In what started as a battle of the top two teams in the Western Athletic Conference, the Sacramento State baseball team was swept in its three-game road series against the Seattle University Redhawks, April 2 through 4.

Sac State (17-13, 6-3 WAC) entered the series in first place, but fell all the way down to third place in conference as Seattle U (15-15, 8-1 WAC) and Grand Canyon University (18-14, 7-1 WAC) surpassed the Hornets in the standings.

Both teams entered the series with tremendous momentum. Sac State was riding a four-game winning streak and had won seven out of its previous eight games. Seattle U entered winning five consecutive games and advanced its streak to eight straight victories with their sweep over the Hornets.

“We didn’t play our best baseball,” said senior shortstop Scotty Burcham. “We were flat [and] lacked energy. It showed.”

The Hornets swept their first two WAC series, averaging over six runs a game, but struggled to find a rhythm offensively against the Redhawks. They were limited to a batting average of .192 for the series and scored a total of five runs during the three games.

“I am a little surprised by our recent struggles on offense,” said coach Reggie Christiansen. “I figured we would be further along at this point in the season. We have to get back to putting together solid at-bats.”

The Hornets dug themselves a quick hole in each game and the aggressive Redhawks led 1-0 in all three games after one inning.

Sac State attributes its struggles to not being able to thrive in similar situations. The Hornets have not hit well with runners in scoring position for the season.

“We have not been able to get the big hit,” Christiansen said. “We are still too defensive at the plate and have to get back to our identity of being aggressive.”

They are normally a sound-defensive team, but in game one of the series the Hornets committed an uncharacteristic, season-high five errors. Seattle U benefited from the gifts, scoring two unearned runs in the 3-2 victory. The Redhawks advanced when Hornets’ pitcher Austin Ragsdale committed a throwing error to give up the walk-off run in the decisive 11th inning.

Seattle U capitalized on an unearned run in game two of the series. The Hornets entered the series ranked No. 47 in the country in fielding percentage.

“It is extremely frustrating when we commit errors,” Burcham said. “It is uncharacteristic of us, but when errors happen we have to stay positive and learn how to cope with it.”

Continued strong pitching gave the Hornets the opportunity to win all three games. Hornets’ pitchers had a 2.39 ERA over the course of the series.

Hard-luck pitcher Sam Long gave up only two hits over the seven innings he pitched in the game three defeat. Unfortunately, one of them was a fifth inning solo home run to Brock Carpenter on an elevated first-pitch fastball. The sophomore starter (5-1, 1.85 ERA) suffered his first loss of the season in the most frustrating way.

“I felt good and was able to get into a rhythm,” Long said. “It was a tough weekend for the team, but we’ll get after it this week in practice and bounce back next weekend.”

Sac State was the preseason favorite to repeat as WAC champions according to a poll constructed by all the coaches in the league. Christiansen feels that the team has a target on its back and has to match the effort of their opponents as a result of lofty preseason expectations.

“This weekend was an example of how the other teams in conference view us,” he said. “In order for us to reach our goals and get back to the postseason, we have to match their focus and intensity. I take responsibility for not having us ready to play.”

The Hornets have time to catch the Redhawks in the standing as they have 18 remaining conference games and 26 games remaining overall. Twelve of the 18 conference games are on the road. Sac State currently has a road record of 3-8.

Despite the disappointing series in Bellevue, Washington, the team remains confident as they are slightly past the halfway point of their season.

“We’re better than how we played against Seattle U,” Long said. “We just have to stay together as a team and keep working hard.”