Sports

BASEBALL BATTLES DIVISION-LEADING GRAND CANYON ON THE ROAD AS REGULAR SEASON WINDS DOWN



SACRAMENTO — Winners of five straight Western Athletic Conference series and seven of its last 10 games overall, the Sacramento State baseball team resumes conference play this weekend with its final league road series of the season, travelling to the “Valley of the Sun” for three games against division-leading Grand Canyon on Friday (May 6) through Sunday (May 8). First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday (May 7), with Sunday’s finale scheduled for Noon.

PLAY BALL…
WHAT: Sacramento State (23-21, 13-11 WAC) at Grand Canyon (31-15, 17-4 WAC)
WHEN: Friday-Sunday, May 6-8, 2022
TIMES: 6:30 p.m. PT  / 6:30 p.m. PT / Noon PT
WHERE: Phoenix, Ariz.
STADIUM: Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark (1,500)
WATCH: ESPN+ (Subscription Required) – Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
LIVE STATS: GCULopes.com – Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
GAME NOTES: Sacramento State | Grand Canyon Baseball

ON THE MOUND…
FRIDAY: RHP Eli Saul (5-0, 3.23 ERA) vs. TBA
SATURDAY: TBA vs. TBA
SUNDAY: TBA vs. TBA

SCHEDULE UPDATES…
Fans looking to make the trip to Phoenix should know that the first two games of the series against Grand Canyon have been changed to 6:30 p.m. In addition, the Hornets’ season-ending four-game series against San Jose State has been shortened to three games. The Hornets will host the Spartans on Thursday (May 19) at 6 p.m. at John Smith Field as scheduled, but game two scheduled for Friday (May 20) will now be played in San Jose at 6 p.m., as will the finale on Saturday (May 21), now at 4 p.m. The game scheduled for Sunday (May 22) has been canceled.

IN THE RANKINGS…
Grand Canyon is ranked No. 29 in the nation according to Collegiate Baseball, and is among those “receiving votes” in both the USA Today Coaches Poll and NCBWA rankings this week… Sacramento State is unranked entering this week’s games. The Hornets were ranked as high as No. 20 in the nation by Baseball America on Feb. 28 following a 7-0 start, while also ranking No. 23 in the D1Baseball.com poll, No. 24 by the NCBWA, and No. 25 in the USA Today coaches poll. It marked the first time in the program’s Division I history that Sacramento State has appeared in those respective rankings after the Hornets debuted in the national polls for the first time as a Division I program in 2021, coming in at No. 24 in back-to-back weeks in the Collegiate Baseball poll on April 5 and 12.

SCOUTING GRAND CANYON…
The ‘Lopes enter the weekend with a 31-15 overall record and a 17-4 mark in Western Athletic Conference play, leading the division by five games over California Baptist and five-and-a-half games over Sacramento State… Grand Canyon has won five of its last six games — a run that has included wins over Stanford, Arizona, New Mexico, and a series victory (2-of-3) over Utah Valley in conference play… GCU is 12-8 at home this season, but hasn’t played there since taking 2-of-3 from California Baptist back on April 14-16, playing its last nine straight on the road… Senior utility Juan Colato leads the ‘Lopes with a .383 average — and is one of six regulars to bat better than .300 this season… Junior outfielder Tayler Aguilar has slugged a league-best 17 home runs and driven in a team-high 54 runs… Grand Canyon is batting .306 as a team and is averaging nearly seven runs per game… The ‘Lopes pitching staff sports a combined 4.16 ERA and has struck out 444 batters against only 134 walks while holding hitters to a .259 average.

AGAINST THE ‘LOPES…
Sacramento State holds a narrow, 20-18, lead in the series against Grand Canyon according to records that date back to 1986… The ‘Lopes have won six of the last eight meetings with the Hornets, including taking 2-of-3 from Sacramento State at John Smith Field back on March 25-27… Two of those contests were decided by a single run, sandwiched around a 5-2 GCU win in game two… This weekend marks only the fifth series played in Arizona and the first meeting between the two programs in Phoenix since the 2018 season when the ‘Lopes took 2-of-3 on May 11-13… Grand Canyon leads the series on its home field by a 7-5 count, winning the last two.

