The first game of the Friday doubleheader was headlined by Sacramento State’s ace, senior pitcher Ethan Lay. The Hornets got off to a quick start in the series before clinching it by winning the rubber match. 

The final game of the series was a complete game for the Hornets, as every batter in their lineup recorded a hit on their way to their first Western Athletic Conference series win of the season.

April 10, 9:30 a.m.: Sac State 7, Utah Valley 2

Lay has been a dominant force all season, which continued into Friday’s first game.

Lay gave up just three hits in the first four innings, while the Sac State offense got to work.

“It felt good,” Lay said. “The earlier the time got, and the more rain that came, gave me an opportunity to out compete against them, so I’ll take that opportunity any day.”

In the bottom of the second inning, senior second baseman Jace Jeremiah and redshirt sophomore left fielder Brett Ott walked to open the inning. These two were advanced by a groundout from redshirt sophomore catcher Nikhil Beasley.

With runners on second and third, sophomore shortstop Michael Perazzo grounded out to second base, scoring Jeremiah. The Hornets were now on the board and continued their momentum in the bottom of the fourth.

A bunt from Perazzo sent home the triple from Ott and advanced Beasley to second. With more help from freshman center fielder Sam Harry, the two runners advanced again and were driven in by a double from senior designated hitter Ryan Ellis to make the game 4-0.

Utah Valley fought back in the top of the fifth, scoring their two lone runs of the match off two singles and a double to make the game 4-2.

In the face of the Wolverine offense, Lay brushed himself off and allowed just two more hits until he was pulled in favor of redshirt senior pitcher Elijah Rogalski in the top of the ninth. Lay went 8 innings, allowing two earned runs on eight hits while striking out 10 batters despite the high pitch count of 123 pitches.

“He’s still 90 to 92 [mph] at that point [late in the game], so his velocity was still holding, which that’s what we look at,” head coach Reggie Christiansen said of Lay’s high pitch counts. “If we feel like [Lay] looks like he’s laboring or the velocity starts to dip a little bit, then he’s running on fumes, but he’s built for this. He’s physical. He takes care of himself. He understands that.”

The Hornets went on to add three more insurance runs off of a solo home run from redshirt junior third baseman Jakob Poturnak in the bottom of the fifth and a 2-run blast over the right-field wall from Beasley in the bottom of the eighth. This was just Beasley’s third hit of the year and second home run of his collegiate career.

“Going into that at-bat, I was really just thinking of switching places with Jace on second,” Beasley said. “Be on time for the fastball, see something up and do some damage. I saw the pitch up and away and just took it that way.”

Rogalski struck out two Wolverines in the final inning of the game while allowing no hits with 12 pitches, sealing the 7-2 win for Sac State.

“It was nice to see Elijah come in and close the door like he did,” Christiansen said.

April 10, 6:15 p.m.: Utah Valley 11, Sac State 1 

This closed door was blasted open by Utah Valley in the second game of the doubleheader on Friday with an offensive explosion as they got on sophomore pitcher Carson Timothy early.

Timothy started off his day by hitting the first batter he faced and giving up a double in left center field to Wolverine senior center fielder Kaden Carpenter, which scored the first run of the game. 

As Sac State’s offense went down 1-2-3 in their first inning, the Hornets struggled defensively in their second. A fielding error by Poturnak and a single through the right side of the infield gave the Wolverines another two men on with no outs.

A groundout to Timothy secured the first out of the inning for the Hornets while advancing both runners 90 feet. A walk loaded the bases and a mound visit shortly thereafter brought no relief. 

A ground ball was hit to Perazzo. He tried to make the play at third and was unable to connect with Poturnak,  keeping the bases loaded and scoring the second run of the game for the Wolverines.

Timothy’s day ended after he hit the next batter with a pitch, scoring the third run of the game. Timothy lasted just 1.1 innings, as he was charged with six runs, with just one of them earned on two hits.

“The sprinklers came on the field,” Christiansen said. “We had issues getting the field ready. It’s a long day for these guys and it showed; we came out flat. Obviously, we played poor defense behind Carson.”

Senior pitcher Ian Winterhalder came in to clean up the damage but had no answer for Utah Valley. Winterhalder lasted just 0.1 innings as he gave up four runs off of three singles on twelve pitches, before he was replaced in the same inning by junior pitcher Bryce Stockton.

Stockton got the Hornets out of the jam in the top of the second but also ran into trouble in the top of the fourth, with the score still 7-0.

Three more runs were scored to make it 10-0 from a flurry of singles, a groundball and a walk that ended Stockton’s day. He was replaced by sophomore pitcher Baylor Sandberg. Sandberg got out of the jam but ran into trouble himself. 

