SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The 2025 college baseball season officially gets underway this weekend as Sacramento State and Bay Area rival San Francisco open a four-game home-and-home series.
The Hornets and Dons open the series at John Smith Field on Friday (Feb. 14) and will play game three of the series here in Sacramento on Sunday (Feb. 16). Games two and four of the series will be played at Benedetti Diamond in San Francisco. First pitch for all four games is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the respective sites.
PLAY BALL!
WHAT: Sacramento State (26-31, 14-16 WAC in 2024) vs. San Francisco (21-34, 4-20 WCC in 2024)
WHEN: Friday-Monday, Feb. 14-17
TIME: 2 PM each day
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif. (Feb. 14 & 16) and San Francisco, Calif. (Feb. 15 & 17)
STADIUM: John Smith Field & Benedetti Diamond
FOLLOW:
Game 1 - ESPN+ | Live Stats
Game 2 - ESPN+ | Live Stats
Game 3 - ESPN+ | Live Stats
Game 4 - ESPN+ | Live Stats
TICKETS: HornetSports.com
GAME NOTES: Sacramento State | San Francisco | Western Athletic Conference
PROBABLE STARTERS (ALL STATS FROM 2024)
Game 1 - LHP Lance Santerre (2-4, 4.57 ERA) at RHP Tyler Stewart (4-4, 3.75 ERA)
Game 2 - RHP Evan Gibbons (6-5, 3.89 ERA) at RHP Joe Soberon (4-6, 3.20 ERA)
Game 3 - RHP Aidan Risse (2-6, 4.28 ERA) at RHP Colin Hunter (5-4, 4.75 ERA in 2022)
Game 4 - RHP Ethan Lay (5-4, 3.74 ERA) at TBA
WE'LL DO IT LIVE!
• All four of this weekend's games will be streamed live via the ESPN+ platform
• Links to the video stream as well as live scoring are available on the baseball schedule page at HornetSports.com
ABOUT THE DONS
• San Francisco is coming off a 2024 campaign that saw the Dons finish 21-34 overall and 4-20 in the West Coast Conference
• USF finished the season losing its final three regular season series of the year to Portland, San Diego, and Loyola Marymount -- two of those on the road
• Of the team's 21 wins, 14 of those came at home as the Dons were 7-16 on the road
• Senior infielder Kody Watanabe is the team's leading hitter from a season ago, batting .276 with 13 doubles, three home runs, and 31 RBI
• Senior infielder TJ Rogers appeared in about half of the team's games in 2024, hitting .316 with five home runs -- the most of any returning Don -- and 21 RBI
• Graduate right-hander Joe Soberon leads the weekend staff after finishing 4-6 with a 3.20 ERA while striking out 67 batters in 78.2 innings (.233 average against)
• Soberon is scheduled to pitch Saturday's game in San Francisco while the rest of the projected weekend rotation features LHP Lance Santerre (2-4, 4.57 ERA) on Friday and RHP Aidan Risse (2-6, 4.28 ERA at NCAA Division III Bard College) on Sunday with Monday's starter still to be determined.
