The Sacramento State Baseball team lost to UC Davis Saturday 9-3 as the Aggies ended the Hornets’ four-game winning streak with its rivals.

Davis (3-11) put up some offense early in the game when Ty Kelly scored from an RBI single by Ryan Scoma. The Hornets (5-8) right answered back in the bottom of the 1st inning when senior Hunter Martinez led the inning with a single. After Martinez stole second base, he scored from an RBI single by senior Blake Crosby, making the score 1-1 at the end of the 1st inning.

The Aggies then put more runs on the scoreboard when Scoma hit a slow roller to second base and the Hornets could not capitalize on the double-play from a failed attempt to throw out Scoma at first. Eric Johnson then brought the two runners on base home with an RBI double, which increased the Aggies’ lead to 4-1.

The Hornets then scored two more runs in the seventh inning to keep the game competitive. Freshman Aaron Crouch hit a single to lead off the inning and Sophomore Derrick Chung hit a double down the left field line, putting runners on second and third base. Martinez then scored both runners with an RBI single although Chung was able to score because of a failed attempt to throw out Martinez at first. The Aggies ended the inning with a double play, eliminating any hope for the Hornets to rally.

The Aggies then scored four more runs in the top of the eighth off of a single, three walks and two Hornet errors. The Hornets were not able to rebound afterwards and the Aggies sealed the victory 9-3.

The Hornets’ starting pitcher Brandon Sandoval (1-2) allowed five earned runs off of nine hits and had four strikeouts in a span of six innings. The Aggies starting pitcher Tyler Bremer left the game after the first inning due to an injury and Scott Chew came in and pitched the rest of the game for the Aggies.

Some of the Hornets’ top performers of the day were Crosby, who finished 3-for-4 with an RBI and Martinez, who finished 2-for-4 with an RBI.

“Today simply was not a good game for us,” Crosby said. “We did not pitch or bat well, but that happens in baseball and we pick ourselves up and move on.”

Head coach John Smith said that the biggest struggle for the Hornets during the game was its pitching.

“We couldn’t sustain a rally,” Smith said. “We didn’t get the hits we needed and we could not give Sandoval the run support he needed.”

Sandoval states that the Aggies were hitting the ball in the right places and the Hornets were not able to catch up afterwards.

“They hit ball in places where we weren’t,” Sandoval said. “We learn from our mistakes and sometimes a loss like this is a good thing because it brings us back down to earth.”

The Hornets will try to end its series with a win against the Aggies at 1 p.m. Sunday at Dobbins Stadium in Davis.

Nick Hunte can be reached at [email protected]