorquez now has 108 free passes to his name, standing second on the all-time list behind only former teammate Keith Torres (140 from 2018-22)
• He is one of only four Hornets to reach 100 walks in his career, when you add Will Fitzpatrick (103 from 1990-93) and Kenny Smallcomb (105 from 1981-82) to the list
• Bojorquez's 223 career hits now have him eighth on the all-time list, trailing David Flores (226 from 2005-08) for seventh
• He is also 10th in career hit by pitches (28), ninth in games started (203), and 8th in career at-bats (779)
YOU COMPLETE ME
• As if the first one wasn't good enough, last Friday's win over Stephen F. Austin was even better for senior right-hander Evan Gibbons
• Gibbons pitched his second straight complete game against the Lumberjacks, becoming the first Hornet to go back-to-back since 2021
• Prior to Gibbons' performances, the last Sacramento State pitchers to throw multiple complete games in a single season were Scott Randall and Travis Adams in 2021
• Randall was the last to do so in back-to-back starts against Tarleton State on March 12, 2021, and Utah Valley on March 19, 2021.
• Over his last two starts, the Elk Grove, Calif., native has allowed only two earned runs on four hits, striking out eight and working around five walks, while the offense has backed his efforts by outscoring the opposition, 25-3
• In those two starts, Gibbons has held opposing hitters to an .089 (4-for-45) average
QUALITY YOU CAN COUNT ON
• Gibbons' complete game against SFA marked his seventh-straight "quality start," allowing two runs or fewer in each of those outings, and his eighth overall in 13 starts
• The eight "quality starts" are the most in a single season by a Hornet hurler since Eli Saul had eight during the 2022 campaign
• He has gone at least five innings nine times this season, including a career-high eight innings against California Baptist on April 5
• In his last seven starts, Gibbons has posted a 1.86 ERA while holding opponents to a .156 (25-for-160) average over 48.1 innings of work, allowing just 10 earned and striking out 28 against 10 walks
• Gibbons is also 5-1 in that stretch, while lowering his ERA by more than three runs to 3.67 on the year
SAVING FACE
• Freshman Kade Brown picked up his eighth save of the season in a thrilling finish to the finale against Stephen F. Austin, allowing a hit, walking two, and striking out five over two innings
• Brown's eight saves lead the WAC and rank No. 20 in the NCAA entering the week
• They are also the most by a Hornet freshman since Sutter McLoughlin set the school single-season record with 17 in 2013
• With the save against SFA, Brown moved into a tie for 10th on the school's single-season chart along with Trevor Rodgers (1990), Mitch Lively (2007), and R.J. Davis (2012)
• A ninth save this year would also place him in a tie for 10th on the school's career list
WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?
• Brown enters the weekend leading the WAC with a .178 average against in addition to his league-high save total
• He is tied for ninth in the WAC in appearances (21) while his 54 strikeouts are among the top 12 in the league
• Brown has allowed only 24 hits in 37.1 innings of work, good for the fifth-fewest in the WAC, while his 5.79 hits allowed per game lead the league
• His 13.02 strikeouts per game are good for second in the league
"MAX"-ED OUT
• When senior left-hander Max Pettey entered game two of the series against Stephen F. Austin, the Rocklin, Calif., native also entered his name into the Hornet record books
• The appearance was the 74th of his career, moving him past Austin Root (2015-18) and into 10th on the school's all-time list
THE ROAD IS WHERE THE RUNS ARE
• Although the Hornets have played 10 more games at John Smith Field than away from it this season, the road is where the team's bats have been the strongest
• Sacramento State is hitting .287 as a team in 21 games away from home, averaging 6.2 runs per game while slugging .443 and posting a .372 on-base percentage
• Meanwhile, at home, the Hornets are batting just .248 in 31 games, averaging 5.97 runs per game and slugging .387 with a .360 on-base percentage
• In their last 12 road contests, the Hornets have scored eight-or-more runs seven times, while doing so only three times in their previous 12 home contests
PITCHER'S PARK
• However, on the flip side of the above note, the Hornet pitching staff has enjoyed the comforts of home this year
• Sacramento State's staff sports a 5.01 ERA and a .260 average against in 31 home contests, posting 286 of the team's 432 strikeouts
• On the road, the Hornet pitchers have a 5.15 ERA and a .279 average against in 21 games, striking out just 137 hitters
FACING "STAFF" COMPETITION
• No other pitching staff in the WAC has thrown more innings that the Hornets (467.2), who enter the week ranked among the top three in the league in ERA (3rd - 5.02), opposing batting average (3rd - .266), strikeouts (3rd - 432), fewest walks allowed (168), fewest walks allowed per game (2nd - 3.23), fewest hits allowed per game (2nd - 9.24), and fewest runs allowed per game (3rd - 5.54)
STRIKE THAT
• The Hornets' pitching staff enters the weekend ranked third in the WAC in total strikeouts (432) and fourth in strikeouts per nine innings (8.31)
• Sacramento State's staff ranks 21st in the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.57)
• The 432 strikeouts by the staff this year rank fifth on the school's single season list -- only 24 back of the 2018 team for fourth and 32 behind last year's total (464) -- while the 8.31 strikeouts per nine innings would stand fourth on the single-season chart
