SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Four Sacramento State hitters finished with two hits on the day and the visiting Hornets took a four-run lead into the ninth before host UT Arlington rallied to walk it off, salvaging a win in the series finale by an 8-6 score on Sunday afternoon at Clay Gould Ballpark.
Having already earned the series win by winning the first two games of the weekend, Sacramento State's four-game winning streak came to an end with the loss, falling to 18-23 overall and 5-4 in league play. With the victory, the Mavericks improved to 15-23 overall and 4-5 in the WAC.
Sam Harry, Ryan Ellis, and Erick Dessens all finished with two hits and drove in a run each, while Jace Jeremiah added a double to hit two-hit day to help power the offense. Jakob Poturnak and Cameron Sewell also finished with singles.
Trailing 1-0 after the home side scored a run in the second, the Hornets exploded for a big four-run inning in the third, getting a trio of run-scoring singles by Harry, Dessens, and Poturnak for a 3-1 lead. With the bases loaded, a passed ball plated the fourth run as Sacramento State extended its lead.
UT Arlington halved the deficit with a run in the sixth on an RBI single, but the Hornets looked like they would put the game away with two in the top of the ninth as Ellis drove home a run with a single and Michael Perazzo's delayed steal was enough to score Harry from third for a 6-2 advantage.
That's when the Mavericks rallied against the Sacramento State bullpen, getting a pair of RBI singles to close within a pair before a one-out double with two in scoring position tied the game. Two batters later, UTA walked it off thanks to a two-run home run over the right field wall.
Starter Carson Timothy started and pitched well, allowing one run on four hits and striking out one over five innings, but picked up the no-decision. Sean Carey and Colin Hunter then limited the Mavericks to a run on three hits and struck out four over the next three innings. Trevor Wilson (2-5) suffered the loss, allowing the final two runs on two hits in one-third of an inning.
Hayes Melville (2-0) earned the win in relief, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits, walking two and striking out two over the final three innings.
Sacramento State's run of eight straight road games continues next week as the Hornets travel to Causeway rival UC Davis on Tuesday (April 21) for a 6 p.m. first pitch followed by a trip to Southern California to take on No. 1 UCLA in a three-game series on April 24-26.
