SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The 1-2 punch of Sam Harry and Erick Dessens each finished with three hits and combined to drive in 10 of the Hornets' 11 runs on the night as the Sacramento State baseball team opened its week with an 11-2 victory over visiting Nevada on Monday night at John Smith Field.
Harry extended his hitting streak to 12 games in the process, finishing 3-for-4 with the first two home runs of his collegiate career, scoring four runs, and driving in six more to help pace the offense. The freshman became the first Hornet to hit two home runs in a game and drive in six runs since teammate Cameron Sewell accomplished both feats at Pacific on March 18 of last season.
The 12-game hitting streak for Harry is tied for the longest by a Sacramento State batter this year, matching 12-game runs by Dessens and Jakob Poturnak earlier this season.
Meanwhile, Dessens was just as busy, finishing 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBI, collecting his team-best 15th multi-hit game of the year and his 13th game with multiple RBIs.
Sophomore Michael Perazzo added a pair of hits and two runs scored, while four other Hornets finished with hits, including sophomore Brett Ott, who walked and accounted for the final Sacramento State RBI on the evening.
Freshman right-hander Devin James (1-1) picked up his first collegiate win, pitching three shutout innings without allowing a hit, facing just one over the minimum and striking out one. He was the first of five pitchers on the night for the Hornets as Baylor Sandberg, Bryce Stockton, Ari Kligman, and Ian Winterhalder finished out the game.
Harry wasted little time in extending his hitting streak, clubbing the fifth pitch of the game over the wall in right field for his first collegiate home run and a 1-0 lead. The freshman then made it 3-0 in the third, following a Ayden Hadley hit by pitch and a Perazzo infield single with a two-run single to right.
Dessens added his first RBI of the evening with a single to left, driving home Harry for the four-run advantage.
Nevada broke up the shutout in its half of the fourth with a single run before the Hornets opened the floodgates with a five-run fourth to take a commanding 9-1 lead.
Hadley reached on a one-out error and moved all the way to third on a Perazzo single that was misplayed in the outfield to put two in scoring position for Harry, who left the yard for a second time — this time clearing the wall in center — for a 7-1 advantage. After a walk to Ryan Ellis, Dessens followed suit, slamming his ninth home run of the season over the wall in right center to make it an eight-run game.
It marked the second time in as many games this season that Sacramento State has hit two home runs in an inning, the first coming just two days ago in the finale at Utah Tech when Dessens and Sewell did so in the second inning against the Trailblazers.
After the Wolf Pack notched their second run with a home run of their own in the sixth, Dessens got the run back in the home half with a single up the middle and Ott added his RBI hit two batters later to cap the scoring.
The Hornets have a quick turnaround, playing host Fresno State on Tuesday night (April 7) at 6 p.m.
