SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A five-game spring break roadtrip to the Midwest is on-deck for the Sacramento State baseball team, which opens a run of five games in six days in Lawrence, Kan., with a two-game midweek series against Kansas on Tuesday (March 24) and Wednesday (March 25). First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. PT for the opener, with a 1 p.m. PT scheduled start for game two.

Following the games against the Jayhawks, the Hornets head to Omaha, Neb., for a three-game set at Creighton at Charles Schwab Field -- home of the College World Series -- on March 27-29

PLAY BALL!
WHAT: Sacramento State (9-15, 0-0 WAC) at Kansas (15-8, 4-2 Big 12)
WHEN: Tuesday-Wednesday, March 24-25, 2026
TIME: 4 PM PT (Tues.) / 1 PM PT (Wed.)
WHERE: Lawrence, Kan.
STADIUM: Hoglund Ballpark
FOLLOW:
Game 1:  ESPN+ | Live Stats
Game 2:  ESPN+ | Live Stats

GAME NOTES: Sacramento State | Kansas | Western Athletic Conference

PROBABLE STARTERS
Game 1: RHP Chase Sorlie (3 GS, 0-0, 2.41 ERA) at RHP Madden Seidl (4 GS, 1-1, 5.68 ERA)
Game 2: RHP Ethan Lay (6 GS, 2-1, 2.27 ERA) at TBA

WELCOME BACK!
• This week's series with Kansas marks a return to Lawrence for Sacramento State Head Coach Reggie Christiansen, who was an assistant coach with the Jayhawks for two seasons in 2003-04
• While there, Kansas won 66 games as Christiansen helped mentor a pair of ABCA All-Region selections  (Ryan Baty & Kevin Wheeler), 12 All-Big 12 honorees, and eight players who went on to be selected in the Major League First-Year Player Draft or sign a free agent deal
• Christiansen also helped lead the Jayhawks to several program offensive records, including leading the Big 12 -- and ranking No. 28 in the NCAA -- in batting average (.316) and tying for the lead in doubles (139) in 2004

ABOUT THE JAYHAWKS
• Kansas enters the week at 15-8 overall and 4-2 in Big 12 Conference play
• The Jayhawks have won their last five consecutive games, winning a Big 12 series finale with Texas Tech, posting a midweek win over SEC rival Missouri, then sweeping a conference series with Houston at home
• This week's games are the final two in a run of six-straight at home for the Jayhawks, who are 6-1 this season at Hoglund Ballpark
• Grad outfielder/catcher Jordan Bach is the team's leading hitter, batting .341 with a 1.017 OPS, scoring 26 runs, slugging four home runs, and driving in 15
• Five regulars in the lineup are batting better than .300 on the season and have combined for 16 of the team's 34 home runs on the year
• The Kansas pitching staff sports a 6.05 ERA with a 1.56 WHIP, while striking out 217 hitters over 196.1 innings and posting a .275 average against

SERIES NOTABLES
• Kansas and Sacramento State have met five times previously on the diamond with the Jayhawks holding a 4-1 lead in the all-time series
• The two schools haven't met in baseball since 2021 when the two teams split a two-game midweek series: the Hornets winning the opener, 11-6, and the Jayhawks posting a 6-4 win the following day
• This week marks the second straight "series" meeting between the programs in Lawrence, with the first-ever meeting played on a neutral field in Kansas City at the "Best in the Midwest" Tournament in 2005, and the next two coming at the Peoria Tournament in Arizona in February of 2010

CONFERENCE CALL
• Sacramento State has faced eight of the current 14 baseball-playing members of the Big 12 Conference, posting a combined 28-35 record against those schools
• However, meetings against four of those opponents (Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, and Utah) came before they officially joined the Big 12
• In addition to their 1-4 record against Kansas, the Hornets are also 0-1 against Kansas State, 0-1 against Texas Tech, and 0-1 against West Virginia
• Sacramento State is 5-16 against Arizona and 2-2 against Arizona State (both as members of the Pac-12), 9-7 against Utah (as a member of the WAC, Mountain West, and Pac-12), and 1-3 against BYU (as members of the WAC, Mountain West, and West Coast Conference)

