CAREER NOTES: Second in program history with 50 career doubles...Second with 809 career at-bats...Sixth with 117 career RBIs...Seventh with 206 career hits.
SENIOR (2014): Appeared in 60 games with 57 starts at third base...Hit .228 with five home runs and 39 RBIs...Had 237 official at-bats, tied for the seventh most at-bats in a season in program history...Scored 24 runs and totaled 13 doubles and one triple...Struck out only 15 times, ranking him as the 28th-toughest player to strike out in the NCAA and second in the WAC with 0.25 strikeouts per game...Tied for second in the WAC with six sacrifice flies...Was 4-for-5 in stolen base attempts...Had 12 multi-hit games, including three 3-hit games...Had nine multi-RBI games and was the only Hornet to drive in four runs in a game twice, against New Mexico State and UC Davis...Hit the 32nd grand slam in program history at New Mexico State and hit a 2-run homer and had four RBIs at UC Davis...Had a 15-game hitting streak March 25-April 18...Went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored against Utah Valley in the WAC Tournament...Homered against Bakersfield in the WAC Tournament...Ranked third on the team with 133 assists and had 57 putouts with a .945 fielding percentage.
JUNIOR (2013): One of four Hornets to start all 59 games, starting every game at third base...Hit in every spot in the order except ninth, with 19 starts hitting sixth and 11 hitting seventh...Hit .262 with three home runs, 33 RBI, and 25 runs...Had a .391 slugging percentage and .317 on-base percentage...Led the team and tied for fourth in the WAC with six sacrifice flies...Second on the team with 20 extra-base hits and third with 14 doubles...Had 17 multi-hit games with one four-hit game (4-for-4 with 3 RBI) vs. Cal State Northridge...Totaled seven multiple-RBI games with a team-high five three-RBI games...Had a 10-game hitting streak April 19-May 3...Totaled just three games with more than one strikeout...Had a .947 fielding percentage with 122 assists.
SOPHOMORE (2012): Batted .276 with 35 runs, 32 RBIs and team-high 17 doubles in his sophomore season...ranked No. 4 in the WAC in doubles...started 56 games, tied for third most on the team, with 54 of those coming at third base...batted third in the lineup 28 times, the most of any player on the roster...clubbed a three-run walk-off home run to right field on Feb. 26 to help the Hornets sweep Seattle U...his three RBIs against the Redhawks was a season-high...hit a team-best .474 with one double, three RBIs and a team-high six runs in four WAC Tournament games...ended the season on an eight-game hitting streak.
FRESHMAN (2011): Hit .254 in 38 games as a freshman...made 34 starts with 30 at third, two in left, one in right and one at designated hitter...his .254 batting average was the best among true freshmen on the roster...was hitting .158 on May 6 before exploding in a four-game series at New Mexico State...was named Western Athletic Conference Hitter of the Week after batting .706 (12-for-17) with seven runs scored, eight RBIs, two doubles and three walks without a strikeout against the Aggies...had 10 singles and two doubles in four games at NMSU, including a Sacramento State season-high five hits in one game of the Saturday doubleheader...became just the 11th player in school history to tally five hits in a single game, good for No. 2 all-time on the school's single-game hits list...posted an eight-game hit streak over the four game series against NMSU and Nevada...hit .313 in conference games.
HIGH SCHOOL: Played four seasons of baseball for head coach Jeff Carlson and the Thundering Herd at Elk Grove HS of the Delta Valley League...named first team all-metro, all-city and all-Delta Valley after his senior season in 2010...invited to the North/South All Star Games, which features the top-30 high school players in the state, in 2009...broke the Elk Grove HS varsity records with 58 hits and 51 runs in a single season...also played club baseball for head coach Dan Sozzi and the El Dorado Hills Vipers...won the 2008 U16 USA Baseball Championships.
PERSONAL: Parents are Dave and Mary Soto...Majoring in communication studies...Would like to work in sports broadcasting.
