SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento State baseball team hosts its second of three-straight weekend series at John Smith Field beginning Thursday (April 17), welcoming California Baptist to Northern California for the second straight year. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. for the opener on Thursday night, followed by a 4 p.m. start for game two, and a Noon start in Saturday's finale.

TRAFFIC ADVISORY
• Those fans attending Thursday's series opener are advised to enter campus off of J Street, turning onto State University Dr., and then following Arboretum Way around until it turns into College Town Dr., in order to access the parking structure nearest to John Smith Field
• College Town Drive will be closed from the south end of the university due to another event on campus
• Campus map: https://www.csus.edu/campusmap/Campus_MapLegend_11-2023_small.pdf

PLAY BALL!
WHAT: California Baptist (21-16, 4-5 WAC) at Sacramento State (21-15, 8-4 WAC)
WHEN: Thursday-Saturday, April 17-19, 2025
TIME: 6 PM PT (Thurs.) / 4 PM PT (Fri.) / Noon PT (Sat.)
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
STADIUM: John Smith Field
TICKETS: HornetSports.com
FOLLOW:
Game 1: ESPN+ | WAC International | Live Stats
Game 2: WAC International | Live Stats
Game 3: WAC International | Live Stats

GAME NOTES: Sacramento State | California Baptist | Western Athletic Conference

WE'LL DO IT LIVE
• Thursday's contest will be shown on ESPN+, while games two and three will be streamed live on the WAC International platform
• Live stats will also be available for all three games
• Links to follow along are available on the baseball schedule page at HornetSports.com

ABOUT THE LANCERS
• California Baptist enters the week with a 21-16 overall record and a 4-5 mark in Western Athletic Conference play, standing fifth in the league entering the weekend
• The Lancers are coming off a non-conference series victory over Pacific, taking games one and three from the Tigers, as well as a 7-6 midweek win over UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday at home
• This week's series marks only the 10th, 11th, and 12th road games of the season for CBU -- which is 5-4 away from home in 2025
• The nine true road games this year are the second-fewest by a WAC school this season, trailing only the eight by Abilene Christian
• California Baptist last played on the road back on April 8, posting a 10-4 win at San Diego State, and last played a series on the road back on March 28-30, taking 2-of-3 at UT Arlington
• Freshman infielder Chris Ramirez is batting a team-high .361 to go with 24 runs scored, five doubles, a pair of triples, and 23 RBI
• Ramirez is one of six Lancer regulars hitting better than .300 on the year as the team is collectively batting .302 for the season -- good for second in the WAC behind Utah Valley (.313)
• Senior first baseman Ryan Kim and junior outfielder Ben Castelli share the team lead with seven home runs, while Castelli has driven in a team-high 34 runs
• As a staff, California Baptist pitching has posted a 4.97 ERA (second in the league behind Sacramento State) while holding opponents to a .271 average and striking out 320 (second in the WAC) in 324.1 innings

SERIES NOTES
• Sacramento State leads the all-time series with California Baptist by the count of 10-8 according to available records dating back to the 1981 season
• All but two of those 18 meetings have come as Western Athletic Conference rivals
• The Hornets are 4-3 at home against the Lancers and 7-4 on the road in the series
• CBU has won the last two series meetings, taking 2-of-3 in both 2023 and 2024 with Sacramento State winning the series finale both times
• This year marks the second consecutive season that the two programs will play in Sacramento
• The Hornets' last series win against the Lancers came in 2022, winning the first and third games to take 2-of-3 from California Baptist
• Eight of the 18 all-time meetings have been decided by two runs or fewer, including two of the three meetings last season
• After the first meeting in 1981 was played in Sacramento, the next eight were all played in Riverside, Calif., until the aforementioned 2022 series

