SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Senior Luis Pimentel-Guerrero finished 3-for-3 with a home run and three RBI while six pitchers combined on a three-hitter on Tuesday night, helping lift the Sacramento State baseball team to a 12-2 seven-inning victory over visiting San Francisco.
The Hornets (16-22 overall) won for the fifth time in their last seven games and swept a pair of midweek games from the Dons by a combined 20-5 score. USF fell to 18-16 overall with the loss.
Pimentel-Guerrero reached base in all four of his plate appearances, adding a first-inning walk to a two-run home run in the second — his third of the season — and singles in the fourth and fifth innings. It marked his 12th multi-hit game of the year.
Ryan Ellis, Erick Dessens, and Ayden Hadley all finished with two hits, while four other Sacramento State batters ended the night with knocks — including a double by Cameron Sewell. Five Hornets combined to drive in 10 of the team's 12 runs, while two more scored on a pair of San Francisco errors.
Ellis and Pimtentel-Guerrero helped set the table, each scoring three runs, while Dessens and Sam Harry added two apiece.
On the mound, junior Konner Entz went two innings in the start, allowing a pair of unearned runs on a hit and striking out one. Freshman Devin James (2-1) relieved him in the third and picked up the win, allowing just two hits and striking out one over his two innings.
Carson Timothy, Kurt Marton, Andrew Monson, and Chase Sorlie then finished the night without allowing a hit or a run and striking out three and allowing only two baserunners on hit by pitches.
A pair of passed balls after a one-out walk and a single led to the Dons' two runs in the first, but that was it for San Francisco, which managed a third inning single and a fourth-inning double for its only other hits on the day.
The Hornets, meanwhile, wasted little time in rallying in the home half of the first, plating four runs to take the lead for good. Three walks and a hit by pitch led to the team's first run as Jakob Poturnak put his team on the board for the first time. Jace Jeremiah followed with a potential double-play ball to the left side that was thrown away on the turn, allowing Ellis and Pimentel-Guerrero to score for the 3-2 lead.
Sewell's double just out of the reach of the USF centerfielder added a fourth run and the Hornets began to run away.
After stranding a runner in the second, Sacramento State plated three in the home half as Erick Dessens doubled home a run and Pimentel-Guerrero followed with his blast over the right field wall to make it 7-2.
Jeremiah tacked on two more with a two-run single in the fourth and the Hornets made it a double-digit lead with back-to-back singled by Dessens and Pimentel-Guerrero and another on an error to cap the scoring.
Meanwhile, the bullpen cruised, retiring the side in order in the fifth and stranding runners in the sixth and seventh to nail down the win.
Sacramento State opens an eight-game roadtrip with a return to Western Athletic Conference play this weekend, traveling to Texas for a three-game series against UT Arlington on April 17-19. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. PT on Friday, Noon PT on Saturday, and 10 a.m. PT on Sunday.
