Sacramento State baseball could not find redemption after losing their conference tournament even with the lights shining ever so brightly at Raley Field. 

In their first meeting with Fresno State since the Western Athletic Conference championship last May, the Hornets lost again to the Bulldogs 3-2 in the Raley Field Classic Tuesday night.

This marked the first time since 2002 that Sac State has played a game there.

“It was a great atmosphere here,” said sophomore shortstop Scotty Burcham. “I’m not too happy with how it ended, but it was a great experience.”

The Hornets have excelled playing defense dating back to last season and although they are currently tied for the seventh best fielding percentage in the nation, Burcham misplayed a ball to give up the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth inning.

“He hit it well and I didn’t get a good read on it,” Burcham said. “There are no excuses. I should make that play 10 times out of 10.”

Sac State had a chance to tie the score in the bottom half of the inning, but the heart of the order was set down with three fly balls to the outfield. 

The Hornets started the game on a two-out rally in the bottom of the third inning when redshirt freshman Chris Lewis singled to drive in Andrew Ayers and Rhys Hoskins and give them a 2-0 lead.

This season, Lewis is fourth on the team in batting at .283 but leads the Hornets with 18 RBIs.

“I just look for a good pitch to drive the ball,” Lewis said. 

Fresno State tied the game in the top of the sixth when short stop Chris Mariscal scored on a fielder’s choice and Jordan Brink scored on a wild pitch.

Junior pitcher Hunter Greenwood pitched six innings, giving up two earned runs with a walk and three strikeouts, but after throwing 80 pitches, head coach Reggie Christiansen decided to go to his bullpen and make a change.

Injuries to some relief pitchers this season have forced the coaching staff to depend on seniors Brandon Creel and Tyler Hoelzen to carry the load. So far, the duo has pitched a combined 37.2 innings with a 1.91 ERA and 29 strikeouts, but Christiansen said it is what it is.

The loss drops Sac State’s record to 13-11 and it has lost three out of their last four games.

“It seems the tight games are going that way for us,” Christiansen said. 

Now the Hornets look toward a three-game series with Dallas Baptist University starting Thursday. The Patriots were picked to win the conference and feature a lineup that is second in the conference with 20 home runs.

“They are a really serious program that has made the NCAA Regionals the last two years,” Christiansen said. “We just need to continue playing better baseball.”

Sac State will start the series with Zach Morgan who is 2-1 with a 5.14 ERA in six games. First pitch will be at 4:30 p.m.

Ryan can be reached on Twitter at @rskuhn