"SERIES"-OUS BUSINESS
• After taking 2-of-3 from Seattle U at home last weekend, the Hornets are 5-1-3 in weekend series this season, winning their second straight
• The only series loss came against Tarleton State on the road (March 28-30), while Sacramento State split a pair of four-game series against San Francisco (Feb. 14-17) and Ball State (Feb. 20-22) as well as a weather-shortened two-game set with Saint Mary's (March 15)
• Friday night's are alright for the Hornets, who improved to 8-1 in series openers this year with their 6-4 win over the Redhawks last weekend
• Sacramento State has won its last seven series openers dating back to a 4-3 loss against Ball State on Feb. 20
• Sacramento State is 5-4 in game two's and 4-4 in game three's (the Saint Mary's series was shortened to two games due to weather)
• Sacramento State is outscoring opponents, 62-31, in the first game, 57-51 in game two, and are tied at 42-42 in game threes

HOME IS WHERE THE WINS ARE
• Sacramento State's two wins over Seattle U gave the Hornets their 13th and 14th victories of the year at John Smith Field, surpassing last year's win total and putting them six wins shy of their first 20-win season at home since 2023 (20-11)
• Under Head Coach Reggie Christiansen, Sacramento State has won 20-or-more games at home four times in his tenure

ONE IS THE WINNINGEST NUMBER
• The Hornets played to two more one-run decisions in their series win over Seattle U, giving them 14 one-run games in 36 total contests
• Sacramento State is 8-6 in those 14 one-run contests
• The eight one-run victories are the most for the Hornets since they posted 10 one-run victories in 17 chances during the 2022 campaign (58 total games)
• Three more of the Hornets' outings have been decided by two runs (2-1 record)

TIME IS ON OUR SIDE
• It took 3:45 to finish off the Hornets' 11-inning win over Seattle U in game two of the series -- the 10th time this season that Sacramento State has played three hours or longer and tied for the fourth-longest game of the year
• However, only two of those 10 marathons have gone to extra innings
• The Hornets have played four extra-inning games this season, posting a 3-1 record and winning their last three

NOW WALK IT OFF, NOW WALK IT OFF
• When Matt Masciangelo's double rang off the wall to drive home Ryan Christiansen with the game-winning run in game two against the Redhawks, it marked the team's fifth walk-off win of the year
• Three of Sacramento State's five walk-off wins this year have been in extra innings

ISN'T IT GRAND?
• Junior JP Smith's sixth home run of the season was also his second grand slam of the year in game two against Seattle U
• The slam was the fourth of Smith's career, making him one of only seven Hornets with multiple grand slams in a career
• It also broke a tie with Tim Wheeler for the most in school history according to available records

THE SAFETY DANCE
• Following his three-hit performance at UC Davis on Tuesday night, Luis Pimentel-Guerrero has now reached base safely in each of his last 19 games -- the longest streak by a Hornet in 2025
• Masciangelo, however, owns the longest active streak by a Sacramento State hitter at 21 games, reaching base safely in the last 14 games of 2024 and seven times this year
• Meanwhile, Tyler White has his own streak going as well at 13 games -- this, after a 14-game streak to start the 2025 campaign -- and six different Hornets have streaks of 10 games or more

LPG... OMG!
• Junior Luis Pimentel-Guerrero is in the midst of one of his best stretches of the season at the plate, having reached base safely in each of his last 19 games dating back to the doubleheader against Saint Mary's on March 15
• Pimentel-Guerrero has hit safely in 13 of those, while walking a combined nine times in five games and hit by a pitch in a sixth to keep the streak alive
• During that stretch, Pimentel-Guerrero is batting a robust .368 (25-for-68), with 13 runs, a pair of home runs and 14 RBI, along with eight multi-hit games 
• He now has 13 multi-hit games on the year, trailing only teammate Jakob Poturnak (14) for the team lead

MASCIANGEL-OW!
• Add two more HBPs to Masciangelo's career tally after the senior was plunked twice in the series opener against the Redhawks
• The two gave the senior 30 for his career, ranking him tied for sixth on the school's career list with Keith Torres (2019-22) and Tim Wheeler (2007-09)
• Masciangelo stands 13 back of the career record held by David Del Grande (2011-14), while his 27 HBPs in 2024 remain the single-season record

