For the first time in nine tries, the Sac State baseball team defeated the Stanford Cardinal.It was able to put together solid pitching and timely hitting while demolishing the Cardinal 12-3 at Raley Field Wednesday night.

In front of a crowd of 2,460, starting pitcher Jeffery Groeger gave up only eight hits and struck out five in a complete game victory over the number seven ranked team in the country.Head coach John Smith liked what he saw and thought his guys were ready to play.

“That was pretty neat to watch,” Smith said. “Our guys got real excited playing Stanford.”Sac State?s hitters erupted for 11 of its 12 runs in three innings, with seven coming in the sixth.In the sixth, Sac State sent 12 batters to the plate, scoring seven runs on six hits and two costly errors by Stanford third baseman and former El Camino High player Andy Topham.

Center fielder Aurelio Jackson, started the inning off with a bunt single, then stole second. Jackson, who went three for three with two walks, has now reached base in 14 straight plate appearances either by hits, walks, or hit by pitch. Jackson has also reached base in 48 of Sac State?s 49 games this season. The NCAA record for reaching base in consecutive at bats is 17, and Jackson will have a shot at that record on Friday at UC Riverside.

“It?s weird, I?m seeing the ball well,” Jackson said. “I?ve been working hard three straight weeks.”

After Jackson?s bunt single, Sac State got five more hits, along with two hitters reaching base on Topham?s errors. Sac State received three doubles and two singles, busting the game wide open against the Cardinal.

Catcher Joe Evans and first baseman Tim Maghan had RBI doubles down the right field line, while shortstop Tito Barba hit a double down the left field line for two RBI. Also getting hits for the Hornets in the inning were right fielder Mario Celillo and second baseman Bobby Ciani. Both had RBI singles to left field.

Smith thought the team came out to play and it showed in the seven run outburst.”You have to bear down and focus (in the game), and that?s what we did.”

Not to be overlooked in the game was the pitching of Groeger. Groeger gave up only three runs, all unearned, and induced 12 groundball outs in his nine innings of work.

Groeger thought it was much easier to go out and pitch when the team put runs on the board.”It?s always easier to pitch when the guys get you runs,” Groeger said. “I didn?t concentrate on the runners (tonight), I concentrated on getting the batters out.”

Groeger was able to pitch his way out of two early inning jams. In the second inning, after allowing the first two batters to reach second and third with no outs, Groeger gave up only one run in the inning.

The same thing happened in the fourth inning, but this time Groeger got out of the jam with no runs given up.

Groeger gave up one run in the second inning, then two in the fifth before shutting down the Cardinal for the final four innings.

“He had good stuff,” Smith said. “His fastball had a little pop tonight.”

Before scoring seven runs in the sixth, Sac State scored one run in the second, and two each in the fourth and fifth innings.

For Stanford, the loss was the most lopsided on the season for the Cardinal. It was also the second most runs the team has given up in a game this season.

Right fielder Carlos Quentin of the Cardinal could only sum it up one way.