Opening the season against Causeway rivals UC Davis, Sacramento State fell 3-2 in 10 innings Saturday after Aggie catcher Tyler LaTorre singled to right field to drive in second baseman Brandon Oliver.

Oliver reached base on an error by Hornet second baseman Gary Johnson. LaTorre finished the game 2-5 with two RBIs.

The game included solid pitching by both teams and a few Hornet mistakes. “Both team’s pitchers did a good job,” Smith said. “Davis probably pitched better than they thought they would.”

Hornet starter Travis Kane gave up one run and five hits over 32??3 innings before leaving the game in the fourth inning after hitting Aggie second baseman Michael Jacobellis with a pitch to load the bases. Sac State (0-1) brought in reliever John Schlager who struck out Ryan Royster to end the inning.

“Kane pitched well in the start and Schlager came in for a key strike out,” Smith said.

Hornet pitcher Matt Campbell suffered the loss after pitching 5 2??3 innings. He gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits, while striking out four.

Davis pitcher Nik Aurora pitched the last two innings to pick up the win.

Davis (1-0) got a solid performance from sophomore right fielder Dan Baldini. Baldini hit his first career college home run to lead off the Davis fourth. He is the son of Fred Baldini, Sac State’s kinesiology department chair.

“It felt real good to get my first hit and home run of the season against our cross-town rival,” Baldini said. “I know coach Smith well and my dad is a chair over there, so it means more to do it against them.”

Coach Smith said the team couldn’t capitalize offensively as much as they’d liked. “I thought our hitting would do better,” he said.

Base running was a problem for the Hornets, who were caught stealing three times.

Assistant coach Don Barbara said they made one mistake on the base paths. He was referring to a play in the seventh inning after center fielder Jim Strombach led off with a double. While advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt by catcher Buddy Morales, Strombach took too large of a turn and was thrown out.

Another base running mishap happened in the fourth inning following a walk by designated hitter Pat Keiper. The scoreboard showed a full count on third baseman David Flores, so coach Smith sent Keiper. The pitch was a ball, but the count was actually 2-2, resulting in Keiper being thrown out at second base instead of advancing on a walk.

“That was a mistake on my part,” Smith said. “Don’t trust the scoreboard.”

“We’re gonna make mistakes, but we learn from them and will get better as a team,” Barbara said. The Hornets return to action Saturday at San Francisco.

Vincent Gesuele can be reached at [email protected]