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Wednesday, February 26

Sacramento, Calif.

6 p.m. PT/8 p.m. CT

South Dakota State University

Sacramento State

Photo by: Bob Solorio

2/27/2025 12:36:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento State grabbed the lead with a five-run fourth inning and put together two more big innings to defeat South Dakota State, 14-2, in the opening game of a four-game college baseball series Wednesday night at John Smith Field.

The Hornets improved to 5-4 on the season while SDSU remained winless at 0-5.

Starting pitchers Caleb Duerr of the Jackrabbits and Ethan Lay of Sacramento State traded zeroes through the first three innings before SDSU broke into the scoring column first with a run in the top of the fourth. Nicholas Werk doubled down the left-field line with one out in the frame, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Luke Luskey.

With his run-scoring single, Luskey has hit safely in all five games this season and extended his hitting streak to 10 games dating back to last season.

Duerr, who worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the first, couldn't escape danger in the fateful home half of the fourth. The frame began with a walk and hit batter before an error on a potential double-play grounder allowed the tying run to score. An obstruction call at home plate on a squeeze play credited the Hornets with another run, while the rally was capped when Tyler White connected on a three-run, opposite-field home run to right off reliever Brady Hawkins.

Sac State tacked on three more runs the next inning as Luis Pimentel-Guerrero plated two runs with a single and White struck again with a run-scoring single to bring home Pimentel-Guerrero.

The Hornets' lead ballooned to 14-1 with a six-run seventh inning that was aided by SDSU's second error of the game. The first two runs scored on bases-loaded walks with Jakob Poturnak delivering a three-run double. White notched his fifth RBI of the game with a run-scoring groundout for the other run of the inning.

Colin Gibson closed out the scoring with a run-scoring double for SDSU in the bottom of the eighth that drove in Nolan Grawe. A freshman, Grawe was 2-for-4 to lead the Jackrabbits' eight-hit effort.

Duerr was assessed the loss in his first collegiate start. The freshman right-hander gave up only one hit, but walked four and hit a batter while giving up four runs — three earned. Five Jackrabbit hurlers worked in relief, including Keagen Jirschele with 1 2/3 scorless innings and Jude Sundquist, who pitched a scoreless bottom of the eighth.

White ended the game 3-for-5, with Poturnak and Jameson Mullin each recorded two of the Hornets' 10 hits.

Lay struck out three and walked one in six innings to earn the victory.

UP NEXT
Game 2 of the series is scheduled for 2 p.m. Pacific Time (4 p.m. Central) on Thursday.

NOTES

Sacramento State leads the all-time series, 5-2, and has won the last five matchups
Jirschele and Owen Siegert each made their collegiate pitching debuts Wednesday after previously starting games in the field this season
Luskey is batting .500 (9-for-18) thus far in 2025
Tyson Kogel delivered a pinch-hit single for the second consecutive game

-GoJacks.com-