Info on the Season Opening Series at Sacramento State

[Elvis was a Bison]

Bits and pieces from the Sacramento State website:

PLAY BALL…
WHAT: North Dakota State (31-19, 17-5 Summit League in 2022) at Sacramento State (32-26, 17-14 WAC in 2022)
WHEN: Friday-Sunday, Feb. 17-19, 2023
TIMES: 4 p.m. / 1 p.m. / 1 p.m. (DH)
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
STADIUM: John Smith Field (1,200)
WATCH: ESPN+ (Subscription Required)

ON THE MOUND…
FRIDAY: RHP Noah Takacs (1-3, 7.92 ERA) vs. RHP Cade Feeney (7-3, 4.54 ERA)
SATURDAY: RHP Kevin Haynes (5-0, 4.02 ERA) vs. Max Loven (7-5 6.09 ERA)
SUNDAY (Game 1): LHP Noah Lucchesi (0-7, 6.75 ERA) vs. RHP Tristen Roehrich (5-2, 3.42 ERA)
SUNDAY (Game 2): RHP Xavier Richards (1st Career Start) vs. RHP Parker Puetz (1st Career Start)

THE BUZZ ON THE HORNETS...
Sacramento State is coming off a 2022 season that saw the Hornets finish 32-26 overall and 17-14 in Western Athletic Conference play, ending the year third in the league's West Division and finishing the conference tournament with a 2-2 record. Sacramento State returns 15 letter winners, six position starters, and eight pitchers for the 2023 campaign, while welcoming 20 new faces -- 13 freshmen and seven transfers -- for the upcoming season

SCOUTING NORTH DAKOTA STATE...
The Bison are coming off a 2022 campaign that saw them claim their first Summit League regular season championship, finishing the year with a 31-19 overall record and a 17-5 mark in conference play... North Dakota State's quest for an NCAA berth, however, fell short after dropping two of its three games in the league championship tournament... Senior infielder Druw Sackett leads the returning crop of hitters after batting .338 with 13 doubles, seven home runs, and 28 RBI a season ago, while senior infielder Peter Brookshaw returns his eight home runs and team-high 46 RBI from 2022... NDSU returns two of its three weekend starters in RHP Cade Feeney and LHP Max Loven, who shared the team lead with seven wins apiece... Feeney was 7-3 with a 4.54 ERA, striking out 62 in 79.1 innings, while Loven was 7-5 with a 6.09 ERA, striking out 57 over 75.1 innings of work.

The hometown view of the season opener is posted on GoBison.com.

[Elvis was a Bison]

ESPN+ my ass!! Looks like the only video available for this game is behind the WAC pay wall.

Starting line-ups:

NDSU Line Up
Spot Pos # Player Bats
1 cf 19 Cadyn Schwabe L
2 2b 13 Druw Sackett R
3 dh 12 Stephen Lund R
4 ss 2 Peter Brookshaw L
5 1b 6 James Dunlap R
6 lf 1 Terrell Huggins R
7 3b 11 Jack Steil R
8 c 7 Will Busch R
9 rf 4 Dallan Quigley R
10 p 10 Cade Feeney R

SAC Line Up
Spot Pos # Player Bats
1 3b 10 Bojorquez, Jorge R
2 ss 9 Aloy, Wehiwa R
3 1b 17 Vincelli-Simard, M R
4 dh 24 Valero, Cesar R
5 lf 35 Heard, Jeffery L
6 2b 1 Rolling, Josh R
7 rf 16 Crenshaw, Garet L
8 c 3 Blatnick, Carson L
9 cf 26 Harrison, Griffin R
10 p 14 Takacs, Noah L


NDSU Bench
# Player Bats Throws Class
3 Kyle Law R R FR
5 Davis Hamilton L R FR
8 Caden Edwards L L SO
9 Garret Hill R R JR
14 Wyatt Nelson R R JR
15 Bennett Freiter R R FR
16 Nolan Johnson R R FR
17 Zach Kluvers R R SO
18 Konnor Kirchoffner R R SO
20 Chase Nett L L JR
22 Hayden Sylte R R SO
23 Kale Jensen L R FR
24 Hunter Rosenbaum R R JR
25 Parker Puetz R R FR
26 Carson Hake R R JR
28 Jack Luster R R JR
29 Kale Hopke R R FR
30 Reese Ligtenberg L R SO
31 Max Loven R L SR
32 Andrew Baumgart R R FR
33 Carson Jacobs R R JR
34 Joey Danielson R R JR
35 Leland Wilson R R SO
36 Zak Endres R R FR
37 Jaxon Edwards L L SO
38 Shea Zetterman R R SR
40 Tristen Roehrich R R SR
44 Skyler Riedinger R R SO


