SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Fresh off a split of a two-game midweek series at Kansas, the Sacramento State baseball team closes out its five-game spring break trip to the Midwest this weekend, taking on Creighton in a three-game series beginning Friday (March 27) and running through Sunday (March 29).

First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. PT on Friday, Noon PT on Saturday, and 11 a.m. PT for Sunday's series finale. All three games will be played at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb. -- home of the Men's College World Series.

PLAY BALL!
WHAT: Sacramento State (10-16, 0-0 WAC) at Creighton (11-11, 0-0 BIG EAST)
WHEN: Friday-Sunday, March 27-29, 2026
TIME: 4 PM PT (Fri.) / Noon PT (Sat.) / 11 AM PT (Sun.)
WHERE: Omaha, Neb.
STADIUM: Charles Schwab Field

FOLLOW:
Game 1:  ESPN+ | Live Stats
Game 2:  ESPN+ | Live Stats
Game 3:  ESPN+ | Live Stats

GAME NOTES: Sacramento State | Creighton | Western Athletic Conference

PUT ME IN COACH!
• While Sacramento State's baseball season approaches the midway point of the 2026 season, three Hornet baseball alumni are just gearing for the start of theirs, making the opening day rosters for their respective Major League Baseball rosters on Thursday
• Rhys Hoskins enters his ninth season at the Major League level with his third different team after joining the ranks of the Cleveland Guardians in 2026 following two years with the Milwaukee Brewers
• Nathan Lukes enters his fourth season with the Toronto Blue Jays after helping his club to the American League pennant and a trip to the World Series for the first time since 1993, eventually falling to the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games
• James Outman enters his fifth season at the Major League level and his second with the Minnesota Twins after being traded from the Dodgers in late July

ABOUT THE BLUEJAYS
• Creighton enters the week with an 11-11 overall record, including a 5-1 mark in six games at home
• The Bluejays have won their last two straight, defeating Omaha (7-6) and South Dakota State (11-5) in a pair of midweek games leading up to this weekend's series
• Prior to that, Creighton was swept in a three-game series on the road at Miami
• Grad infielder Ben North leads the team offensively with a .393 batting average, adding five doubles, three home runs, 19 runs scored, and 21 RBI while also slugging .607 on the year
• Three Creighton regulars are batting better than .300 on the year, including senior catcher Nate McHugh, who also leads the team with five home runs
• Junior RHP Jack Pineau, scheduled to start Friday's opener, leads the team with 34 strikeouts in 30.1 innings, going 2-0 on the year with a 4.45 ERA
• As a staff, Creighton sports a 6.64 ERA and 185 strikeouts against 121 walks, while opponents are hitting .288 against them

SERIES NOTABLES
• This weekend marks only the second-ever meeting between the Hornets and Bluejays
• The two schools met in a single game back in 2012 in Sacramento with Sacramento State winning the game by a 7-2 score
• Rhys Hoskins and Trevor Paine each drove in a pair of runs while seven Hornet pitchers combined on a four-hitter
• Creighton is the only member of the current Big East baseball lineup that the Hornets have faced

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

MILLENNIAL MILESTONE
• Sacramento State enters the weekend needing just eight 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 992-1,075-4 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
• Although he didn't get the win in the opener against Kansas, Lay was effective in his start against the Jayhawks, striking out seven over four innings while scattering a run on six hits in the eventual 7-4 Hornet victory
• The senior enters the weekend atop the league -- and ranking No. 16 in the NCAA -- in strikeouts (49) and second strikeouts looking (11) while leading the league in fewest walks (4) and innings pitched (39.2)
• Elsewhere in the WAC, Lay ranks third in batting average against (.197) and ERA (2.27), eighth in fewest hits allowed (30), and sixth in fewest runs allowed (15)
• 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

POTURNAK IS PERSISTENT
• Junior Jakob Poturnak made his return to the "Sunflower State" a good one in the midweek series at Kansas, batting .500 (4-for-8) in the two games with a double, a run scored, and an RBI
• In the process, Poturnak, who spent the 2024 season at Cloud County CC in Concordia, Kan., extended his hitting streak to 12 games -- now the longest active run by a Hornet after teammate Erick Dessens had his 12-game streak ended in the opener against Kansas on Tuesday (March 24)
• During his current streak, Poturnak is batting .375 (18-for-48) with 12 runs scored and 10 RBI, adding three doubles and a pair of home runs
• He has also reached base safely in his last 13 contests after drawing a pair of walks in the game two win over No. 2 LSU on March 7

ERICK THE GREAT
• While his rather lengthy 12-game hitting streak came to a halt in the opener against Kansas, Dessens made up for it in the game-two win over the Jayhawks, finishing 4-for-5 with a home run, three runs scored, and two RBI in the 7-4 win
• The four hits matched his season high set at Pacific on March 14 and gave him his team-best 10th multi-hit contest of the year
• His home run was his team-best sixth of the year -- already ranking him fourth among active Hornets and tying him for fifth in the WAC entering the weekend
• 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
• In his last 14 games, the junior is batting .410 (25-for-61) with 13 runs scored, six doubles, a triple, four home runs, and 19 RBI

DESSENS AMONG THE TOP 10s
• In addition to his home run totals, Dessens enters the weekend as one of the top offensive threats in the WAC, ranking among the league's top 10 with 37 hits (4th), adding 29 RBI (5th)

IN YOUR JACE!
• Senior Jace Jeremiah continues to be a pest to opposing pitching, reaching base safely in each of his last 19 games dating back to Feb. 25 at Pacific
• The San Mateo, Calif., native has hit safely in 17 of those 19 contests, including a season-best 3-for-4 with a double and four RBI at Pacific back 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 back in 2024
• A Hornet hasn't reached safely in at least 20 consecutive games in a single-season since both Ryan Walstad (25) and Bronson Grubbs (22) did so in 2019