TYLER THE THIRD
• White's fourth triple of the season in the finale against Seattle U are the most by a Hornet since Wehiwa Aloy finished with five "three baggers" during the 2023 season
• White, who stands three triples shy of breaking into the top 10 in school history for a career, enters this week's series ranked No. 23 in the nation in triples behind Connor Westenburg of McNeese State

JAKOB POTUR-"JACK"
• Sophomore Jakob Poturnak slugged his team-best 10th home run of the season as part of the Hornets' game two barrage at ACU and enters the week in a six-way tie for the top spot in the WAC
• With Poturnak's 10 home runs, the Hornets have now had at least one player reach double digits in the category for the fourth consecutive season
• Poturnak ranks seventh in the league in slugging (.579) and is tied for third in the WAC with his 50 hits on the season -- one of four players in the conference with at least 50 hits on the year

WINNER, WINNER CHICKEN DINNER
• Elie Kligman's RBI double in the seventh at UC Davis on Tuesday proved to be the game-winner -- giving the junior a team-high five game-winning RBI this year
• It was also the seventh of Kligman's career, breaking a tie with JP Smith for the most among active Hornet hitters
• In all, 11 different Sacramento State players have posted game-winning RBI this year
• Aside from Kligman's five, Jakob Poturnak and  Tyler White have three each, followed by two from Michael Perazzo and Ryan Christiansen
• Freshman Orlando Cobarrubias, Jacob Cortez, Matt Masciangelo, Luke Oyler, Luis Pimentel-Guerrero, and Cameron Sewell have one apiece

CYCLE SEEKING
• For the second time this season, Tyler White has come this close to hitting for the cycle, finishing with a double and a home run as part of his 3-for-5 night at UC Davis on Tuesday
• It was the sixth time that a Hornet hitter has had a near miss on one this year
• White ended his day 3-for-4 against UT Arlington on March 21 with a double and a triple, missing out on only the home run
• Other Hornets to come close in 2025: Perazzo against Abilene Christian on April 6 (triple), Jakob Poturnak in the finale against Ball State on Feb. 22 (triple), Ryan Christiansen in game three against South Dakota State on Feb. 28 (triple), and Luis Pimentel-Guerrero against Nevada on March 10 (triple)
• The last Hornet to hit for the cycle was Jason Beeman at CSUN on April 24, 1994, who finished 4-for-6 with two runs scored and six RBI, while also throwing a complete game, allowing six runs on 13 hits and striking out three in a 14-6 victory

WE DEMAND... A SACRIFICE!
• Freshman Michael Perazzo has given himself up more than all but one other player in the NCAA entering this weekend's games, ranking second with 12 sacrifice hits
• He trails only NC State's Matt Heavner (14) nationally and leads the WAC by six
• Perazzo's 12 sacrifices moved him past Everet Rincon (2006) into sole possession of fourth on the school's single-season list
• With one more sacrifice, Perazzo will tie Dane Fujinaka (2014), Blake Crosby (2008), and Bob Stevens (1975) for the program's single-season record
• Three more sacrifices ties Perazzo with Fujinaka and Kyle Moses (2012-15) for 10th on the career list

MORE THAN ONE FOR MICHAEL
• When he's not moving runners into scoring position, Perazzo has been red-hot at the plate as of late
• Perazzo has collected multiple hits in a game eight times in his last 12 outings, including a career-high three hits, three runs scored, and four RBI in the series finale at Abilene Christian
• His 10 multi-hit games are fourth on the team
• Over his last 12 games, Perazzo is batting .419 (18-for-43) with nine runs scored and nine RBI, adding three doubles and a pair of home runs

