SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Interstat) — Sacramento State erupted for eight runs in the sixth inning Saturday evening to defeat Tarleton State 8-4 at John Smith Field in a Western Athletic Conference game. The Hornets improved to 26-30 overall, while the Texans fell to 34-19.

Tarleton State struck first in the second inning when McCloud homered to right for a 4-0 lead. Sacramento State sent 10 batters to the plate in the sixth, taking advantage of walks, a two-run single by Harry, a two-run double by Ellis and a two-run triple by Pimentel-Guerrero to go up 8-4.

The Texans got two runs in the seventh on Smeenk’s homer and one in the eighth on a Ricard single, but could not close the gap. Sean Carey tossed three perfect innings with five strikeouts for the Hornets, and Ashton Bassett matched with three perfect frames and four strikeouts for Tarleton State.