The Sacramento State baseball team continued to struggle as the Hornets lost convincingly to the University of the Pacific 8-2.

Head coach Reggie Christiansen gave the start to freshmen pitcher Hunter Greenwood in hopes of sparking some positive energy on the team. Greenwood, who took the loss, had problems with location early. He walked two batters and gave up two singles in the first inning.

The Hornets were behind early and were never able to make the game competitive. The team now is showing signs of frustration with a 6-19 record, but players understand the urgency to play better.

“We need to get mentally geared up now. We need to be ready to start playing better now,” senior infielder Kirby Young said. “We need to get better in every aspect. We are getting outplayed in every aspect of the game and everybody in the clubhouse knows that.”

Christiansen said he will continue to shuffle the lineup around until he sees more productive play from his team. He said there are “internal” issues the team is working through and he’s looking to his veteran players to step up and lead this team &- something that junior catcher Derrick Chung is ready for.

“It’s been pretty tough. We’re trying to show more leadership,” Chung said. “Like when we’re in the weight room and someone is slacking off, we tell them “it’s not time for (that) we got to go after it!'”

The team will have the day off tomorrow, but will be on a long road trip to Seattle and Hawaii over the next two weeks.

“I think when you’re on the road you have just 25 guys that are all on the same page,” Chung said. “It’s good for team bonding.”

Christiansen said the trip is going to be a test because of all of the travel. The team will meet at Sac State on Friday at 3:30 a.m., fly to Seattle, take a bus ride to the game, and play at 6:30 p.m.

“It’s going to be a test to see if we are tough enough to overcome that,” Christiansen said. “We’re going to find out if we’re able to handle that.”

You can reach Joe Fleming at [email protected]