Coming off of a 15-inning win against UT Rio Grande Valley on Sunday, the Sacramento State baseball team walked off in the bottom of the 11th inning on a two-out single by Gunner Pollman to win a non-conference game against Fresno State 5-4 Wednesday night in Sacramento.
Sac State (25-15) starting pitcher Tanner Olson had a brilliant midweek start, going six innings while giving up only four hits with no strikeouts and no walks. Out of the four hits given up by Olson, only one of them was an extra-base hit, which was just a double. Jonny Palsha pitched in relief of Olson and gave up four earned runs on four hits while striking out two and giving up a walk. Chad Perry relieved Palsha and pitched two strong innings, giving up no runs on just two hits with a strikeout. Austin Ragsdale earned the win with one hitless and scoreless inning pitched.
The first six innings between Fresno State and Sac State were a pitchers duel between Olson and Fresno State's trio of Edgar Gonzalez, Brennon Williams and Tim Borst, as no runs were scored in the first six innings.
Sac State got the first run of the game across in the bottom of the seventh inning. Pollman led the inning off with a two-strike single up the middle, and Vinny Esposito followed with a first-pitch single to center field to put runners on first and second base with no outs. Brandon Hunley reached base safely on a fielding error by the third baseman to load the bases with no outs. Dan Deely hit the ball right back to the pitcher who threw to third for the first out of the inning, scoring Pollman on an RBI fielder’s choice. Fresno pitcher Dylan Lee struck out the next two batters to minimize the damage.
The next half inning, Fresno State (26-16) exploded for four runs. Korby Batesole led the inning off with a walk. Nick Warren executed a sacrifice bunt to move the runner into scoring position with just one out. Zach Ashford capitalized with an RBI single to right center field to score Batesole.
Ryan Dobson bunted for a single to put runners on first and second with just one out. Kevin Viers hit an RBI double down the right field line past Esposito on a bad hop. Jake Stone executed the third bunt and second sacrifice bunt of the inning to score Dobson and advance Viers to third base. Viers scored during the next at bat on a wild pitch, giving Fresno State a 4-1 lead.
Sac State shrank the Fresno State lead by one in the bottom half of the eighth. Matt Smith was the first runner aboard of the inning on a fielding error by the shortstop. Trent Goodrich hit a double down the left field line and advanced Smith to third base with one out. Pollman hit a sacrifice fly ball to left field, scoring Smith.
Sac State tied the game in the bottom of the ninth inning on a huge hit by Smith. Chris Lewis started the rally off with a one-out single to third base. Bronson Grubbs followed with a walk. Andrew McWilliam grounded out to second base and advanced runners to second and third with two outs. Smith came up big with a two-out, two-run single through the left side of the infield to tie the game at four runs apiece.
The Hornets ended the game with a walk-off single by Pollman in the bottom of the 11th inning. Lewis led the inning off with a first-pitch single to right field. Grubbs followed with a sacrifice bunt to advance Lewis to second base. Andrew McWilliam reached base safely on a fielder’s choice to shortstop that advanced Lewis to third base.
Goodrich was then intentionally walked, which put Pollman in the hot seat. Pollman converted the run with an RBI single to walk the Hornets off the field with their heads held high and arms in the air.
Sac State will face off against New Mexico State this weekend in a three-game series at Presley Askew Field in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Game one starts at 6 p.m. on Friday. New Mexico is currently in third place in the Western Athletic Conference with a record of 10-5, while Sac State is tied for first with Seattle University at 12-3.
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While most fans would assume Sacramento State’s fall sport with the largest fan base, in the largest venue, gathering the most attention would be poised for the most success in 2012 (I’m looking at you, football), the sport with the real threat for a conference title should be women’s volleyball.
After finishing the 2011 season with an overall record of 17-15 and a 10-6 Big Sky conference record, finishing third for the Hornets was a step in the right direction after failing to finish above fifth place since 2007.