MILLENNIAL MILESTONE
• Sacramento State enters the week needing just nine more victories to reach 1,000 all-time wins in the program's Division I history
• Since it's first full Division I season in 1990, the Hornets have posted a 991-1,074-4 record

LAY EARNS WAC WEEKLY HONORS
• For the second time in his Hornet career, senior RHP Ethan Lay was named the Western Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week, picking up his most recent honor on Monday (March 23) after a dominating outing against Winthrop in the opener of a three-game series
• The Colusa, Calif., native was nearly unhittable against the Eagles, facing just one over the minimum in eight shutout innings and striking out 11
• He retired the first 11 batters of the game before Winthrop broke up the perfect game with a double in the fourth, then proceeded to retire the final 13 batters he faced -- seven via strikeout -- holding the Eagles to an .040 average
• Lay picked up his first career award on March 10, 2025, with seven shutout innings, allowing just one hit and striking out 11 against Pacific

IN "LAY"-MAN'S TERMS
• Fresh off his most recent stellar outing against Winthrop on March 11, Lay enters the weekend ranked among the top 10 in the WAC in numerous categories
• The senior is tied for the top spot in the league in strikeouts (42) and strikeouts looking (10) while leading the league in fewest walks (3) by one over his teammate Kurt Marton (4)
• Elsewhere in the WAC, Lay ranks second in batting average against (.180) and innings pitched (35.2), third in the league in ERA (2.27), fifth in fewest hits allowed (24), and tied for eighth in fewest runs allowed (14)
• Lay's 11 strikeouts against Winthrop (without a walk) was the third career double-digit strikeout performance of his Hornet career, joining the 11 K's against Pacific on March 9 of last year and a career-high 13 strikeouts (without a walk) in game two against Saint Joseph's (Feb. 20) this season
• He became the 16th Hornet in school history to strikeout at least 13 batters in a game and the first since Travis Adams (who made his Major League debut with the Minnesota Twins last summer) finished with 13 at Northern Colorado in 2021
• He has also struck out eight-or-more batters in a game six times as a Hornet

TAKE A WALK... TO THE DUGOUT
• The 1-2 punch of right-handers Ethan Lay and Kurt Marton have combined for nearly a 10-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio entering the week, striking out 69 hitters against only seven walks
• Lay (42 strikeouts, 3 walks) is No. 6 in the NCAA with a league-best 14-to-1 ratio, while Marton (27 strikeouts, four walks) is No. 34 in the nation at 6.75-to-1
• Lay also ranks No. 12 in the nation in fewest walks per nine innings (0.76) ahead of Marton, who is No. 44 in the country (1.44), and also stands No. 12 in WHIP (0.76)

TWO TO WATCH
• Lay and junior RHP Kurt Marton were two of more than 140 Division I pitchers from across the country named to the College Baseball Foundation's initial National Pitcher of the Year watch list for 2026 the organization announced on March 11
• The duo are two of four total hurlers honored from the WAC, joined by California Baptist right-handers Michael Malki and Bryan Peck on this year's list

DESSENS' DOZEN
• Junior outfielder Erick Dessens extended his team-best hitting streak to 12 games with hits in all four of the Hornets' contests last week
• The Scottsdale, Ariz., native hit .389 (7-for-18) with a team-high six runs scored, three doubles, a home run, and six RBI while walking once and hit by pitch another
• He slugged a home run for the third consecutive game in the 8-3 midweek win at San Francisco, becoming the first Sacramento State player to accomplish that since Steven Moretto in 2021
• During his streak, the junior is batting .396 (21-for-53) with 10 runs scored, six doubles, a triple, three home runs, and 17 RBI
• Dessens' hitting streak is the longest by a Hornet since Jakob Poturnak collected hits in 14 straight and Cameron Sewell did so in 13 consecutive games last season

POTURNAK IS PERSISTENT
• Dessens isn't the only Hornet carrying a significant hitting streak into this week's contests as junior Jakob Poturnak enters the games at Kansas on a 10-game hitting streak dating back to the series finale at No. 2 LSU on March 8
• Poturnak also had hits in all four games last week for Sacramento State, scoring four runs and driving in seven while collecting two hits in the series opener against Winthrop
• During his current streak, Poturnak is batting .350 (14-for-40) with 11 runs scored and nine RBI, adding a pair of doubles, two home runs, and three walks
• He has also reached base safely in his last 11 contests after drawing a pair of walks in the game two win over No. 2 LSU on March 7