LAST TIME OUT…
Sacramento State rallied with a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh to take the lead late, but a pair of San Francisco home runs on either side of that rally spurred the Dons to a 4-2 victory on Tuesday night.

HE’S NUMBER TWO! HE’S NUMBER TWO!…
And we mean that with the best of intentions. With his team’s win at Saint Mary’s on April 26, Head Coach Reggie Christiansen picked up win No. 359 at the helm of the Hornets, moving him past Cal Boyes (358 in 17 seasons in 1957 and 1960-75) for the second-most wins in school history behind John Smith and his 882 career victories in 32 seasons (1979-2010) as head coach. Earlier this season, Christiansen won the 450th game of his coaching career in the opener at Long Beach State on Feb. 25, when you include his totals for one season at his alma mater, Menlo College, and four years at South Dakota State.

LET’S GET SERIES-OUS…
With their wins in games one and three last weekend against California Baptist, the Hornets clinched their fifth straight WAC series victory of 2022 — the team’s longest run since winning five straight series from the end of 2019 to the first four league series of 2021 (no conference games were played in 2020 after the season was canceled due to the pandemic).

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS…
Sacramento State’s 2-1 come-from-behind win to start the series against California Baptist last week kept the Hornets undefeated in series openers this year at 11-0 (including 8-0 in WAC play), outscoring opponents by a 88-37 count in those contests. That streak grows to 14 straight wins in series openers dating back to a four-game series against conference rival California Baptist on May 7 of last year, last losing a series opener on April 30 against Grand Canyon. 

OPENING A CAN…
The Hornet offense has been humming to start a weekend series, batting a robust .310 as a team while the pitching staff boasts a 2.88 ERA in those 11 series openers, holding opposing hitters to a .210 combined average and striking out 89 in 97 innings, while burning opposing arms to the tune of a 7.43 ERA. The bullpen has also been stellar, as nine pitchers have combined to allow just nine runs in 35.2 innings of work in those games for a 2.27 ERA and a better than 3-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (36 strikeouts, 10 walks).

MORETTO’S MILESTONE…
Senior Steven Moretto became only the 14th player in the history of the program to reach 200 hits for a career thanks to a ninth-inning single against California Baptist in game two of that series last week. He added two more hits in Sunday’s finale against the Lancers to bring his total to 202, ranking 12th on the all-time list, just four back of Will Soto (2011-14) and six behind David Del Grande (2010-14) for 10th place.

I’LL TAKE HITS FOR 200, ALEX…
Just behind Moretto on that list, Dawsen Bacho is just six hits shy of the milestone, standing at 194 entering the weekend, while Keith Torres is also closing in, needing 15 more hits to reach the 200-hit plateau.

MORE ON MORETTO…
After driving in three runs in the finale against CBU, Moretto moved into a tie for second on the school’s all-time list in that category along with Tim Wheeler (2007-09) and stands 16 RBI shy of Matt Smith’s record of 158 set last season. Moretto also moved into a tie for sixth on the career runs scored list with 128, third in at-bats with 82, and continues to stand second in career doubles (51) and home runs (30).

HE’S A GAMER…
Moretto appeared in his 229th career game — and made his 226th career start — on Tuesday night against San Francisco, ranking him third and second, respectively, on the school’s all-time list. Scotty Burcham (2012-15) holds both marks, appearing in 233 games during his Hornet career, making 231 starts.

