SERIES RECAP: Sac State wins another series, taking 2 of 3 from Dixie State

Hornets make it 4 straight conference series wins in a row

Dominique Williams

[FILE PHOTO]Sac State junior outfielder Trevor Doyle connects on a ball Tuesday, April 19, 2022, at Klein Family Field in Stockton, California in a 13-6 Hornet win. Doyle hit his first homer of the year this weekend against Dixie State as the Hornets moved above .500 in WAC play.

Dylan McNeill
April 25, 2022

After a series win over Seattle University and a Tuesday win over University of the Pacific, the Hornets came into the road series against Dixie State with confidence. Sac State was able to take two of three to win their fourth straight Western Athletic Conference series. 

The Hornets are comfortably in third place in the WAC conference– two games over Dixie State. The two teams will finish the season 3-3 against one another as Dixie State took a series in Sacramento last month.

RELATED: SERIES RECAP: Sac State baseball opens conference play with series loss to Dixie State

The Hornet offense was led by a couple of veterans of the Sac State program. Junior outfielder Trevor Doyle finished the weekend 5-13 while senior infielder Steven Moretto went 4-10. Both hitters had a home run as well.

“It’s nice to see improvement but we’re not satisfied,” Hornet sophomore infielder Jorge Bojorquez said.

Friday: Hornets move above .500 with 11-6 over Dixie State

Sac State baseball continues to pick up speed as they race through conference play. The Hornets have now won four of their last five after Friday’s victory. 

The Hornets turned the ball over to sophomore Eli Saul who got the start for the 10th time this season. Sac State now sits with a 10-0 record. Saul gave the Hornets five innings while allowing five earned runs. 

Sac State then got four shutout innings out of their bullpen as sophomores Max Pettey and Kevin Haynes allowed a combined two baserunners while striking out eight.

Hornet sophomore outfielder Cesar Valero opened the scoring on Friday with his 13th solo shot of the season which is tied with New Mexico State’s Logan Gallina for the most home runs in the WAC.

Two innings later, Steven Moretto took the lead for the Hornets with a three-run homer, his fourth of the year and the 30th in his Sac State career. Moretto finished 2-3 with a home run with five runs batted in. 

 

“For me, it’s really trusting my work in the cages and during practice and stressing on staying through the middle of the field,” Moretto said. “It’s just allowed me to handle all pitches.” 

Sac State took the lead for good with two runs in the eighth inning and added four more in the ninth to make it 11-6, which is the way it stayed.

 

Saturday: Hornets clinch fourth straight WAC series, win 7-2

Sophomore Noah Takacs had his best start in conference play so far as he earned his first win of the season. Takacs went five innings, allowing one run on two hits while striking out seven. 

“He threw the ball good, it’s as sharp as he’s been in a while a good step in the right direction for him.” Hornets manager Reggie Christiansen said.

Trevor Doyle gave Sac State the lead just two batters in and hit his first homer of the year to give the Hornets a 1-0 lead. The Hornets put up five runs in the third inning thanks to a grand slam by Jorge Bojorquez, with his fifth homer of 2022.

 

 

 

“I try to stay aggressive on pitches within the zone, try to get some swings off,” Bojorquez said. “There was less than two outs. ‘Try to get a ball into the air’, that was my approach at the plate. Luckily I got a good one and hit it over the fence.”

Dixie State added single runs in the fifth and sixth innings, but in the seventh, inning senior catcher Dawsen Bacho slugged a solo shot.  

It was the fourth “Bacho-Bomb” of the year as the senior leads the Hornets in batting average, hitting .368. Both Bacho and Doyle finished 3-5 with a home run apiece.

Freshman pitcher Myles Meyer recorded the last nine outs out of the bullpen for Sac State. Meyer got his first career save striking out four over three innings.

 

Sunday: Hornets drop series finale 12-2

After clinching the series Saturday, the Hornets came into Sunday looking for their first sweep since Feb. Moretto drove in both runs and went 1-3 as the Hornets dropped a lopsided game on Sunday.

Freshman pitcher Colin Hunter moved to 2-4 with the loss as he went 4.2 innings while allowing four runs and striking out seven. The freshman has 45 strikeouts over 51 innings.

Junior reliever Jack Zalasky suffered through his worst outing of the year, allowing five runs and three earned while recording just a single out in his relief outing. 

“We didn’t play very good at all in every phase today,” Christiansen said. “[We] failed to execute offensively in some bunt situations and some bad baserunning mistakes.” 

The Hornets’ next game will be at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday against Saint Mary’s in Moraga, California. The next WAC series with the Hornets against California Baptist will start on Friday at John Smith Field at 6:00 pm.