SERIES NOTES
• San Francisco leads the all-time series with Sacramento State, 71-65-1, according to available records that date back to the 1952 season
• The Dons also lead the series, 40-33, in the Hornets' Division I era
• The 2025 season marks the second straight year that Sacramento State opens the season against a West Coast Conference foe following last year's series against Loyola Marymount, but the first time that the Hornets and Dons will open the season against one another since the 1999 campaign when they split a home-and-home two-game set
• Sacramento State is 37-35-1 at home and 26-35 on the road against San Francisco
• The Hornets have won four of the last seven meetings with the Dons following a 7-1 midweek win last season on April 1 at John Smith Field
• This weekend marks the first weekend series between the two programs since Sacramento State took 3-of-4 from San Francisco in a similar home-and-home affair during 2021 on May 14-16
• The Hornets won a pair of one-run games (2-1 and 7-6) to start that series before each team twirled a shutout in the final two: the Dons winning game three, 8-0, before a 4-0 Sacramento State shutout in the finale
• Nine of the last 15 meetings have been played in Sacramento
• Sacramento State head coach Reggie Christiansen is 10-13 against San Francisco since 2011
CONFERENCE CALL
• Sacramento State has faced all eight members of the current West Coast Conference baseball alignment, posting a 281-300-4 (.484) all-time mark according to available records
• The Hornets were 4-3 against the WCC last season, going 1-2 against Loyola Marymount, 1-1 against Pacific, and 1-0 against both San Francisco and Santa Clara
• Sacramento State owns 99 all-time wins against Pacific (99-81-1) -- the most against any WCC rival
• The Hornets are scheduled to play seven more games against WCC opponents: four against Pacific (March 7-9 and March 18) and three more against Saint Mary's (March 14-16)
LID-LIFTERS
• According to available records dating back to 1949, Sacramento State is a combined 33-43 on opening day
• The Hornets had won four straight opening day games before falling to LMU in a doubleheader to kick-off the 2024 season
• Under Head Coach Reggie Christiansen, the Hornets are a combined 7-8 on opening day dating back to 2011
• Sacramento State last posted a season-opening series win in 2023, taking 3-of-4 from North Dakota State at home
• The Hornets open at home for the third straight season and the eighth time in the last nine years, with the only hiccup in that stretch coming in a three-game series against then-No. 15 Arizona State in Tempe, Ariz.
NEW-LOOK WAC
• This year's race for the Western Athletic Conference title will feature two fewer teams as Stephen F. Austin and UTRGV have left the league to join the Southland Conference
• That leaves nine teams in this year's WAC, with the top eight qualifying for the league tournament
THE BUZZ ON THE HORNETS
• Head Coach Reggie Christiansen enters his 17th year with the program and his 15th as head coach
• Sacramento State finished the 2024 season with a 26-31 overall record and a 14-16 mark in the WAC
• Last year's record snapped a run of 11 consecutive 30-win seasons for the program dating back to 2012
• There will be a lot of new faces in new places for Sacramento State in 2024 as the Hornets welcome back 18 letter winners and a trio of redshirts while adding 18 newcomers -- including eight transfers
• Nine pitchers return off of last season's staff, including a pair of weekend starters in senior right-handers Evan Gibbons (6-5, 3.89 ERA) and Tyler Stewart (4-4, 3.75 ERA)
• Of those 18 newcomers, eight of those are pitchers
• Of the eight transfers, two hail from the Division I ranks, one from a Division II program, while five come from junior college programs
BY THE NUMBERS
• At the plate, Sacramento State returns 63 percent of its runs scored, 58 percent of its hits, 66 percent of its home runs, 58 percent of its extra-base hits, and 62 percent of its RBI overall from 2024
• On the mound, the returners on the pitching staff return 64 percent of last year's innings total (321.1 of 500. 2) and 64 percent of its strikeouts (296 of 459)
• What does it all mean? We don't know, but numbers are fun.
PRESEASON PROGNOSTICATIONS
• Sacramento State was picked to finish fifth in this year's iteration of the WAC standings according to a vote of the league's head coaches
• The Hornets received 36 points overall to stand two points ahead of sixth-place Utah Valley and three points back of fourth-place Tarleton State in a tightly bunched middle of the pack
• Grand Canyon received eight of the nine first-place votes and 64 points overall to stand atop the poll, followed by Abilene Christian (one first-place vote) with 54 points and California Baptist with 46 points
LET'S PLAY FOUR!
