The Sacramento State Hornets defeated the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 8-7 Friday at Hornet Field when junior Justin Mezzaneras went up the wall in right field to catch the last out of the game which would have otherwise been a game tying homerun.

“We were trying to keep the ball in front of us, trying to keep them from getting bases. With the wind I thought it was going to go foul, but it stayed fair and I was able to get up and grab it,” Mezzaneras said,

The exciting ending was fitting for a game that saw exciting and consistent point production. The Bulldogs wasted no time and were able to score in the top of the first. After getting two runners on base their first run came home on an RBI single, the second came moments later on sacrifice fly. Before the inning was out the Hornets would respond with a run of their own. Senior Jeff Roth was walked to lead off and then made it to third thanks to a double from Junior Tim Wheeler. Roth came home to score the Hornets lone run of the inning on a sacrifice fly hit to right field hit by senior Blake Crosby.

The Bulldogs kept the pressure on the Hornets by promptly scoring a run in the top of the second on a RBI single, but Sacramento State was not to be outdone. After loading the bases senior Hunter Martinez came to the plate and hit a single of his own for an RBI, which left the bases loaded once again. Although they were unable to get another hit in the inning they would score again to tie the game at 3-3 when Wheeler was walked.

Louisiana Tech continued to score in a third straight inning on a RBI double, but it would not be enough to hold off the Hornets any longer. Junior Josh Powers led off the inning by getting on base with a single. He was immediately brought home by an RBI double from sophomore Derrick Chung that flew right past second base into center field. Later, sophomore Brent Hottman made it to base when he was hit by a pitch. The Bulldogs attempted to slow the Hornets momentum with a pitching change with two runners on, but it proved unsuccessful. Both advanced on a wild pitch and would then score on a double from Mezzeneras to give the Hornets a 6-4 lead going into the fourth.

After two quiet innings the Bulldog where able to put another run on the board in the top of the sixth, which was answered with two Hornet runs before the inning was out. With runners on first and second Hottman came to the plate hit a grounder to third, the third baseman hesitated and his indecisiveness allowed freshman Justin Lamb to beat the throw to second as Powers made it safely to third. As Lamb slid head first into bag Powers watched the second baseman bobble and drop the pass which allowed him to quickly rush to the plate and score. Later, Lamb would also advance to third and was then brought home on yet another RBI from Mezzaneras, a sacrifice fly to deep left field.

It looked as though the Hornets were going to break away when they brought a three run lead into the seventh, but the Bulldogs wouldn’t allow it. They blasted a pair of solo homers to close the lead to 8-7 and stay with striking distance. The Hornets tried their best to respond; following a fly out to lead off in the bottom of the seventh inning Wheeler came to the plate and promptly blasted a shot of his own past second base into deep center. He rounded first with a full head of steam as the centerfielder caught up to the ball and he was able to slide into second on his stomach for the double just as the ball arrived. After another quick out Chung came to the plate and smashed a base hit of his own that was unable to advance Wheeler to third. The inning would come to a close with both runners on.

The eighth inning remained scoreless and the game came to a close when Mezzaneras climbed the wall to make the play of the day. In addition to his late in game heroics, Mezzaneras let him team offensively going 2 for 3 at bat with 3 RBI.

“This whole week I was working on staying in up the middle, and I had good BP today. Other than that I was just seeing the ball really well,” Mezzaneras said.

The Hornets will play the Bulldogs three more times in this home-stand. Although they know they can win they also know the challenges they will face.

“They are a good hitting club, I’ll give them that. As long as we keep the ball down and stay aggressive we’ll be alright,” Powers said.

Mezzeneras echoed these same thoughts when he said, “We need to keep the ball down and get ahead of hitters so they don’t put the ball out.”

No doubt the performance of the pitching staff will play a big role in whether or not the Hornets can continue to be successful against this Louisiana Tech team.

The Hornets will its four-game series against the Bulldogs through Monday.

Andrew McFadden can be reached at [email protected]