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?
• Preseason All-American and Stopper of the Year candidate Kade Brown notched his ninth save of the season in the game one win over Seattle U, adding his second win of the year in game two's extra-inning triumph
• His save total puts him in a four-way tie for third in the NCAA entering this week's series, just three back of Clemson's Lucas Mahlstedt and Alabama's Carson Ozmer for the national lead
• The nine saves are a new career high and moved him into a tie with Sutter McLoughlin's 2014 total for ninth on the program's single-season list
• Now with 17 career saves, Brown ranks fourth on the school's all-time list -- nine back of Mike Frame (1987-89) and Jack Zalasky (2019-23) for second
• Aside from leading the conference in saves, Brown currently ranks second in the WAC with a 2.48 ERA and leads the league with a .160 average against
• Brown has allowed the fewest hits (16) and the fewest runs (nine) among qualifiers, while ranking seventh in strikeouts per game (10.86)

MONSON THE MAGNIFICENT
• Senior right-hander Andrew Monson has been one of the most reliable arms out of the Hornet bullpen as of late, allowing just two earned runs over his last nine appearances (9.1 innings) for a 1.93 ERA
• During that stretch, Monson has scattered 12 hits, walking only one and striking out seven while going 1-0 with a pair of saves
• Monson nailed down his second save of the year Tuesday at UC Davis, throwing 1.2 scoreless innings and striking out a batter

LIGHTS OUT LUCCHESI
• Senior left-hander Noah Lucchesi picked up his fourth victory of the season in game two against Seattle U, improving to 4-1 on the year
• All four wins have come in relief for Lucchesi, who is tied with Kade Brown and teammate Andrew Monson for the fewest runs allowed in the WAC
• The four wins stand behind only the five by teammate Evan Gibbons among Hornet pitchers and stand tied for third in the WAC
• Lucchesi has walked only six hitters on the year (against 24 strikeouts), which rank tied for fourth in the conference
• The senior has made all 16 of his appearances out of the bullpen this year and is the only pitcher with at least four wins without a single start this season
• Lucchesi has allowed just two runs over his last eight appearances (12.2 innings) for a 1.42 ERA, allowing seven hits and striking out 16
• Going back even further, Lucchesi has allowed only four runs over his last 14 appearances (16.2 innings) for a 2.16 ERA, allowing 15 hits, walking four, and striking out 20 (5-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio)

BUYING STOCK IN BRYCE
•  Sophomore right-hander Bryce Stockton has made the most out of his last six appearances out of the bullpen, posting a 1.93 ERA while allowing just one run on eight hits in 7.2 innings of work
• During that time, opposing bats are hitting just .267 (8-for-30) against him

EVAN ALMIGHTY
• Senior right-hander Evan Gibbons enters this week's series with a 5-1 overall record -- tied with Utah Valley's Jacob Heppner (5-1) for the most in the WAC entering the week
• Gibbons leads the league in innings pitched (55.1) and ranks 11th in the WAC in ERA (3.74) -- one of four Hornets in the top 13 in the latter along with Brown, Ethan Lay (9th - 3.70), and Monson (13th - 3.79)
• He averages 6.15 innings per start -- second in the WAC -- while standing fifth in fewest runs allowed per game (3.90)
• Since losing his first start of the year against San Francisco, Gibbons has gone 5-0 with three no-decisions, posting a 2.84 ERA in 50.2 innings to go along with a 3-to-1 strikeout-to
walk ratio (36 strikeouts against 12 walks)
• Gibbons has five "quality starts" in his eight overall this year, giving him 18 in 40 starts as a Hornet

"QUALITY" YOU CAN COUNT ON
• Sacramento State pitchers have thrown 11 "quality starts" this season, five of those by senior right-hander Evan Gibbons, four from righty Ethan Lay, and one each by senior right-hander Tyler Stewart and junior right-hander Colin Hunter
• Lay has "quality starts" in games against South Dakota State, Pacific, UT Arlington, and Seattle U, while Stewart (March 8 at Pacific) and Hunter (March 18 at Pacific) accomplished the feat for the first time this year
• All told, the Hornets are 8-3 in those 11 "quality starts," including a 5-0 record in all five of Gibbons' "quality" outings this year

PLEASE HOLD
• Working late into games this season, Lucchesi and Monson are tied for the team lead with four "holds" on the year, while Sean Carey picked up his first on Tuesday night at UC Davis