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 five of the last six -- atop Sacramento State's order
• Ott, who leads the team and ranks tied for eighth in the WAC with 23 runs scored entering the weekend, has scored 19 of those from the lead-off position, adding 16 of his 19 hits (including five for extra bases) and 11 RBI
• He nearly had himself a share of a long-time Sacramento State 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 (.419 overall this year), drawing 10 walks and five hit by pitches
• Meanwhile, Ott's seven hit by pitches are tied for third in the conference entering the week, just four off the league lead

DOUBLES TROUBLE
• With Dessens happy to run the extra 180 feet around the bases, Poturnak and freshman Sam Harry have been somewhat content at just stopping at second base
• The duo enters the weekend ranked among the top 10 in the WAC in two-baggers with Harry standing tied for fifth with nine and Poturnak tied for ninth with eight
• Thanks to those totals, Poturnak ranks second on the team with 11 extra-base hits this year (adding three home runs) while Harry is third with 10 (adding a triple) -- both trailing Dessens, who is tops on the squad with 14
• As a team, the Hornets have posted at least one extra-base hit in 24 of the team's 26 games

IN A HARRY TO HIT
• Freshman Sam Harry continued a solid start to his collegiate career with hits in both games against Kansas earlier in the week
• Harry enters the three-game series against Creighton on a five-game hitting streak, batting .474 (9-for-19) with seven runs scored, three doubles, and four RBI
• Extending it out further, Harry has hits in 11 of his last 13, batting .327 (17-for-52) with five multi-hit contests, 11 runs scored, and eight RBI while walking eight times in that stretch
• In 26 games thus far this year, he has gone without a hit seven times while tying for second on the squad with 28 hits this year

TOUCH 'EM ALL!
• When the Hornets DO hit a home run this season, they are definitely getting their money's worth as 12 of their 14 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 three two-run home runs, seven three-run blasts, and the two aforementioned grand slams
• Nine of the team's 14 home runs have come in the first four innings and the Hornets are 8-4 this year when leaving the yard compared to just 2-12 when they don't
• However, both of the team's grand slams have come in the eighth inning or later
• Thanks to grand slams by Cameron Sewell (game two at No. 2 LSU) and Jakob Poturnak (game two vs. Winthrop) 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

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 35 percent (54) of its 153 runs in the first three innings thus far
• 34 of those 153 runs this year have come in the second inning alone -- the most of than any inning 
• The Hornets have scored first in nine of their 10 victories, going 9-4 this season when they crack the runs column before their opponents
• However, Sacramento State, which had yet to win in 11 tries when the opponents get on the board first, posted its first come-from-behind win of the year on March 25 in the 7-4 win at Kansas

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

THIS CLOSE
• Of Sacramento State's 16 defeats this year, nine of those have been decided by two runs or fewer, with five of those coming by a single run

DOUBLE-DIGIT DAMAGE
• Sacramento State posted its 10th game with double-digit hits in the finale at Kansas on Wednesday (March 25) -- the seventh time in its last 10 games that the Hornets have been able to accomplish that feat dating back to the March 11 contest against Pacific
• Prior to that, Sacramento State had only been able to collect 10-or-more hits three times in its first 16 games
• When scoring 10-or-more runs, Sacramento State is 4-1 this season and 6-4 when posting double-digit hits

PUTTING THE "W" IN WILSON
• True freshman RHP Trevor Wilson picked up the first win of his collegiate career in relief on Wednesday (March 25) at Kansas, going two innings, allowing three hits, and striking out four
• It was the 11th appearance this year for the Roseville, Calif., native -- a total that leads the team

CAREY THAT LOAD
• Junior LHP Sean Carey came up big in his longest outing of the year in the win over Kansas, throwing the final three innings while allowing a run on two hits and striking out three to pick up his first collegiate save
• The three strikeouts marked the fourth time this season that the southpaw has struck out at least that many in an appearance, falling just one short of his season high of four set at California (March 1) and matched at No. 2 LSU (March 7) when he picked up his first win of the year

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 76 hitters against only eight walks
• Lay (49 strikeouts, four walks) is No. 12 in the NCAA with a league-best 12.25-to-1 ratio, while Marton and his 27 strikeouts against four walks has posted a 6.75-to-1 ratio
• Lay also ranks No. 16 in the nation in fewest walks per nine innings (0.91) and also stands No. 27 in WHIP (0.86)

WALK THE WALK
• The Hornets' staff enters the weekend having walked only 85 hitters while striking out 226 through the first 26 games, ranking No. 26 in the NCAA in fewest walks allowed per nine innings (3.43)
• Sacramento State also ranks No. 35 in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.66) and No. 44 in WHIP (1.33)

"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 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
• Sophomore RHP Chase Sorlie has emerged as one of the Hornets best midweek starter options, taking the mound in a starting role times following his outing at Kansas on Tuesday (March 24)
• In those four starts, Sorlie has surrendered only four runs on eight hits over 13.1 innings, posting a 2.70 ERA while striking out nine and walking five
• Opponents are hitting just .170 against him in those four games after holding the Jayhawks hitless over his 3.1 innings of work in a no-decision last Tuesday
• Those 3.1 innings marked his longest outing this year, trailing the four innings of work at Pacific on Feb. 25, striking out a season-high three 
• Overall, the Las Vegas native has posted a 2.45 ERA over 22.0 innings, striking out 15 and holding opponents to a .169 average against