• Sacramento State will extend its weekends in each of the first three series of the season, playing four games against San Francisco, Ball State, and South Dakota State, instead of the usual three
• This weekend marks the first time in the program's recorded history that it will open the season with three, four-game series
• It is also the first time that the Hornets will play three, four-game non-conference series at any point in a season since the 2015 campaign when they faced Utah, Portland, and Cal Poly in four-game sets
• Sacramento State finished 8-4 in those 12 games with series wins over the Utes (3-1) and Pilots (3-1) along with a series split with the Mustangs
FEELS LIKE HOME
• The Hornets will be well-acquainted with John Smith Field in 2025 as they are scheduled to play 34 of their 56 (61 percent) contests this season within the friendly confines
• Starting with the team's opener on Valentine's Day, Sacramento State will play 13 of its first 16 – and 19 of its first 28 -- before the calendar turns to April
• The Hornets will not leave the state of California for a game until their second Western Athletic Conference series of the year at Tarleton State during the last weekend in March
• Sacramento State finished 13-18 at home last season -- its first losing season at home since the 2011 squad finished 9-19
THE SCHEDULE
• This year's schedule features two teams that advanced to last year's NCAA Tournament (Grand Canyon and Fresno State) and seven schools that finished ranked among the top 150 in the final 2024 RPI rankings -- including three WAC rivals
• California (No. 64) is the highest ranked of those teams, followed by Grand Canyon (No. 93), Saint Mary's (No. 107), Ball State (No. 115), California Baptist (No. 129), UC Davis (No. 133), and Tarleton State (No. 150)
DUO PICKS UP PRESEASON WAC HONORS
• Junior infielder JP Smith and sophomore pitcher Kade Brown were among a group of 12 student-athletes named to the preseason All-WAC team according to a vote of the league's head coaches
• Both were named to the team for the first time in their respective careers
• Smith and Brown's inclusion on this year's team gives the Hornets representation on the preseason squad for the third consecutive season (Jack Zalasky in 2023 and Cesar Valero in 2024)
• Sacramento State has had at least one player named to the preseason All-WAC team in 14 of their 20 seasons since rejoining the conference in 2006 (there were no preseason teams in 2013 and 2014)
• This year marks the first time that the Hornets have had multiple players named to the preseason team since outfielder Matt Smith and pitcher Scott Randall accomplished the feat prior to the 2020 season
• The Hornets have had multiple preseason All-WAC selections seven times (2008, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2025) and a program-best five preseason All-WAC selections prior to the 2015 campaign: Nathan Lukes, Brennan Leitao, Sam Long, Sutter McLoughlin, and Scotty Burcham
EVERYBODY'S ALL-AMERICAN
• Adding to the awards on his mantel, Brown picked up a pair of preseason honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association
• Brown was named to the organization's preseason All-America second team and one of 77 players named to the initial Stopper of the Year watch list
• He is the first Hornet to earn preseason All-America honors since pitcher Brennan Leitao was named to Collegiate Baseball's preseason honor roll (3rd Team) in 2015
• Brown was the only player on the 77-man roster from the Western Athletic Conference and one of only seven selected from West Coast schools
• Since 2013, four Sacramento State players have been named to preseason All-America lists by various organizations: Brown, Leitao, Rhys Hoskins (2014 - Baseball American 3rd Team), and Sutter McLoughlin (2013 - NCBWA 3rd Team)
• He becomes the sixth Hornet since 2005 to be named to either the preseason or midseason watch list for the Stopper of the Year award, joiningMcLoughlin (2013-15), Tyler Beardsley (2016), Austin Roberts (2019), Stone Churby (2021), and Jack Zalasky (2023)
BYE, BYE BASEBALL
• The Hornets' all-time home run king returns for his third season in the green and gold as junior JP Smith looks to build upon a 2024 campaign that saw him lead the team and rank second in the WAC with 22 home runs
• Smith, who broke the career mark previously shared by Harvey Hargrove (1995-97) and Martin Vincelli-Simard (2019-23) with a pair of home runs in the Hornets' WAC Tournament opener against Tarleton State, has 36 home runs to his name
• His 22 home runs in 2024 made him only the second Hornet to hit at least 20 home runs in a season (Hargrove set the single-season record with 26 in 1997)
• His 14 home runs in 2023 are tied for the most by a freshman in the program's Division I history
A SAFE BET
• Senior Matt Masciangelo enters the 2025 season riding a streak of 15 consecutive games having reached base safely dating back to last season
• Masciangelo hit safely in seven of those contests, while drawing a walk eight times and hit by a pitch nine times to keep the streak alive
• His streak was the fifth-longest by a Hornet last season while his 27 hit by pitches were a school single-season record -- breaking the mark that had stood since 2006 -- and rank just outside the school's career top 10
HORNETS' 1-2 PUNCH
• Sacramento State's weekend rotation is in good hands to start 2025 as the team's top two starters from last year's squad return to anchor the staff
• Senior Tyler Stewart finished 13th in the WAC with a 3.75 ERA and 12th with 69.2 innings pitched striking out 55 and holding opponents to a .247 average
• Senior Evan Gibbons ranked among the top 10 in the WAC in opposing batting average (.235) as well as innings pitched (81.0)
• The duo became the first Hornet starting pair to finish with sub-four ERA's (with a minimum of 10 starts) since Parker Brahms (2.41 ERA), Austin Root (2.93 ERA), and Scott Randall (3.48 ERA) in 2018.
