The Sacramento State baseball team improved their record to 5-0 at home with a 7-5 victory over Portland Friday in day two of the River City Classic. The win put the Hornets at the .500 mark overall (6-6), heading into Saturday’s match up against the No. 8 ranked Oregon State Beavers.

The Hornets came out swinging early, scoring four runs in the first inning. Pat Keiper’s RBI-single drove in Gary Johnson to kick off the scoring. Senior Brian Blauser followed up with an opposite field homerun, his second in as many days, and third of the season.

With a 2-0 lead, sophomore David Flores knocked in Montana Dye after he reached on an error, and advanced on Jim Strombach’s single. The Hornets capped off the first inning scoring with a double steal that plated Strombach.

The Hornets further extended their lead in the sixth inning when Flores, who finished the day 2-for-3, scored on a Brian Conradi single.

Leading 5-2 in the seventh, the Hornets tacked on two more runs with a Keiper RBI-single, and a Strombach RBI-double. The 7-2 lead was enough to hold off a three-run ninth by the Pilots, and give the Hornets the victory.

Senior right-hander Travis Kane earned his first victory of the season after giving up two runs through seven innings of work. Junior John Schlager allowed three runs in two innings of work closing out the victory for the Hornets.

Keiper continued his hot hitting, finishing the day 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs. Strombach also had a strong day offensively going 3-for-4 with an RBI, a run scored and two stolen bases. Blauser finished another solid day going 1-for-2 with two runs scored, an RBI, and two walks.

The Hornets have won six of their last eight games and are 2-0 in the Classic heading into Saturday.

Day three of the Classic opens with Saint Mary’s vs. BYU at 10 am. Sac State is scheduled to face off against No. 8 Oregon State at 2 p.m. at Hornet Field.