Women’s volleyball has been one of the strengths of Sac State’s athletic program in the last 15 years. Since joining the Big Sky Conference in 1996, Sac State has made the Div. 1 NCAA tournament 10 times (six more than any other member of their conference).
Last year, under the leadership of Head Coach Ruben Volta, the team was one of the best in the conference when it came to home-court advantage (8-5 record). In fact, since 1996 the team has posted a 175-48 record on its home court.
What made them so good last year was their team defense. In 2011, the team was ninth in the nation in digs per set (18.39) and 13th in blocks per set (2.76). They were the only team in the nation to rank in the top 35 in both categories.
As for the offense, they finished in the bottom half of the Big Sky conference in kills per set (11.93) and hitting percentage (.171). With Coach Volta implementing a new 6-2 offense, it will allow the setter to stay in the back while three attackers up front can get aggressive.
Although the team lost four of its top players to graduation last spring, there are still doses of optimism with the nine returning players and six newcomers (including two transfer students coming from Div. 1 teams).
It’ll be interesting how the team chemistry develops, but rest assured, this team will be competing for another Big Sky conference title in 2012.
Fall sports are under way and the Sacramento State women’s soccer team has the most potential and promise to take home a conference championship.
After missing the Big Sky conference championships by two places last season, women’s soccer is back with a 30-player roster and the intensity to win.
The women of Hornet soccer have already shown improvements by winning the first game of the season to University of Nevada Reno, which they lost to last year by a score of 2-1.
The players have the agility, strength and endurance to beat every team in the conference as long as they stay consistent, which should not be too hard considering the lengthy roster.
The depth in the roster will allow the players more efficient playing time. If someone is winded and needs a break, the bench is full of fresh bodies to put on the field.
To make the long list of players even more impressive, nine of them are incoming freshman, meaning they are younger, fresher and less injured.
One of the freshmen is Hannah Gendron, a goalkeeper out of Davis. She is replacing 2011 senior Savannah Abercrombie, who gave up 22 goals during the last season.
Gendron gave up only six goals during her varsity season last year in high school and not one goal her 2010 26-game junior varsity season.
Senior forward and team captain Jordan Carlberg will also be a huge contribution to the team this year by looking at last season’s records. She led the team in shots and shots on goal, was second in assists, third in points and fourth in goals.
Overall, Sac State women’s soccer is secure with a variety of diverse players and will be a dominant force in the Big Sky conference this 2012 season.
The 2011 Sacramento State football team finished with a 4-7 record, but there are reasons to believe a winning season is around the corner. Regardless of the team’s record the previous year, it can adopt a winning mentality if they focus on becoming better today than they were yesterday.
At the start of training camp, there were more than 40 new players vying for a spot on the 2012 Sac State football team.
With the addition of new players comes the question of how they will mesh with the returning members of the team. Football is a team sport, one composed of three facets: offense, defense and special teams.
After losing team leaders such as quarterback Jeff Fleming to graduation, some may view the abundance of new players as a question in regards to building team chemistry and cohesion.
Perhaps it is this new element that will spark a surge in production.
After all, the team is led by Marshall Sperbeck, the sixth-year head coach who led the Hornets to a stunning 29-28 win over the Oregon State Beavers last season. This win marked the first against a Football Bowl Subdivision team in 11 attempts, arguably making it the Hornets’ biggest victory in school history.
The overtime victory against Oregon State gained nationwide attention, and the sense of pride and hope that resulted should be remembered and carried over into this season.
Last season, the Hornets lost three games by seven or fewer points. If the team can work out the kinks of last season, there is reason to believe they can be a winning team this season.
A fuel to light their fire could come from the recent preseason polls released predicting their success, or lack thereof. The Hornets were picked to finish ninth in the Big Sky Conference by the coaches and 10th by the media.
For the players on the football team, a sense of “us against the world” would certainly be an acceptable feeling. And it is this feeling that has often lifted teams out of seeming obscurity and into the spotlight.
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