STRIKE THAT
• The Hornets' 459 strikeouts last season were the fourth-most in a single season in school history, as were the 8.25 strikeouts per game
DON'T WALK
• Meanwhile, the Hornets ranked second in the WAC in fewest walks allowed (180) and walks per nine innings (3.24)
• Nationally, the Hornets were No. 10 in the NCAA in walks per nine innings, No. 19 in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.55), and No. 28 in WHIP (1.40)
• Gibbons and Stewart were big parts of that as the former finished the year ranked No. 36 in the NCAA in WHIP (1.09) and No. 69 in walks per nine (2.11), while the latter was No. 65 in WHIP (1.16) and No. 62 in walks allowed (2.07).
LOCAL FLAVOR
• This year's Hornet roster will have a definite local flair, featuring 12 student-athletes from Sacramento and the surrounding areas
• JP Smith (Granite Bay HS), Brett Ott (Granite Bay HS), Ryan Christiansen (Rio Americano HS), Elijah Rogalski (Rio Americano HS), and Jackson Halverson (McClatchy HS), all hail from Sacramento
• Sean Carey (Folsom HS) is from Folsom
• Ethan Lay (Colusa HS) is from Colusa
• Peter Caldera (Granite Bay HS) is from Granite Bay
• Evan Gibbons (Franklin HS), Noah Lucchesi (Laguna Creek HS), and Kade Brown (Elk Grove HS) hail from Elk Grove
• Luke Oyler (Whitney HS) is from Rocklin
STATE OF THE HORNETS
• Sacramento State's 2024 roster will represent seven different states entering the season: California (23 players), Nevada (5), Arizona (3), Oregon (2), Idaho (1), Texas (1), and Washington (1)
• The seven states match the 2017 roster and are one shy of most states represented in the program's Division I history, which was set in 2024
• Sophomore Cameron Sewell (Medford) and freshman Troy Osborne (Grants Pass), are the first Hornets from Oregon since Ty Fox (Central Point) in 2018
• Redshirt freshman Dylan Torres from El Paso, Texas, is the first player to hail from Texas since Ricky Martinez (Pflugerville, Texas) in 2017
• Bryce Stockton, originally from the Sacramento area before moving to Idaho during his freshman year of high school, is the first player from Idaho since Jason Haselhahn (Moscow, Idaho) in 1996
• All told, Sacramento State rosters have featured student-athletes from 17 different states in the program's Division I history: California, Nevada, Oregon, Arizona, Washington, Texas, Utah, Idaho, Hawai'i, Georgia, Alaska, Tennessee, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Kansas, and Missouri
• Only once in the program's Division I history has the Hornet roster featured all Californians, that coming during the 2009 campaign
• This year's roster also features a pair of Canadians in junior Luis Pimentel-Guerrero (Burlington, Ontario) and junior Carson Latimer (Delta, British Columbia) as well as the program's first-ever player born and raised in the Philippines in Jakob Poturnak, who then moved to Vancouver, British Columbia