ISN'T IT GRAND?
• One of Poturnak's hits last week was a loud one as the junior slugged his first grand slam as a Hornet and the second by a Sacramento State hitter this year (Cameron Sewell at No. 2 LSU on March 7)
• Sewell's slam against the Tigers was his second as a Hornet, joining his slam at Seattle U on April 14, 2024
• It is the ninth consecutive season (not counting the 2020 pandemic year) that the Hornets have hit at least one grand slam, and the seventh time in that stretch that they have hit multiple grand slams in a single year

TOUCH 'EM ALL!
• When the Hornets DO hit a home run this season, they are definitely getting their money's worth as 11 of their 13 long balls have been multi-run home runs
• The only solo home runs hit by Sacramento State this season have come from Dessens against Saint Joseph's (Feb. 19) and Poturnak against Pacific (March 11) -- both leading off an inning
• Outside of those two, Sacramento State has hit two two-run home runs, seven three-run blasts, and the two aforementioned grand slams
• Nine of the team's 13 home runs have come in the first four innings and the Hornets are 7-4 this year when leaving the yard compared to just 2-11 when they don't
• However, both of the team's grand slams have come in the eighth inning or later

SETTING THE TABLE
• Fourth-year sophomore Brett Ott has been proficient at the top of the Hornets' lineup thus far this season, batting .327 in 13 games -- including each of the last five -- atop Sacramento State's order
• Ott, who leads the team and ranks ninth in the WAC with 22 runs scored entering the week, has scored 19 of those from the lead-off position, adding 16 of his 18 hits (including five for extra bases) and 11 RBI
• He nearly had himself a share of a long-time Sacramento State baseball single-game record in the finale against Pacific on March 15, scoring five runs from the lead-off spot as part of a three-hit day
• Ott fell one score shy of the record of six runs scored set by Shawn McGuire against Pacific on March 8, 1997
• He has posted a .484 on-base percentage as the Hornets' lead-off batter (.432 overall this year), drawing 10 walks and five hit by pitches
• Ott's 13 walks overall are tied for second on the team  with Jace Jeremiah, trailing only teammate Luis Pimentel-Guerrero, who has walked 20 times this year
• Meanwhile, Ott's seven hit by pitches are tied for third in the conference entering the week, just three off the league lead

IN YOUR JACE!
• Senior Jace Jeremiah continues to be a pest to opposing pitching, reaching base safely in each of his last 17 games dating back to Feb. 25 at Pacific
• The San Mateo, Calif., native has hit safely in 15 of those 17 contests, including a season-best 3-for-4 with a double and four RBI at Pacific on March 15
• In the other two games, he drew a walk against No. 2 LSU in the series opener and a pair of free passes in the opener against Winthrop to keep the run going
• Jeremiah's safety streak -- which included an eight-game hitting streak from March 7-17 -- is the longest such run by a Hornet this year and the longest single-season streak since Jorge Bojorquez reached safely in 19 consecutive contests and Gunner Gouldsmith did so in 18 straight games back in 2024
• A Hornet hasn't reached safely in at least 20 consecutive games in a single-season since Ryan Walstad (25) and Bronson Grubbs (22) did so in 2019

MORE BB'S FOR LPG
• Nearly half (nine) of Pimentel-Guerrero's team-high 20 walks this season have come over the course of the last six games as the senior has drawn at least one walk in five of those contests
• Pimentel-Guerrero, who has reached safely in his last 11 games and had a 12-game streak of reaching safely earlier this year, has drawn a walk in 13 of the team's 24 games -- including five games with multiple walks and two games with three free passes (Saint Joseph's on Feb. 20 and Winthrop on March 19)
• Entering the week, Pimentel-Guerrero's 20 walks are tied for the top spot in the WAC along with Utah Tech's Kyle McDaniel while his .486 on-base percentage is third in the conference

