Another strong showing by pitcher Ethan Katz was the only bright spot in a disappointing weekend for the Hornets, who dropped three out of four games at Hornet Field.

The action concluded on Monday afternoon as the UC Riverside Highlanders pounded the Hornets 9-1. The Hornets are now 15-15, while the Highlanders improve to 14-11.

The Highlanders hit almost everything the Hornet staff threw at them, cranking out 16 hits on the afternoon against six Hornet pitchers.

Freshman starter Billy Sinacori, 1-4, took the loss and left the game in the top of third trailing 2-0.

Highlanders starter John Martinez stayed perfect on the season, improving his record to 4-0.

Hornet third baseman John Acha kept his hitting streak alive at 14 games with a pair of singles.

The Hornets dropped the second game of a doubleheader on Sunday 4-2 against UC Riverside, despite a complete game effort from starting pitcher Warren Rosebrock.

With 12 hits the Hornet offense made plenty of noise, but stranded too many runners.

Rosebrock, now 3-3, took the loss after allowing nine hits and three earned runs in nine innings.

Bret LeVier went 3-for-3, while John Acha and Matt Wilson both went 2-for-4 for Sac State.

The Hornets didn’t fare any better in game one of the doubleheader, losing to Cal Poly 5-2.

A two-run homer from Acha in the first inning was all the scoring the Hornets could muster.

Mick Joyce, now 0-1, took the loss after three runs on four hits forced his early exit after two innings.

The Mustangs’ pitching duo of Garret Olson and Nolan Moser kept the Hornets bats in check.

Olson’s only mistake was the homer in the first. He struck out seven in five innings for the win. Moser gave up just one hit in three innings of scoreless relief.

The Hornets lone victory of the weekend came on Saturday, thanks to another outstanding pitching performance from Katz.

For the second consecutive start, Katz threw a complete game leading the Hornets to a 3-1 win over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Nursing a 3-1 lead in the ninth with two outs and the tying run at second base, Katz found himself in a battle with Mustang first baseman Bret Berglund, who fouled off pitch after pitch. Katz finally got Berglund to ground out to end the game.

“We went away, away, with the fast ball, but he was tough,” Hornet catcher Buddy Morales said. “We went to a fast ball inside on the last pitch for the ground out.”

Katz struck out eight batters and scattered seven hits, while throwing 138 pitches. His team leading record improved to 5-1, while his earned run average now stands at 2.91.

“He had good command of everything,” Hornet manager John Smith said of Katz. “That battle at the end was classic — I was thrilled for him.”

The Hornets will try to get over .500 when they make the short trip to the University of Pacific for two games on Thursday and Friday.