STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Junior outfielder Luis Pimentel-Guerrero finished 4-for-4 at the plate while sophomore teammate Cameron Sewell homered and drove in three runs, but Sacramento State was unable to dig out of an early hole as host Tarleton State won game two of their Western Athletic Conference series with a 7-3 victory on Saturday afternoon in Stephenville, Texas.
The loss dropped the Hornets to 15-11 overall on the year and 3-2 in league play, while the Texans improved to 12-16 overall and 1-1 in the WAC.
Pimentel-Guerrero's four-hit day is a career high for him in the green and gold after he twice finished with three hits in games against Nevada (March 10) and Fresno State (March 25) earlier this year and marked his team-best 11th multi-hit game of the year. It is the best day at the plate by a Sacramento State hitter since Gunner Gouldsmith finished 5-for-5 against Stephen F. Austin on May 11 last season.
Sewell, meanwhile, accounted for all three of the Hornets' runs on the day, driving in the game's first with an RBI groundout in the first and adding a two-run home run to centerfield (his fifth of the season) in the sixth. The home run helped the sophomore extend his hitting streak to eight consecutive games, batting .406 (13-for-32) with six runs scored, three home runs, and 12 RBI during that stretch.
Tyler White,
Orlando Cobarrubias, and
Jacob Cortez added hits for Sacramento State.
A pair of home runs by Tarleton State answered the Hornets' run in the first, then tacked on single runs in the second, fourth, and fifth innings, to keep Sacramento State at bay.
Senior right-hander
Tyler Stewart (1-2) suffered the loss, charged with the first four runs on four hits, and was followed on the mound by
Peter Caldera,
Sean Carey,
Jackson Halverson, and
Bryce Stockton — the latter two throwing three combined innings of shutout baseball.
Brian Panneton (3-1) earned the win, allowing two earned (three overall) on seven hits over six innings and striking out seven, while Karsen Davis threw the final three innings to earn the save, allowing just one hit in that span.
The rubber game of the series begins on Sunday morning (March 30) at 11 a.m. PT and will be streamed live on the ESPN+ platform.
