SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento State rallied from down seven runs to tie the game with three in the fifth and four in the seventh, then nearly came back from another large deficit with five runs in the bottom of the ninth before falling to visiting Winthrop by a 14-12 score in a back-and-forth game two of their series on Friday night at John Smith Field.
The Hornets (9-14) had their three-game winning streak snapped, but it wasn't without a fight after the Eagles (16-7) put up two runs in the first, two in the second, and three in the fifth before the home side began to claw its way back.
Brett Ott broke up the shutout with an RBI single and Sacramento State added another on a throwing error to make it 7-2. A Sam Harry sacrifice fly plated Ott with the third run of the inning and the rally was on.
The score stayed that way until the seventh when the Hornets drew even with more help with the Winthrop defense, which committed two of its four errors in the game in that frame. A walk and a single with one out put two on for Erick Dessens, whose potential double play ball was thrown away, allowing Ott to score and make it 7-4.
A single up the middle by Luis Pimentel-Guerrero scored Harry to make it a two-run game, but the drama continued. Jace Jeremiah walked to load the bases for Jakob Poturnak, whose ground ball to the left side resulted in one out, but the throw to first with the Eagles trying to turn two went astray, allowing both Dessens and Pimentel-Guerrero to come home and make it 7-7.
The Hornets, however, could not make that score stick as the first five WInthrop hitters reached base to start the eighth and the Eagles sent 10 batters to the plate as part of a six-run inning that put the Eagles back in front. Winthrop added a single run in the ninth, but Sacramento State wasn't finished.
Three straight singles by Harry, Dessens, and Pimentel-Guerrero loaded the bases as the Hornets went station. After a tapped back to the mound resulted in a force out at the plate, Poturnak stepped up and slammed his third home run of the season off the batter's eye in centerfield to make it 14-11.
The slam was the second by a Sacramento State hitter this season (Cameron Sewell at No. 2 LSU on March 7) and the first for Poturnak in a Hornet uniform.
Sewell kept the train going as he doubled down the right field line to move into scoring position for Ayden Hadley, who bounced a ground-rule double over the wall in left to make it a two-run game and get the tying run to the plate.
However, that would be as close as Sacramento State would get as the Eagles stranded a runner at third with a ground ball and a flyout to end the game.
Pimentel-Guerrero and Sewell each finished with three hits in the game, while Harry and Mullin added two each as eight of the nine starters recorded at least one hit.
Dessens extended his team-best hitting streak to 11 games with his hit in the ninth, while Poturnak (nine games) and Pimentel-Guerrero (eight games) also kept their lengthy streaks alive. With a single in the sixth, Jace Jeremiah reached base safely for the 16th consecutive game.
The rubber game of the series is scheduled for Saturday (March 21) at John Smith Field at 1 p.m., with a live stream available on the WAC International Network. Please note the change in start time from the originally announced 2 p.m. first pitch.
