Sacramento State baseball lost a close game to UC Davis 3-2 in a rematch Tuesday at Dobbins Baseball Stadium.
The Hornets had previously dropped their first game to the Aggies, 10-5, on Tuesday, March 5 in a non-conference game.
In this matchup, the Aggies were able to take a 2-0 lead in the second with a double from senior catcher Jack Gallagher and a single from sophomore third baseman Ryan Lee.
The Hornets earned a run in the fourth to close the lead to 2-1 off a sacrifice fly by sophomore right fielder Ryan Christiansen to score junior catcher Elie Kligman. The Hornets left one runner on base failing to capitalize on a chance to tie the game.
UC Davis expanded their lead back to two with a run in the seventh inning when freshman left fielder Jaxon Murphy hit a sac fly to right field. But this wasn’t the end for Sac State.
The Hornets would muster up some strength in the ninth inning to close the lead 3-2 with a single to center field by senior shortstop Gunner Gouldsmith to score junior left fielder Matt Masciangelo.
This was all the Hornets could gather as they could not rally any further and the game ended with a pop-up to the shortstop by Kilgman.
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“We left 12 guys on base,” Sac State head coach Reggie Christiansen said. “We certainly had our fair share of opportunities. It’s just that we didn’t get the big hit when we needed it.”
Christiansen said that the team had trouble creating offense and couldn’t get any momentum going against the Aggies. He said that the defense was not the issue but it’s up to the offense to be as consistent as the defense in future games.
Gouldsmith said that the offense needs to start picking up after their pitching in order to win games in a concise manner.
“We’re just trying to take it pitch-by-pitch, step-by-step,” Gouldsmith said. “Hopefully we can take some steps in the right direction and get our offense going to help our pitchers.”
Gouldsmith is tied with former Hornets Derek Brown and Blake Crosby for the seventh-longest hitting streak in program history at 18 consecutive games by going 2-4 with two singles and an RBI. Gouldsmith said that he was just trying to do his job and help the team put runs on the board like his other teammates.
“We’re just trying to piggyback off our pitchers,” Gouldsmith said. “They’re doing a really good job throwing strikes and keeping us in games.”
Junior pitcher Ian Winterhalder had a scoreless inning in the bottom of the fourth and struck out three after a walk and a single to left field to hold off the Aggies. Winterhalder said that he was just trying to do his job and knows that the offense will come through.
“My mindset was to get off the field as quick as possible,” Winterhalder said. “Just to get back in the dugout so the guys can swing it and get the sticks rolling.”
Winterhalder said he has faith in his team going into the three-game series against Grand Canyon University starting on Thursday.
“We’re gonna go into each day with the same mindset that we’re going in there to win,” Winterhalder said. “We’re trusting in our preparation that we can be anybody that stands against us.”
