SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sophomore Jakob Poturnak sent the first pitch he saw from Pacific reliever Jarryd Wood over the wall in left field for the walk-off game-winner in the bottom of the 10th, backing a two-hit shutout from the trio of Ethan Lay, Jackson Halverson, and Andrew Monson, as Sacramento State defeated Pacific, 1-0, on Sunday afternoon at John Smith Field.
The Hornets, who have won five of their last seven, improved to 9-6 overall on the season with the victory, winning their second straight weekend series by taking 2-of-3 from the Tigers. It was the second shutout of the year along with the team's 2-0 win over Ball State in the second game of a doubleheader on Feb. 21, and the second walk-off victory of 2025 after Ryan Christiansen did the deed against the Cardinals in the first game of that twinbill in February.
Pacific fell to 8-8 overall with the loss.
Ethan Lay and Tigers starter Jakob Guardado were stellar in a good old fashioned pitcher's duel on Sunday. Lay went seven scoreless, allowing just one hits and striking out 11 without a walk in a no-decision, while Guardado was equally as effective, scattering just two hits and striking out nine in nine innings of work before departing.
Lay's 11 strikeouts bested Tyler Stewart's 10 strikeouts on Saturday night in Stockton, Calif., for the most by a Hornet pitcher this season and are the most since Travis Adams struck out 13 at Northern Colorado on April 14, 2021. Lay retired 12 straight batters at one point from the third to the sixth innings, allowing only three baserunners and stranding two of those in scoring position.
Halverson pitched a scoreless eighth, striking out one, before giving way to Andrew Monson (1-0), who gave up a harmless bunt single in the ninth and retired Pacific in order in the 10th to set the scene for Poturnak's dramatics in the home half of the inning.
Jerryd Wood (0-2) came on in relief to start the 10th and got a pop-up for the first out of the inning, but his first pitch to Poturnak was launched off the parking structure in left field to set off the celebration at home plate.
Poturnak, who finished with two of the Hornets' three hits on the day, slugged his seventh home run of the season and finished the weekend hitting .500 (6-for-12) in the series, collecting multiple hits in all three contests. The sophomore, who singled to lead-off the second inning, extended his hitting streak to 12 consecutive games in the process while posting his eighth multi-hit game of the season — including multiple hits in six of his last eight contests.
Freshman
Michael Perazzo finished with Sacramento State's only other hit on the day, extending his hitting streak to six straight.
The Hornets' trio of arms combined for 13 strikeouts without a walk — the first time that Sacramento State's staff did not walk a batter in a game since April 13, 2024, at Seattle University. The last time the Hornets played a scoreless game that went into extra innings ended in similar fashion as
Cesar Valero slugged a home run in the top of the 10th in an eventual 1-0 win at No. 6 Long Beach State on Feb. 25, 2022.
Sunday also marked Sacramento State's first extra-inning win since a 6-5 triumph at New Mexico State on April 28, 2023.
A run of five games in five days continues with the Hornets' first two midweek games of the year, hosting Nevada on Monday (March 10) at 6 p.m. at
John Smith Field, before heading down Highway 99 to take on long-time rival Fresno State on Tuesday (March 11) at 6 p.m.
