The Sacramento State Hornets broke out the brooms this weekend,sweeping the Saint Mary’s Gaels in a three-game series.

The Hornets completed the sweep with an 11-6 victory over the Gaels at Hornet Field Sunday afternoon. The Hornet offense came up big early, posting five runs in the first inning and two in the second, easing the pressure on junior left hander Mick Joyce. Joyce allowed two runs in six innings, en route to his second straight win.

“Our hitting is starting to take shape,” Hornet head coach John Smith said after the game. “We are getting big hits and timely hits. It is nice to see it happening.”

The Hornet offense led by Gary Johnson, Montana Dye, Buddy Morales and Pat Keiper was able to put up double digit runs and hits for the second consecutive game. Dye led the assault going 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs and a homerun, his second of the season.

Johnson continued his hot hitting going 2-for-4 with an RBI and a triple. Morales and Keiper both went 3-for-5.

In the Hornets 13-1 victory on Saturday in Moraga, lefty Matt Campbell threw 7 strong innings giving up 1 run on 5 hits. Again leading the offensive charge for the Hornets were Keiper and Johnson with Keiper going 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs and Johnson going 3-for-5 with 3 runs scored.

The Hornets opened the series on Friday at home with a 6-4 victory. After falling behind 4-1, the Hornets fought back with four runs in the fourth, scoring three with two outs, taking a lead they would never lose.

Senior Everet Rincon’s two-run triple with one out in the fourth helped spark the rally. Rincon led the Hornet offensive attack, going 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored.

Earning the victory for the Hornets was junior right hander Justine Deme who threw five scoreless innings in relief of starter Travis Kane.

The sweep featured a Hornet offensive assault that tallied 30 runs and 42 hits. Leading the charge with the sticks this weekend were Dye, Johnson, Keiper and Morales who combined to go 24-for-52, a .461 batting average.

The sweep helped the Hornets get back to within one game of .500 heading into this week’s matchup with Santa Clara on Tuesday, and the River City Classic this weekend.

“We just need to take it one game at a time,” Smith said. “Our win on the road was big, because it proved that we could do it. (The Classic) Is a good tournament, but we are focused on Tuesday’s game against Santa Clara.”

The River City Classic is hosted by Sac State and UC Davis. It is a nine team tournament that features Washington State, Portland, BYU, Saint Mary’s, North Dakota State and the No. 6 ranked Oregon State Beavers.

The Hornets square off against North Dakota State on Thursday, Portland on Friday, Oregon State on Saturday and San Francisco on Sunday. All Hornet games are at Hornet Field at 2 p.m.

Josh Oates can be reached at [email protected]