ARLINGTON, Texas — Down to its final three outs, the Sacramento State baseball team found a way in the ninth inning on Saturday afternoon in Arlington, Texas, as Matt Masciangelo's two-run double erased a one-run deficit and Gunner Gouldsmith tacked on an insurance score with a double of his own, helping lift the Hornets to a 7-5 victory and a series win over UT Arlington.
The win pushed Sacramento State to 23-26 overall and 11-13 in Western Athletic Conference play, while the Mavericks fell to 19-29 overall and 13-11 in league.
Freshman Kade Brown (3-3) got the final four outs on the mound to pick up the win, setting the UTA lineup down in order in the ninth with a fly ball and a pair of strikeouts to secure the win.
Trailing 4-3 entering the eighth, the Hornets tied the game up with one swing off the bat of sophomore JP Smith, who slugged his second home run of the game over the wall in left centerfield to make it four all. The blast, which came after his first of the game made it 3-0 in the fifth, was his 19th of the year and the 33rd of his career, putting him second on the school's single-season list behind only Harvey Hargrove (26 in 1997) and second on the career chart behind Hargrove and Martin Vincelli-Simard, who each hit 35.
The tie didn't last long before UTA rallied in the home half of the eighth with two outs thanks to a walk and a double to centerfield by Ryan Black to make it 5-4, but Sacramento State had one more answer in the ninth to take the lead for good.
Senior Cesar Valero singled up the middle to lead-off the inning and was pinch run for by Ryan Christiansen, who moved to second on a walk to Cameron Sewell. Jacob Cortez then sacrificed both runners into scoring position for Masciangelo, who lined a 1-0 pitch down the right field line, bringing home both runs for a 6-5 lead.
Gouldsmith capped the scoring by collecting his third hit of the day, lining a double into the gap in left centerfield that rolled all the way to wall, scoring Masciangelo for the 7-5 advantage.
Brown then locked it down in the ninth, striking out Ryan Ellis and getting a fly ball to right that Christiansen snared with a leap for the second out of the inning. He then worked ahead of Tate Bethel before getting him to chase for strike three, setting off the Hornet celebration.
Sewell and Masciangelo combined to stake Sacramento State to the early lead in the second with RBI singles for the 2-0 lead. After making it 3-0 on Smith's home run, the Mavericks fought back to take the lead with a four-run fifth thanks to a pair of run-scoring doubles and a single, setting the stage for the wild finish.
Aside from Gouldsmith's three-hit day, Masciangelo, Smith, and Tyler White each added two-hit days, while four other Hornets collected base hits, including Cortez, whose single in the fourth inning extended his hitting streak to eight games -- tied for the second-longest by a Sacramento State batter this season.
The Hornets return to John Smith Field for their final four home games of the season, hosting Nevada for the second time this year on Tuesday (May 7) before welcoming Stephen F. Austin in for a three-game WAC series on May 10-12.
