Sacramento State baseball finished Saturday afternoon’s game with only one unearned run on two hits, but that was all that was needed for a 1-0 shutout of Louisiana Tech University. 

The Hornets lone run came in the third inning when freshman catcher Dane Fujinaka scored on a throwing error by Louisiana Tech’s shortstop Taylor Love.

“I don’t care if we get no hits or we get 10 hits,” said Hornets head coach Reggie Christiansen. “It’s about winning games right now.”

Sophomore starting pitcher Brennan Leitao pitched seven innings, striking out five batters while only giving up five hits in the process. 

“I just went out there and tried to control the strike zone,” Leitao said. “My defense was pretty solid behind me and I got a lot of quick outs.”

In his last last four starts, Leitao has compiled a 1.30 ERA and leads the team this season with six wins.

Although Leitao was pitching shutout baseball, he was taken out in the eighth inning after throwing 91 pitches and replaced by freshman closer Sutter McLoughlin.

“He was just out of gas,” Christiansen said. “We went into the game today expecting that Sutter was going to pitch the eighth and ninth innings.”

Sac State was not the only team who showcased its pitcher.  Louisiana Tech’s Phil Maton pitched eight innings, striking out six batters and only walking one. Maton came into the game second in the Western Athletic Conference with 67 strikeouts and fourth with a 2.69 ERA.

“(Maton) did a hell of a job and he worked his butt off,” Leitao said. “Luckily we came away with a win today.”

In the eighth and ninth innings, McLoughlin shut down the final six batters to receive his 11th save of the season. He currently leads the conference in saves and has tied Mike Frame’s 1989 record for the most saves in a single season at Sac State. 

“I relied on my fastball today,” McLoughlin said, who struck out the side in the ninth inning. “I only threw two or three change-ups all day.”

The Hornets return to John Smith Field for the finale of the three-game series and will send junior Tanner Mendonca to the mound. Although Mendonca has not recorded a win since April 6 against Texas State, his coach is confident he will finish the season strong.

“He’s been inconsistent, but he is starting to come around a little bit,” Christiansen said. “Tomorrow will be an important start for him to get back on track.”

First pitch is at noon.

Ryan can be reached on Twitter at @rskuhn