After splitting two series in a row, Sacramento State secured their first series win of 2025, nearly sweeping South Dakota State if not for a wild series finale loss in extra innings.
Wednesday: South Dakota State 2, Sac State 14
Aside from an RBI single in the fourth inning, Hornet junior starting pitcher Ethan Lay kept the Jackrabbits suppressed, issuing just one walk.
“For the most part, they got themselves out,” Lay said. “I just stayed out of the zone and let them swing away.”
Lay’s only allowed run came in the fourth, after a runner reached third on a wild pitch and was hit home on an RBI double.
Not wanting to be outdone, the Hornet offense found their first scoring opportunities in the bottom of the fourth. They piled on five runs, capped off with a three-run blast by senior center fielder Tyler White, which barely cleared the right field fence to get the early 5-1 lead.
“Can’t ask for much more than run support,” Lay said, who didn’t allow another hit throughout the fifth and sixth innings.
In the fifth and seventh, the Hornet batters scored nine more runs, thanks to a few bases-loaded walks and defensive errors. The Hornets worked nine walks, compared to the Jackrabbits’ two.
Redshirt sophomore third baseman Jakob Poturnak hit a bases-loaded double to center field, scoring three runs to bring the Hornets to their final score of 14 in the seventh inning.
The hottest bat on the team, Poturnak currently boasts the most home runs in the Western Athletic Conference. The Jackrabbits nabbed one last run off an RBI double in the eighth, but it was well short of the 12-run difference.
After the conclusion of their third series here’s how third baseman Jakob Poturnak compares to the rest of the line up
AVG .365 (2nd*)
OPS 1.200 (2nd*)
R 12 (T2nd)
Hits 19 (1st)
HR 6 (1st)
RBI 17 (1st)
SLG% .769 (1st)*Masciangelo is 1st here, but only has 4 GP due to injury https://t.co/ogW8L5IeH7 pic.twitter.com/UWxKDnzWf7
— Logan Chrisp (@logan_chrisp) March 3, 2025
Thursday: South Dakota State 5, Sac State 14
The Hornets followed up the high-scoring opener with an equally explosive offensive showcase on Thursday.
Familiar sluggers were the center of the show, with junior first baseman JP Smith and Poturnak both hitting home runs in the fourth inning.
Smith hit a solo blast to left field, which bounced off the parking garage to tie the game. Poturnak followed up with a 2-run homer to put the Hornets ahead 5-3, a lead they wouldn’t give up the rest of the game.
“It’s even better to see them do it,” Smith said about Poturnak’s home run. “That was pretty cool to see. Both of his went a lot further than mine.”
JP Smith completes his swing at the plate on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. Smith had five RBIs on five hits over the 4-game series against South Dakota State.
However, the game wasn’t all roses at the start. Sophomore pitcher Sean Carey allowed three hits and two runs across just six batters.
The poor start by Carey put the bullpen to work early. In total, seven Hornet pitchers got their turn on the mound.
The Jackrabbits put together 14 hits on the day, just one less than the Hornets’ 15, but most came from lead-off hitters who were left stranded. The Jackrabbits left 13 runners on base, compared to just six from the Hornets.
South Dakota State also hit no home runs, which Poturnak decided to remind them of in the eighth with his second of the day.
The slugger hit an opposite field blast over right field to give him his second 2-home run game of the season, for a final score of 14-5.
“I knew it right off the bat. Definitely felt good today,” Poturnak said. “That’s how I know my swings are in the right place: when I’m putting good backspin on balls.”
Friday: South Dakota State 1, Sac State 4
Friday saw another Hornet win and the lowest scoring game in the series, thanks to great pitching performances from the Hornet starter and bullpen.
Senior pitcher Evan Gibbons’ previous start against San Francisco was disastrous. He left the mound with an earned run average of 13.50, but reduced it to 3.94 following Friday’s.
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“It feels good. The big category that really matters is those wins and losses,” Gibbons said. “I’m glad that we were able to get one today.”
The Hornets’ hitters gave Gibbons the run support he needed early.
Junior right fielder Ryan Christiansen hit a tone-setting solo homer in the first, putting the Hornets ahead 1-0.
The offense kept it going in the following inning. White started the scoring with an RBI single, followed by the hot-bat Christiansen, who hit a bases-clearing two-run double to bring the Hornets up 3-0.
The Hornet pitchers threw eight shutout innings while striking out 14 batters and issuing only three walks.
Redshirt sophomore closer Kade Brown got a 3-inning save for his team, adding six strikeouts to his team-leading 18.
Saturday: South Dakota State 12, Sac State 11
The usual suspects got the Hornets ahead early in Saturday’s high-scoring game.
Poturnak hit a 2-run homer to center, giving Sac State a comfortable 8-1 lead in the fourth.
The Jackrabbits realized they didn’t hit a single homer Friday and decided to get them all out before they flew home. They combined to hit five homers, four of which came in the fifth, sixth and eighth innings.
By the end of the eighth, the Hornets had lost their lead and were behind 10-8 heading to the bottom of the ninth in front of a deflated home crowd.
With two runners on, White stepped up to the plate. Facing a full count, White swung for the fences.
The ball hung in the air. The crowd held their breath, as the drive narrowly cleared the center-field fence. The three-run blast tied the game 11-11, taking Sac State to extras for the first time this season.
The Jackrabbits had some late-inning heroics of their own, hitting a solo shot for the fourth lead change of the game at 12-11.
Once again, the Hornets found themselves with the chance to win it. With two outs, a hit batter and two walks loaded the bases for sophomore left fielder Myles Walton.
Walton worked the count to 2-2 but couldn’t fight off a final pitch and went down swinging.
Sac State head coach Reggie Christiansen chalked up the loss to a defensive bug that has plagued the team in some of their higher-scoring losses.
“We had eight unearned, two weekends in a row. We had a 7-run lead, and we can’t hold it,” Christiansen said. “It’s not just the pitching. We gotta score some more runs, and defensively we gave them too many outs. All three phases need to get cleaned up.”
Sac State will have a six day break before playing University of Pacific for a home-away series starting Friday.