SAC Bench
# Player Bats Throws Class
2 Gouldsmith, Gunner B R JR
5 Smith, JP R R FR
6 Ott, Brett L R FR
7 Malone, Zack L L FR
8 Christansen, Ryan L R
11 Tucker, Benjy R R FR
13 Frank, Braden L R FR
15 Nelson, Jasper B R JR
18 Jacobson, Jordan L L FR
19 Gagnon, Zach L R SR
21 Byrd, Jaxon L L FR
25 Stewart, Tyler R R SO
27 Parker, Isaiah R R SO
28 Gilliam, Sam R R JR
29 Hourigan, Conor R R SO
30 Richards, Xavier R R FR
31 Haynes, Kevin R R JR
32 Rinehart, Noah R R SO
33 Harper, Wesley R R JR
36 Cortez, Jacob R R FR
39 Gibbons, Evan R R JR
40 Lucchesi, Noah B L SO
43 Pettey, Max L L JR
44 Goodrich, Trey R R JR
45 Rons, Cooper R R JR
47 Zalasky, Jack R R SR
52 Brown, Kade R R FR
54 Edwards, Sebastian R R FR

[Elvis was a Bison]

Bison drop the season opener to Sacramento State 5-3.

Sac State: 5 runs on 9 hits with 0 errors and 4 LOB
Bison: 3 runs on 3 hits with 0 err0rs and 2 LOB

WP: Noah Takacs - (1-0)
LP: Cade Feeney - (0-1)

HR - NDSU - Druw Sackett, solo in the 1st inning, Stephen Lund, 2-run in the 9th inning.
Sac State - None

Game 2 at 3:00 PM CST on Saturday February 18, 2023.

[Elvis was a Bison]

Starting pitchers for game 2 are lefty Max Loven (7-5, 6.09 ERA in 2022) for the Bison vs right-hander Kevin Haynes (5-0, 4.50 ERA in 2022 for the Hornets.

Line-ups and batting order for todays game:

NDSU Line Up
Spot Pos # Player Bats
1 cf 19 Cadyn Schwabe L
2 rf 13 Druw Sackett R
3 c 12 Stephen Lund R
4 ss 2 Peter Brookshaw L
5 2b 6 James Dunlap R
6 lf 1 Terrell Huggins R
7 dh 5 Davis Hamilton L
8 3b 11 Jack Steil R
9 1b 26 Carson Hake R
10 p 31 Max Loven R

SAC Line Up
Spot Pos # Player Bats
1 3b 10 Bojorquez, Jorge R
2 ss 9 Aloy, Wehiwa R
3 c 17 Vincelli-Simard, M R
4 dh 24 Valero, Cesar R
5 lf 35 Heard, Jeffery L
6 2b 1 Rolling, Josh R
7 rf 16 Crenshaw, Garet L
8 1b 13 Frank, Braden L
9 cf 26 Harrison, Griffin R
10 p 31 Haynes, Kevin R

[Elvis was a Bison]

Game 2 ends with another Sac State win over the Bison 8-6. Bison had a 5-1 lead in this one going into the bottom of the 5th before the Hornets rallied to tie the game. Two runs in the bottom of the 6th put Sac State in the lead for good. Neither of the starting pitchers got a decision in the contest. Druw Sackett continued to show his power with 2 more homeruns.

Hornets (2-0): 8 runs on 9 hits with no errors and 7 LOB
Bison (0-2): 6 runs on 5 hits, with 2 errors and 7 LOB

WP Evan Gibbons (1-0)
LP Carson Jacobs (0-1)

Homeruns: Bison - Druw Sacket with 2 (3), 2-run shot to left in the 3rd inning and a 2-run bomb, also to left, in the 5th
Hornets- Jeffrey Heard (1) to right field with one man on in the 5th

[Elvis was a Bison]

Game three of the four game series ends with the Bison losing to the Hornets 3-2. The Bison out hit Sac State 6-4, but couldn't string them together to create a rally, scoring single runs in the 5th and seventh innings. One more chance to win one this series in the second game of the double-header.

Hornets: 3 runs on 4 hits, with 1 error and 7 LOB
Bison: 2 runs on 6 hits , with no errors and 5 LOB

WP: Noah Luchessi (1-0)
LP Tristen Roehrich (0-1)
Save: Jack Zalasky (2)

Homeruns: Sac State - Jorge Bojorquez solo to left center in the third

[Elvis was a Bison]

The Bison finally found their stroke, as they pounded out 17 hits and used a 7-run 7th inning to defeat the Hornets 13-4 in the series wrap-up. Peter Brookshaw led the hit parade, going 4-5, with 3 doubles and 3 RBI. Cadyn Schwabe had 3 hits and drove in one run, Davis Hamilton had 3 hits and an RBI, while Terrell Huggins had 2 hits and 3 RBI, and Will Busch had 2 hits and one RBI. Neither starting pitcher was involved in the decision.

Bison (1-3): 13 runs on 17 hits, with 1 error and 7 LOB
Hornets (3-1): 4 runs on 6 hits, with 1 error and 8 LOB

WP: Nolan Johnson (1-0)
LP: Tyler Stewart (0-1)

Homeruns: NDSU - Will Busch (1) solo to left in the 6th, Terrell Huggins (1) 2-run to left in the 7th, and Davis Hamilton (1) solo to center in the 8th.

Next up for the Bison is the Tony Gwynn Classic, where they will face San Diego State on Friday, February 24th, TBD.