In the top of the fifth, he gave up a monstrous 401-foot home run to Carpenter that cleared not just the wall in right field but the protective wall that guards campus. This deep shot made the game 11-0 and summed up the second game of the series for the Hornets.

“The guys that came in behind just didn’t throw the ball well tonight,” Christiansen said of the bullpen behind Timothy. “Ian didn’t throw the ball very well. Bryce didn’t throw the ball very well. Baylor didn’t.”

This revolving door of pitchers was finally closed when senior pitcher Colin Hunter came in for Sandberg. Hunter was the only bright spot in the bullpen as he went 2.1 innings, allowing just two hits while striking out four Wolverines.

“I was just making them beat me,” Hunter said. “Throwing the ball in his zone and getting outs so that’s the main goal, just trusting that my stuff can beat the hitter and not letting anything get away from me.”

Sac State’s offense had no hits through four innings as Wolverine redshirt junior pitcher Jacob Heppner put on a masterclass of command. Heppner was perfect through 4.1 of his 5.2 innings, not allowing a single runner on base, allowing just one earned run while striking out nine Hornets in the process.

This lone run for the Hornets came in the bottom of the fifth, as Poturnak got the first hit of the game for the Hornets on a double and was sent home by an Ott single.

“I think just trusting our eyes and being set on one pitch,” Poturnak said of improving the bats. “This guy was throwing, mixing his fastballs with a change up. I think some of us were maybe in between speeds, and I think we could have just done a better job in being on time for the fastball.”

Frustration reached its peak for the Hornets as Christiansen got an official warning from the home plate umpire Chris Maher after arguing balls and strikes at the end of the fifth inning.

“I thought the strike zone was fine,” Christiansen said. “I was tired of it. Sometimes coaches get tired of watching it, and he kept me here. So, I was hoping that maybe I’d watch the last three innings at home, but that didn’t happen tonight.”

The game ended 11-1 due to the 10-run rule in the seventh inning.

April 11: Sac State 9, Utah Valley 5

The rubber match of the series saw Sac State take an early lead and fight through adversity off the back of freshman pitcher Trevor Wilson.

“The story of the day is Trevor Wilson,” Christiansen said. “He was outstanding today.”

After sophomore pitcher Chase Sorlie shut down the Wolverine offense in the top of the first, Jeremiah gave the Hornets the lead in the bottom of the first. He sent home the walk from Ellis and the single from junior right fielder Erick Dessens with a single of his own.

Sorlie immediately faced trouble in the top of the second as he looked to protect the 2-0 lead. He gave up a single into the middle of the field and then gave up a home run to left field, knotting up the game just as quickly as the Hornets took the lead.

As the Hornets were unable to recapture the lead in the bottom of the second, the Wolverines jumped right back on the attack on the first pitch in the top of the third. Sorlie left the pitch right down the middle, and Wolverine senior first baseman Hunter Katschke blasted it over the wall in center field to give the Wolverines a 3-2 lead.

Sorlie’s night ended after the second home run. He went two innings, allowing three earned runs on three hits, while striking out three batters. Replacing him was junior pitcher Sean Carey.

The lefty fared no better than Sorlie, lasting just 1.2 innings. He allowed another two earned runs on four hits, while striking out three Wolverines.

The game turned on its head when Wilson came in to relieve Carey in the top of the fourth. Wilson dominated every batter he faced until the ninth inning, putting down 15 straight batters with ease as the Hornet bats came alive.

“[Wilson] has shown us twice now that he can be extended in games,” Christiansen said. “He pitched great against Creighton in that role, pitched great today. So we will have to figure out how we can best utilize him moving forward because he is obviously one of our better guys.”

In the bottom of the fourth, the Hornets were able to score four runs off of a flurry of singles, doubles and sacrifice flies to retake the lead by a score of 6-5.

Sac State did not look back. With Wilson on the mound, steadying the game, the Hornets added three more insurance runs. Two of these runs came in the bottom of the sixth, as Poturnak brought home Dessens and senior first baseman Luis Pimentel-Guerrero on a single to right field.

The ninth and final run came in the bottom of the seventh as Harry got to first on a throwing error and was driven in by a double from Ellis.

Sac State fought off their last bit of trouble in the top of the ninth, as junior pitcher Kurt Marton came in to relieve Wilson with two outs and two men on base. A wild pop fly in the infield saw Poturnak race over from third base to end the game with a final score of 9-5.

Sac State is now 3-3 in conference play and 15-22 overall as they head into their home matchup on Tuesday at 6 p.m. against the University of San Francisco.