The Sacramento State baseball team beat the Loyola-Marymount Lions in its first game of the season Friday afternoon, 12-7. The rain fell during most of the game making for a wet and rainy afternoon at Hornet Field.

“For the first game out of the gate, I thought (the team’s) intensity and focus was pretty solid throughout the game,” coach John Smith said. “With the rain coming down it is easy to lose focus and get kind of caught in that and they seemed to regenerate when we got slowed down a little bit.”

The Hornets took a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the third inning and then exploded for six more runs. Senior first baseman Wes Oberlin hit a three-run home run, knocking in junior left fielder Gabe Jacobo and sophomore center fielder Tim Wheeler. After senior second baseman Taylor Watanabe walked, senior right fielder Ryan Blair smoked a two-run shot over the right field wall.

Blair batted lead-off and went 3 for 4 with two runs scored and a game-high 4 RBIs.

The Lions mustered three runs in the top of the fourth but it was not enough to stop the Hornets, who scored at least one run in each of the first six innings. Smith was pleased with the offensive production from his veteran lineup.

“I thought we executed in situations where we had chances to score runs,” Smith said.

Senior pitcher Alvaro Orozco was credited with the win in relief after taking over for junior pitcher Jose Ramirez in the fifth inning. Ramirez started the game and gave up four runs in four innings. Junior pitchers Brian Smith and Jeff Roth combined to shut out the Lions in the last three innings.

“We didn’t pitch bad, but we weren’t perfect,” Smith said. “For me, you got to throw in the mix that there’s a little nerves there and butterflies there. You don’t always feel comfortable and fluid, and the ball doesn’t always go where u want.”

Smith said that the Hornets have worked hard, but have a long journey ahead of them this season.

“What I saw today was the accumulation of the long practices and the time spent preparing for today. The key issue is going to be if we can sustain that same intensity for 58 games,” Smith said.

Andrew Eggers can be reached at [email protected]