Baseball team is whipped by UC Riverside
March 28, 2001
The UC Riverside baseball team is not a fun team to play.
This is what Sac State learned last weekend as it dropped three games to the Highlanders, by a combined score of 36-15.
After falling to Nevada, Reno 18-8 earlier in the week, the Hornets (15-14) were beaten by UC Riverside (12-14) 12-8 on Saturday, 16-1 on Sunday and 8-6 on Monday.
On Saturday, the Hornets scored some runs, but it was too little, too late. Riverside scored in each of the game’s first seven innings, and knocked out Sac State’s Jeffery Groeger in the middle of the fourth inning. Groeger was touched up for nine hits, and seven earned runs in the loss.
“It wasn’t one of his better outings,” head coach John Smith said. “He couldn’t get the ball to go where he wanted it to go.”
Riverside’s Randy Blood slammed two of his teams five home runs, and knocked in four runs in the victory.
Sac State’s Cory Williams went four for four and hit a home run and catcher Joe Evans hit two home runs, and had four rbi for the Hornets. Evans leads the team with 10 home runs and 25 rbi.
“It was really nice to see Cory break out and start attacking the ball,” Smith said. “And Joe Evans, he hammers.”
Sunday’s game was ugly for the Hornets. Riverside scored three runs in the first inning, and six in the second inning to jump out to a 9-0 lead. Pitcher Julio Fernandez went eight innings, allowing seven runners and one run, while Sac State’s Benny Gonzalez went 1 2/3, allowing 10 hits and nine earned runs.
Riverside’s Adam Seuss went four for five with a home run and six rbi. He also hit for the cycle in the win.
Smith, although not pleased with his team’s pitching of late, is not concerned yet.
“I’m not worried about it,” Smith said. “I’m hoping that it’s not going to be something we have to get worried about.”
Monday’s game was the closest of the three, as the teams went into the ninth inning tied at six, but it was not meant to be for the Hornets, as Matt Teahen of Riverside, hit a two-out double to give his team the sweep of the Hornets at Hornet Field.
In the last of the first inning, Carlos Morales hit a two-run home run to give the Hornets an early lead. After Riverside scored three times in the following inning, Morales tied the game at three with a sacrifice fly in the third inning.
The teams kept trading runs until the ninth inning, when, with the help of an error, Michael Penbera took his first loss of the year.
Jackson got three base hits, and Morales three rbi to lead the Hornets.The team travels to play Cal State Northridge this weekend
“We’re in a very tough situation right now,” said Smith of the team. “Riverside just beat USC and UCLA, but we haven’t had anybody hit us like that did all year.”
