Baseball Commits Six Errors In 7-4 Loss At Sacramento State

Sunday, February 24

12:00 PM

UC Riverside

3-5

Sacramento State

3-4

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
UC Riverside	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	1	4	7	6
Sacramento State	0	0	0	0	0	3	3	1	X	7	6	2

Baseball Commits Six Errors In 7-4 Loss At Sacramento State

2/24/2013 2:49:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Sacramento, CA—The UC Riverside Baseball Team was looking to move to the .500 mark Sunday afternoon, but the Highlanders committed six errors which led to five unearned runs and allowed Sacramento State to salvage a split of the teams' four-game series with a 7-4 win (Box Score).

UC Riverside's (3-5) miscues overshadowed a solid pitching performance by Mitch Patito who put zeroes on the board through the first five innings allowing just two hits over that span.

Hornets (3-4) starter Zach Morgan nearly matched Patito allowing just one run through his first five innings of work. The Highlanders run came in the top of the third thanks to a one-out double by Joe Chavez and a triple by Kyle Boudreau.

The Hornets got to Patito in the bottom of the sixth, however, loading the bases on singles by Nathan Lukes and Will Soto, and a base on balls by Rhys Hoskins.

David Del Grande's single to left scored Lukes and Soto giving Sac State a 2-1 lead. After a wild pitch moved Hoskins and Del Grande up 90 feet, Justin Higley grounded out to second scoring Hoskins.

The Hornets' lead didn't last long, however. Bart Steponovich singled through the left side of the infield with one out, and advanced to second on a balk. Francisco Tellez followed with a single up the middle that put runners on the corners, and a wild pitch moved Tellez to second.

Joe Chavez battled back from an 0-2 count to draw a walk loading the bases, and Boudreau halved the Sacramento State lead with a sac fly to left. Clayton Prestidge then extended his hitting streak to eight straight games to start the season with an RBI single to left tying the game at three.

Donovan Gonzales (0-1) relieved Patito to start the bottom of the seventh and got the first two outs of the inning with ease. He then went up 0-2 on Lukes, but his next four pitches were off the mark.

Chris Lewis stepped to the plate, and Lukes was running on the first pitch. Steponovich's throw sailed past second, giving Lukes time to advance to third.

On the very next offering, Lewis sent a grounder to short which Alex Rubanowitz couldn't handle, allowing Lukes to score. A walk to Soto put runners on first and second, and another fielding error by Rubanowitz brought Lewis home for a 5-3 Hornets lead.

The Highlanders defensive miscues continued on the very next play as Gonzales' throwing error allowed Soto to score to put Sac State up by three.

Antonio Gonzales took over on the mound and got out of the inning, but the Hornets tacked on another run in the bottom of the eighth thanks to another unearned run. With one out, Dane Fujinaka reached on Rubanowitz's third error of the day, and a wild pitch, a single and a sac bunt gave the Hornets a four-run cushion heading into the ninth.

Tellez and Chaves each grounded out to second to start the inning, bringing Boudreau to the plate. After swinging and missing at strike one, Boudreau sent relief pitcher Sutter McLoughlin's (1-0) next pitch over the right field fence cutting the lead to three.

Unfortunately, Prestridge lined out to center to end the game, and the Highlanders had to settle for a four-game split on the weekend.

The Highlanders return to the Inland Empire this weekend opening their regular season home schedule with a three-game series against St. Mary's. First pitch Friday is slated for 6 pm PT at the Riverside Sports Complex.