The Sacramento State men’s baseball team has its eyes set on the Western Athletic Conference championships taking place on May 21 in Hawaii.

Before the team can pack its bags for the Aloha state, it must win against conference rival Fresno State in the final week of the season this Thursday through Saturday. The Hornets are in seventh place, a half-game behind the sixth place Bulldogs, but are still in the hunt to earn the sixth seed in the tournament with a strong finish to the season.

The team won three out of four contests in the series against Nevada. During the final game, the team was leading 5-6 going into the ninth inning but allowed Nevada to score two runs and lose 7-6.. The loss on Sunday dropped the record to 8-10 in WAC play, 27-22 overall.

In the series against Nevada, junior Tim Wheeler was able to set two milestones as a Hornet becoming the school’s single-season and all-time leader in career RBIs. In a double-header against the Wolf Pack, Wheeler drove in five runs to help the Hornets win both games, 9-6 in game one and 12-6 in game two. He also went 5-for-8 at the plate to lead the Hornets.

“(The field of competition) is not that different from last year. Nobody is really running away with anything. It’s a little more equal, more competitive than it was last year,” said Wheeler.

Senior first baseman Blake Crosby has been swinging the bat well as of late, going 3-4 at the plate in the Hornets last game against Nevada. Freshman catcher Justin Lam has also added depth to the lineup by driving in six RBI’s in the team’s series against Nevada. The Hornets have been hitting well and gelling as a unit as the season begins to wind down.

“We’re more ready than in the beginning and middle of the year. The last couple weeks everyone has been coming together. Hopefully that will transfer over to the end of the season and we will do well,” said sophomore catcher Brent Hottman.

The Hornets next challenge will be facing non-conference opponent California Golden Bears at Berkeley before hosting Fresno State at home in the last series of the season.

If the team finishes strong and takes care of business against the Bulldogs, the Hornets will be in position to move up to the sixth seed in the tournament which will be held at Hawaii’s Les Murakami Stadium.

The Hornets will be hosting the Bulldogs at home.

Michael Mital can be reached at [email protected]