The Sacramento State baseball team was swept by the No. 1-ranked Arizona Wildcats this past weekend in a three-game series at Kindall Field in Tucson.

The Wildcats won Friday’s game by a score of 9-3. Arizona scored a run in each of the first three innings while the Hornets were held scoreless. Senior right fielder Ryan Blair scored on a throwing error by Wildcat sophomore catcher Dwight Childs for the Hornets’ first run of the game.

The Wildcats extended their lead when sophomore third baseman Dillon Baird hit a grand slam off of Hornet junior starting pitcher Nick Buchta in the bottom of the fifth inning. Baird finished the game with six RBIs, going 3 for 4 with two runs scored.

The Hornets finished the game with only seven hits, losing their third consecutive game. Hornet senior catcher Travis Kirkman hit his first home run of the year in the losing effort.

Saturday’s game saw the Hornets score first when senior third baseman David Flores drove in senior second baseman Taylor Watanabe in the top of the first inning.

The Wildcats took the lead back in the bottom of the second inning scoring three runs on four hits against junior starting pitcher Jose Ramirez.

There was an abundance of scoring in the fourth inning. The Hornets scored three runs with the help of doubles by Flores, junior left fielder Gabe Jacobo and junior shortstop Blake Crosby.

Arizona scored five runs on six hits in the bottom of the inning to take the lead, 8-4.

The Hornets pushed across two more runs in the top of the fifth inning and one in the top of the ninth inning, but fell short by an eventual score of 15-7.

Flores went 3 for 5 in the losing effort with one RBI and two runs scored. Wildcat senior starting pitcher David Coulon picked up the win as he went five innings and gave up four earned runs.

The Hornets jumped on the Wildcats early in Sunday’s game, scoring five runs in the first three innings. Flores hit his first home run in the top of the first inning to put the Hornets on the board. Crosby and senior right fielder Brian Boyd both had RBI base-hits in the second inning.

In the top of the third inning, Flores’ bat stayed hot as he hit a double to left field on a 1-1 count. Jacobo drove him in when he tripled to right center. Sophomore center fielder Tim Wheeler put up the Hornets’ fifth run on a sacrifice fly allowing Jacobo to score.

The Wildcats woke up the bats in the fifth and sixth innings with five runs in the fifth and four runs in the sixth. Senior first baseman C.J. Ziegler hit a three-run home run in the fifth and a two-run home run in the sixth, propelling the Wildcats into the lead. Ziegler, a Tucson native, now has five home runs on the year.

The Hornets made the game close, scoring two runs in both the sixth and seventh innings, but the Wildcats proved to be too much for them. After adding a run in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Wildcats held onto the one-run lead as sophomore pitcher Jason Stoffel earned his third save of the season.

Flores shined at the plate during the three-game road trip to the desert. He batted .500 (7 for 14) with one home run, two RBIs and four runs scored. He said that he worked hard last week in preparation for this past weekend against No. 1 Arizona.

“We had a couple of drills in practice that helped with the velocity (the Arizona pitchers) were throwing,” Flores said in a phone interview. “I did a lot of extra work with our coaches after and before practice.”

The Hornets (1-5) have lost five consecutive games and have not won since their first game of the season. After sweeping the three-game series, the Wildcats improved their record to 5-1 on the season.

Andrew Eggers can be reached at [email protected]