HEY, HEY, HEY, HAYNES…
Aside from making his team-high 21st and 22nd appearances of the season in games one and three against California Baptist, right-hander Kevin Haynes improved to 5-0 overall on the year by picking up the win in each of those contests — winning for the fourth time in his last five appearances in Sunday’s finale thanks to “W’s” at Pacific (April 19) and Dixie State (April 22). The Rocklin, Calif., native has been solid over the last month-plus, allowing just six earned runs over his last 15 appearances, scattering 15 hits and striking out 19 — including a career-high five against the Lancers on May 1 — over the last 20.2 innings, posting a 2.61 ERA and a .203 (14-for-69) average against in that span.

NO WORK AND NO PLAY…
Make Jack a dull boy. Junior right-hander Jack Zalasky was anything but dormant last week, picking up three saves in the Hornets’ four contests against Saint Mary’s and California Baptist. Zalasky allowed just one hit over 4.1 shutout innings of work, striking out four and holding opposing hitters to an .071 (1-for-14) average.

SAVE TONIGHT…
Zalasky’s three saves last week pushed his season total to seven, ranking him third in the Western Athletic Conference and No. 41 in the NCAA as of May 4. The seven saves are the most in a single season since Tanner Dalton, who ranks tied for third on the school’s career list with 16 saves, finished with 10 in 2018, while Zalasky’s 11 career saves rank seventh on the school’s career list, passing Jeff Roth (2008-09) and Billy Sinacori (2004-07). One more save will move Zalasky into a tie for fifth on the all-time list alongside Tyler Beardsley (2015-16) and Trevor Rodgers (1990-91).

HEART ATTACK HORNETS…
After falling behind in the first and third games against California Baptist, the Hornets found a way to rally, scoring twice in the eighth in the former en route to a 2-1 win and plating seven unanswered in the finale on the way to a 7-4 victory. The two wins marked the team’s ninth and 10th come-from-behind wins of the year, while the two runs in the bottom of the eighth in the opener marked the eighth time that the Hornets have rallied to take the lead in the seventh inning or later.

WALK THIS WAY…
A very patient Hornet offense drew a total of 10 walks off California Baptist pitchers in the finale, marking the fourth time this season that Sacramento State has drawn 10-or-more free passes and the most since the Hornets drew 11 against Seattle U on April 15. Three of those walks were issued to Martin Vincelli-Simard — tied for the most by a Sacramento State hitter this year: Cesar Valero drew three against Grand Canyon on March 25 and Jeffery Heard finished with the same at New Mexico State on April 10.

FREE BASES…
Sacramento State’s 190 walks this season are good for second in the league despite not having one player among the top 10 individually in that category. Sophomore Jorge Bojorquez leads the team and is tied for 11th in the conference with 26 walks on the year, while Nick Iwasa and Josh Rolling are tied for 27th with 19 apiece.

PROBLEM SAUL-VER…
Sophomore right-hander Eli Saul stymied the California Baptist bats to the tune of just one run on six hits over 5.2 innings in the series opener, lifted after throwing 99 pitches in that span and narrowly missing out on his eighth “quality start” in 11 chances this season. The Vancouver, B.C., native struck out seven Lancers in the no decision — his second-highest total of the year behind only the nine strikeouts at Long Beach State on Feb. 25 — while dropping his season ERA to 3.23, which ranks fourth in the WAC entering this weekend’s contests.

QUALITY YOU CAN COUNT ON…
Sophomore right-hander Eli Saul leads the Hornets with seven “quality starts” (six innings, three earned runs or fewer) in 10 starts this season, posting a 5-0 record with a 2.17 ERA in those outings, allowing 11 earned on 33 hits over 45.2 innings, with 38 strikeouts and a .205 (33-for-161) average against. 

FIVE AND OH!…
Among the 16 pitchers in the WAC who have started at least 10 games, Saul is the last one standing without a loss, while Haynes, who also stands at 5-0, is one of three unbeaten relievers with a minimum of 20 appearances (his teammate Max Pettey being one of those at 2-0), ranking second in wins behind only Grand Canyon’s Vince Reilly, who is 6-1 with 10 saves for the ‘Lopes.

