PHOENIX, Ariz. — After putting up 15 runs on 21 hits just 24 hours earlier in the series opener, the Sacramento State offensive stayed as hot as the Arizona desert in game two, putting up 14 more runs on 23 hits to claim a 14-4 victory and take the series from host Grand Canyon at Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark on Saturday night.
The Hornets improved to 28-19 overall and moved to 12-5 in Western Athletic Conference play with the victory, posting their first series win over the Lopes since taking 2-of-3 in 2019 and winning a series in Phoenix for the first time since claiming 2-of-3 in 2016.
Grand Canyon fell to 26-20 overall and 12-8 in league play with the loss.
Saturday night's 23 hits for Sacramento State were the most in a single game during Head Coach Reggie Christiansen's tenure, while the Hornets posted back-to-back games with double-digit runs in the series against the Lopes for the first time since 1992.
After putting up 15 runs on Friday — which were the most scored by the Hornets in the series and tied for the most scored by either team (15 by GCU in 2021) — the 14 runs on Saturday were the third-highest total for Sacramento State in the series.
Unlike Friday night, it was the Hornets that jumped out early with three runs in the first two innings as Matt Masciangelo (RBI single in the first), Tyler White (RBI single in the second), and Michael Perazzo (RBI bunt single in the second), staked their team to the early lead.
A single and a squeeze in the second got Grand Canyon to within a run at 3-2, but it was another big inning by the Sacramento State offense that allowed the Hornets to stretch their legs a bit. White doubled home Ryan Christiansen and was followed by a JP Smith RBI single to make it 5-2, but Jakob Poturnak had the big blow with a bases-clearing triple for an 8-2 advantage.
It marked the third five-run inning for Sacramento State in the first two games of the series and the 12th time that the Hornets have scored at least five runs in a frame this year.
The Lopes cut into the lead with single runs in their half of the fourth and the fifth, but would get no closer. Cameron Sewell came through with a clutch two-run two-out single in the sixth before Poturnak, who missed hitting for the cycle by just a double, slugged his team-best 12th home run of the season in the eighth ahead of White's second double of the night to make it 12-4.
Sacramento State then capped the scoring with two more in the ninth as Smith drove home a run with a single and Sewell added another with a bases-loaded RBI single.
Meanwhile, Noah Lucchesi (5-2) was just as hot at the Hornet bats in picking up the win in relief, scattering three hits over five scoreless innings, walking a pair and striking out six. Ethan Lay started, but earned a no-decision, allowing four runs on nine hits and striking out a pair over the first four frames.
White led all Hornets with a 4-for-6 night at the plate, scoring twice and driving in three thanks to a pair of doubles. Luis Pimentel-Guerrero, Smith, Masciangelo, and Poturnak all finished with three hits, while Sewell, Jacob Cortez, and Ryan Christiansen added a pair. All told, every Sacramento State batter in the starting lineup finished with at least one hit, while six different players drove in runs.
Seven of the team's 23 hits went for extra bases as the Hornets finished with five doubles, a triple, and a home run.
Sacramento State goes for the series sweep on Sunday afternoon (May 4) at Noon. The Hornets have never swept GCU as WAC rivals (since 2014) and have done so only once in the history of the series, sweeping a four-game set in Sacramento back in 1992.
