Sacramento State baseball’s second game of their season series against their Causeway Classic rival, UC Davis, did not start according to plan.
Sophomore pitcher Chase Sorlie got the nod for the Hornets after coming back from a week-long illness that left him sidelined against Abilene Christian University last weekend.
“[Sorlie] was really sick last week,” head coach Reggie Christiansen said. “But I still felt like giving him an opportunity to throw an inning tonight, especially heading down the stretch. We might need him.”
Sorlie’s one inning started off with a walk that was followed up by two groundouts that advanced the runner 90 feet. A single brought the man on second across home plate and another walk put two men on with two outs. The second single of the inning gave the Aggies an early 2-0 lead.
This narrow lead was held off as Aggie senior pitcher Braydon Wooldridge got help from the unfriendly park and wild double plays.
“It is a tough place to hit,” Christiansen said. “I mean, we hit six or seven balls right at guys, and the ball doesn’t go anywhere.”
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This was most evident in the top of the fourth inning after Hornet senior designated hitter Jace Jeremiah and redshirt junior third baseman Jakob Poturnak hit back-to-back singles to put men on first and second.
Junior second baseman Cameron Sewell lined out to center field, sending sophomore first baseman Jamie Mullin to the plate with one out. Mullin smacked a ball to shallow right-center field only for the Aggie centerfielder to charge in and catch Jeremiah off guard at second with the throw.
Sac State was doubled up four times against UC Davis, crippling their offensive momentum despite outhitting the Aggies 8-7.
“This park is not a hitter’s ballpark,” senior right fielder Luis Pimentel-Guerrero said. “We [the team] all know that. So we took some good swings and were not very lucky today.”
The best offensive moment for the Hornets came in the top of the sixth inning when Pimentel-Guerrero hit a double off the glove of a diving Aggie left fielder. Poturnak traded places with Pimentel-Guerrero with a double of his own down the right-field line to make it 2-1.
“I was just looking to be aggressive,” Poturnak said. “I was just going up there with an aggressive approach. My first at-bat, I got caught being kind of passive and got struck out there. And so for the rest of the game, I just kind of went out there aggressive.”
Poturnak hammers the first pitch down the line for a double to trade places with LPG. #Hornets down 2-1 now. Sewell grounds out now to end the top of the 6th. pic.twitter.com/DbsfMlrNoL
— Tamer Bohatch (@TamerBohatch) May 6, 2026
UC Davis answered back in the bottom of the sixth when a double down the left-field line was sent in by a single up the middle of the field.
Sac State used seven different pitchers after Sorlie’s one inning, only allowing the one run on seven hits while striking out 12 Aggies.
“I thought those other guys [the bullpen] did a really nice job, a really nice job,” Christiansen said. “It was really good to see some of those guys get out there and compete the way they did.”
This influx of pitchers had one noticeable issue on the night for the Hornets, as the Aggies were able to steal five bases as the bullpen tried to settle into the game.
“Some of those guys haven’t pitched a while,” Christiansen said. “They’re a little slower to the plate than normal and [junior catcher Ayden Hadley] had some pitches that were tough to throw on.”
A 1-2-3 top of the ninth sealed a 3-1 loss for the Hornets. Sac State splits the season series against their Causeway Classic rival and dropped to 22-28 on the season.
Sac State looks to bounce back against the second place team in the Western Athletic Conference, California Baptist University, on the road in Riverside, California, at 6 p.m. on Friday.
