STOCKTON, Calif. – The Pacific baseball team heads north to John Smith Field for a doubleheader on Friday, March 1, taking on host Sacramento State at 1 pm and Minnesota on 6 pm.
 
The Tigers (2-6) dropped their road opener on Tuesday at UC Davis, 17-3, in the team's first midweek matchup of the season.
 
This weekend, Pacific faces Sacramento State (3-5) and Minnesota (2-4) with both opponents entering the contests on losing streaks at three games and two games, respectively.
 
The Hornets fell in their most recent game on Tuesday against California by a 3-1 score in Berkeley. Prior to that, Sacramento State hosted series against LMU and UC Santa Barbara, holding a 3-4 record at home.
 
Picked to finish seventh in the preseason 2024 Western Athletic Conference coaches poll, the Hornets are led by Cesar Valero, who was named as one of 12 players to the WAC preseason all-conference team. Through eight games, Valero is hitting .226 (7-for-31) with four doubles, a home run, three runs and three RBIs. Tyler White paces the Hornets' offense with a .290 batting average with four doubles, a pair of home runs and a team-high seven runs.
 
Sacramento State's starting pitching has been steady in the early going with Evan Gibbons, Tyler Stewart and Andrew Overland leading the way on the mound.
 
In the last 25 meetings with the Hornets, the Tigers own a 12-13 record. Sacramento State won both contests last season, including the most recent matchup in Sacramento on May 16, 2023, by a high score of 18-15. In that contest, senior Chase Graves and sophomore Kaden Petersen each hit home runs. Sophomore Caden Casagrande started the game, going 3.0 innings while not allowing a run on four hits.
 
Minnesota enters the matchup with Pacific with a pair of losses against Northeastern. All six of Minnesota's games have been played at neutral sites, defeating CSU Bakersfield and New Mexico, but falling to a ranked Oregon State squad twice.
 
Three Golden Gophers were named 2024 Big Ten 'Players to Watch' ahead of the season with Connor Wietgrefe, Brady Counsell and Weber Neels making the list.
 
Through six games, Jake Perry leads Minnesota with a .333 batting average (8-for-24) with two doubles, a triple, three runs and two RBIs. Neels has supplied the power for the Gophers with a team-best six RBIs while donning a .286 batting average and team-high .483 on-base percentage.
 
In two starts this season, Will Semb has been sharp on the mound, sporting a 1-0 record with a 0.93 ERA in 9.2 innings.
 
The Tigers and Gophers last faced each other in March 2008 in Stockton. Pacific took the first two contests, 1-0 and 3-1, before falling 11-5 in the series finale.
 
Petersen paces the Tigers offense, hitting .333 (9-for-27) with a team-high six runs and three extra-base hits, including a home run. Graves is the Pacific leader in on-base percentage (.457), in part thanks to his team-leading 11 walks, which also leads the West Coast Conference. Sophomore Jack Metcho has reached safely in all eight games for the Tigers, owning a .310 batting average (9-for-29) with a pair of extra-base hits and a team-leading six RBIs.
 
On the rubber, junior Ethan Shaver has been effective in 10.0 innings of work, holding a 1-0 record with a 2.70 ERA and nine strikeouts.
 
Game Information
Pacific at Sacramento State – Friday, March 1 at 1 pm at John Smith Field
Pacific vs. Minnesota (neutral) – Friday, March 1 at 6 pm at John Smith Field

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