WE DEMAND… A SACRIFICE!…
When all you need is a fly ball to score a run, Sacramento State is your team. The Hornets, who shared the NCAA lead entering the series against California Baptist with 31 on the year, rank No. 3 in the nation this week (as of May 4) with 32, trailing Nevada and UTSA by one. With eight of his own, Steven Moretto is second in the nation in the category behind the nine sac flies from New Orleans’ Anthony Herron, Jr., and are the most by a Hornet hitter since David Del Grande finished with eight in 2014.

SHOW ME SOME GLOVE…
It’s by the slimmest of margins, but Sacramento State enters the week the kings of the leather in the field, pacing the WAC — and ranking No. 23 in the nation — in fielding percentage at .978 on the year (just .00001 of a percentage point ahead of second-place Abilene Christian) while committing the second-fewest errors in the league with 35. The Hornets also rank No. 38 in the nation with 35 double plays turned (second in the WAC behind Grand Canyon’s 38) while standing No. 57 in the NCAA with 0.80 per game.

TRIPLES THREAT…
After combing through the archives, Sacramento State’s three-triple game at Saint Mary’s marked the first time that has happened in a single game in the program’s Division I history dating back to the 1991 season. The Hornets have had two in a game on numerous occasions, the last coming in a 21-4 win over Houston Baptist on March 4.

OH, HOW THE TURN TABLES…
Senior Dylan McPhillips is used to seeing a lot of pitches in 2022 thanks to his 21 starts behind the plate, but the shoe was on the other foot Sunday in the finale at Dixie State as the Gilroy, Calif., native made his collegiate pitching debut. McPhillips pitched one-third of an inning, walking one and striking out a batter, making him the first full-time position player to pitch for the Hornets since Griffin McCormick allowed a hit and notched a strikeout in one inning of work at California on April 23, 2019.

DON’T RUN ON DYLAN…
Would-be base stealers may want to think twice with McPhillips behind the dish as the senior has thrown out 10 runners trying to steal against him this year — a total that ranks tied for second in the WAC behind only Dixie State’s Kaden Hollow (13). The 10 runners extinguished by McPhillips have tied his career high set as a freshman in 2018 and are just one back of Dawsen Bacho‘s 11 last season — which were the most by a Sacramento State catcher since Gunner Pollman erased 30 would-be base stealers in 2016.

SIX WAYS TO VICTORY…
Must be their magic number. The Hornets are 15-3 this season when they score six runs or more, but just 8-18 when they fall under that number.

STRIKE FIRST, STRIKE HARD, NO MERCY SIR!…
Sacramento State is 15-5 when scoring first this season, outscoring opponents by a 125-100 count through the first four innings, compared to a 164-126 deficit through the final five frames. The third inning has been the Hornets’ best this season, scoring 39 runs in that frame while holding the opposition to just 17.

DOYLE DIALED IN…
Junior Trevor Doyle has logged hits in six of his last nine contests and collecting better than half of his 18 hits on the season during that stretch. The Las Vegas, Nev., native is batting .324 (11-for-34) over his last nine — including four multi-hit games — with seven runs scored and nine RBI.

WINNER, WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER…
In all, 10 different Hornets have accounted for game-winning RBI this season, after Dylan McPhillips‘ game-winner in the series opener at Dixie State, while Cesar Valero leads all Hornets with five on the year. Meanwhile, Josh Rolling, Trevor Doyle, and Jeffery Heard, have all come around to score the game-winning run a team-high three times, with Colby Lunsford becoming the 11th different player to score a game-winning run as a pinch-runner against California Baptist in the opener.



Source link

news7h

News7h: Update the world's latest breaking news online of the day, breaking news, politics, society today, international mainstream news .Updated news 24/7: Entertainment, Sports...at the World everyday world. Hot news, images, video clips that are updated quickly and reliably

Related Articles

Back to top button