SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento State nearly dug its way out of an early hole to complete the comeback on Tuesday night at John Smith Field, but the rally came up one run short as the host Hornets fell to visiting UC Davis by 6-5 score under the lights in Sacramento.
The Hornets fell to 26-19 overall with the loss, while the Aggies improved to 21-23. With the victory, UC Davis took 2-of-3 from its Causeway rivals and has earned the right to host two of the three games between the two programs in 2026.
Freshman Michael Perazzo finished 3-for-4 with an RBI and paced three other Sacramento State hitters with multiple hits. Matt Masciangelo finished 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored, Luis Pimentel-Guerrero added a pair of hits, a walk, and an RBI, while Jakob Poturnak finished 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI. The Hornets out-hit the visiting side by a 14-8 count, including three extra-base hits.
UC Davis took an early lead and threatened to run away and hide with a four-run first inning, then tacked on single runs in the third and fourth frames to build a 6-0 lead.
Sacramento State's offense then found its stride. The Hornets pushed across two runs in the home half of the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Cameron Sewell to break up the shutout and an RBI single by Perazzo to cut the deficit to four.
Another run came home in the fifth on the first of two RBI hits off the bat of Poturnak to make it a three-run game, then Pimentel-Guerrero and Poturnak teamed up to plate two more in the seventh, closing the gap to a single run.
However, that would be as close as the Hornets would get, leaving two runners in over the course of the final three innings — and a total of 12 for the game — as the home team's comeback came up just short.
Tyler Stewart (1-4) suffered the loss, charged with the first five runs on six hits, but striking out four. The bullpen then settled the dust as Colin Hunter, Brady Chavez, Andrew Monson, and Noah Lucchesi combined for the final six innings, allowing a run on two hits and striking out six.
Rowen Barnes (1-1) was awarded the win, allowing just a hit and striking out a pair over his inning of work after entering in the seventh and getting the Aggies out of a jam by stranding a pair. Carter Delaney picked up his fourth save of the year, pitching the final 1.1 innings, allowing a hit and striking out two.
After playing five games in a five-day span, Sacramento State returns to Western Athletic Conference play this weekend, traveling to Arizona for a three-game series against Grand Canyon on May 2-4. The Lopes are tied for first in the conference standings along with Utah Valley at 12-6 in league play, standing 1.5 games ahead of the Hornets.