IN A HARRY TO HIT
• Freshman Sam Harry had himself a week against Winthrop pitching, batting .583 (7-for-12) with three doubles, five runs scored, and three runs driven in
• He finished with a .571 on-base percentage and an .833 slugging percentage for 1.404 OPS
• Harry had multiple hits in all three games against the Eagles, including a career-high tying three in the series opener
• His three doubles over the weekend gave him a team-high nine on the year which ranks tied for third in the WAC entering the week
• In the process, the freshman raised his average 45 points to .280 on the year -- good for fourth on the team
• He has hits in nine of his last 11, batting .333 (15-for-45) with five multi-hit contests, nine runs scored, and seven RBI while walking seven times

DOUBLE-DIGIT DARLINGS
• Sacramento State finished with double-digit hits and runs in each of the first two games of the series last weekend against Winthrop -- the fourth and fifth times that the Hornets have finished with double-digit runs and the eighth and ninth times with double-digit hits
• When scoring 10-or-more runs, Sacramento State is 4-1 this season and 5-4 when posting double-digit hits

GOING BIG
• Sacramento State has posted a "big inning" (four or more runs) 13 times this season, finishing 6-3 in games in which they have done so
• The seven-run second inning in the series finale against Pacific on March 15 were the most in single inning this season and the most since the Hornets put up seven in the seventh inning of a 9-2 win at Utah Valley on May 11 of last year

CYCLE SEEKING
• Both Dessens and Ott came achingly close to hitting for the cycle during the series with Pacific two weeks ago with Dessens falling a triple short in both games two and three against the Tigers and Ott missing out on the triple in the finale
• Those two join Pimentel-Guerrero (Feb. 22 vs. Saint Joseph's) and Poturnak (March 11 vs. Pacific) as Hornets who have come close to hitting for the cycle this year -- all missing the accomplishment by a triple
• The last Sacramento State player to hit for the cycle was Jason Beeman at CSUN on April 24, 1994, finishing 4-for-6 with two runs and six RBI while also throwing a complete game on the mound in a 14-6 victory

STRIKE FIRST! STRIKE HARD! NO MERCY, SIR!
• Sacramento State has gotten out of the gates quickly this year, scoring 37 percent (53) of its 145 runs in the first three innings thus far
• 34 of those 145 runs this year have come in the second inning alone -- the most of than any other inning 
• The Hornets have scored first in all nine of their victories, going 9-4 this season when they crack the runs column before their opponents
• However, Sacramento State has yet to win in 11 tries when the opponents get on the board first

THIS CLOSE
• Of Sacramento State's 15 defeats this year, nine of those have been decided by two runs or fewer, with five of those coming by a single run

DE-FENSE (CLAP, CLAP)
• Sacramento State's defense has been solid as of late, not committing an error in its last eight-plus games (277 chances) entering this week's games

WALK THE WALK
• The Hornets' staff enters the weekend having walked only 72 hitters while striking out 208 through the first 24 games, ranking No. 12 in the NCAA in fewest walks allowed per nine innings (3.12)
• Sacramento State also ranks No. 26 in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.89) and No. 35 in WHIP (1.28)

"QUALITY" YOU CAN COUNT ON
• Lay logged his fourth "quality start" of the year with his win over Winthrop -- his 11th such start of his career after doing so a team-high seven times in 2025
• Marton has thrown a pair in five starts as a Hornet, throwing six shutout innings against UC Irvine (2/14) and allowing just two runs over 6.2 innings with nine strikeouts against Saint Joseph's
• Timothy's start in the series finale at No. 2 LSU was his first "quality start" as a Hornet

CUTTING TO THE CHASE
• With sophomore RHP Chase Sorlie scheduled to make his fourth start of the year on Tuesday at Kansas -- a role that he has been successful in thus far in 2026
• In his three previous starts, Sorlie has surrendered only three runs on eight hits over 10 innings while striking out seven against only two walks
• Opponents are hitting just .216 against him in those three starts
• His longest outing this year has been four innings at Pacific on Feb. 25, striking out a season-high three 
• Overall, the Las Vegas native has posted a 2.41 ERA over 18.2 innings, striking out 13 and holding opponents to a .194 average against

THAT'S A RELIEF
• Junior RHP Bryce Stockton has allowed just one hit over his last three relief appearances, walking one and striking out six -- including a season-high three K's against San Francisco on March 17
• Meanwhile, sophomore RHP Jackson Halverson has given up just two hits over his last 4.2 innings, striking out nine -- including a career-high four against Pacific on March 13