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MESA, Ariz. — The final two teams standing the 2026 Western Athletic Conference Tournament will go head-to-head on Saturday as the fourth-seeded Sacramento State will take on top-seeded Tarleton State with the conference tournament title and NCAA Tournament berth on the line. The two clash at 3 p.m. PT, with a second game to follow (if necessary) at 7 p.m. PT at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Ariz. Both games will be streamed live on the ESPN+ platform.<\/p>\n
PLAY BALL! AGAINST TARLETON STATE WAC TOURNAMENT FACTS HORNETS FACING ELIMINATION YEAR-BY-YEAR RECORD IN ELIMINATION GAMES A WIN WOULD MEAN A LOT NEWS AND NOTES RECORD BOOK WATCH
\n2026 WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
\nWHAT: #4 Sacramento State (29-31, 10-8 WAC) vs. #1 Tarleton State (36-19, 12-6 WAC)
\nWHEN: Saturday, May 23, 2025
\nTIME: 3 PM PT & 7 PM PT (game two if necessary)
\nWHERE: Mesa, Ariz.
\nSTADIUM: Hohokam Stadium
\nWATCH:
\nGame 1:\u00a0ESPN+<\/a>\u00a0| WAC International<\/a> (outside of the U.S.)\u00a0| Live Stats<\/a>
\nGame 2 (if necessary):\u00a0ESPN+<\/a>\u00a0| WAC International<\/a> (outside of the U.S.) | Live Stats<\/a>
\nTOURNAMENT CENTRAL: WACSports.com<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Sacramento State and Tarleton State will meet for the fifth time (and possible a sixth) in 10 days, this time for a WAC Tournament title
\n\u2022 Sacramento State needs two wins over Tarleton State on Saturday to claim the title and NCAA Tournament berth
\n\u2022 The Texans handed the Hornets their first loss of the WAC Tournament on Thursday (May 21) with a 9-0 victory, limiting Sacramento State to just one hit and four baserunners
\n\u2022 Saturday’s game one between the two marks the third meeting between the two schools in the WAC Tournament with Tarleton State winning the previous two (first meeting was a 12-6 Texans win in 2024)
\n\u2022 The Texans lead the all-time series 9-6<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Sacramento State is 33-26 all-time in the WAC Tournament, including a 32-20 record since 2012 under Head Coach Reggie Christiansen<\/a>
\n\u2022 The Hornets have won three WAC Tournament titles: 2014, 2017 and 2019
\n\u2022 Sacramento State is making its first WAC Tournament championship appearance since 2019 when they defeated Grand Canyon twice to win the title
\n\u2022 That victory capped a 6-0 finish to the tournament that year for the Hornets, who lost their opening-round game to Utah Valley before going on their run, eliminating every tournament qualifier along the way
\n\u2022 The three wins in this year’s tournament are the most since the 2019 event (6-1) and marked the first time that Sacramento State has multiple wins in a conference tournament since going 2-2 in 2022<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Sacramento State has fared pretty well in elimination games in the WAC tournament since 2006, posting a 22-9 record, including a 21-8 mark under Head Coach Reggie Christiansen<\/a>
\n\u2022 Friday’s wins over Utah Valley and California Baptist were the first for the Hornets since 2022
\n\u2022 Sacramento State has twice come out of the losers bracket to win a tournament title in 2014 (finished 4-0 after falling to Cal State Bakersfield in its first game) and 2019 (lost opener to Utah Valley, then knocked out every team in the tournament, going 6-0)<\/p>\n
\n2008: 1-1
\n2012: 0-1
\n2014: 4-0 (lost opener, won title)
\n2015: 3-1
\n2016: 0-1
\n2018: 4-1
\n2019: 6-0 (lost opener, won title)
\n2021: 0-1
\n2022: 2-1
\n2024: 0-1
\n2025: 0-1
\n2026: 2-0<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 A win in game one on Saturday\u00a0against Tarleton State would give the Hornets 30 wins in a season for the 13th time in the last 16 years \u2014 including 11 straight campaigns from 2012-23
\n\u2022 Entering 2026, Sacramento State’s 12 30-win seasons since 2012 were tied for the most among Division I programs in the state of California along with UC Irvine
\n\u2022 That’s ahead of perennial powers like UCLA, San Diego, Fresno State and Cal Poly (which had nine such years entering 2026) as well as UC Santa Barbara and Stanford (which had 10)<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 For the second time in this year’s tournament, senior Ryan Ellis<\/a> tied a school single-game record with three doubles in the 12-7 win over California Baptist, matching his performance in the tournament opener against Abilene Christian
\n\u2022 According to available records, Ellis is the ONLY Hornet to have three doubles in a game twice in a career, joining 14 other Sacramento State greats who have each done it once\u00a0
\n\u2022 The 12 runs in the win over CBU on Friday were the most in a single tournament game for the Hornets since a 12-7 win over Seattle U in 2018
\n\u2022 Ellis is hitting .533 (8-for-15) with six runs and seven RBI in this year’s tournament with all eight of his hits going for extra bases \u2014 seven doubles and a home run
\n\u2022 He is slugging 1.200 for the tournament with a .556 on-base percentage in four games
\n\u2022 Jakob Poturnak’s<\/a> 10th home run of the year against CBU on Friday gave the Hornets a pair of double-digit home run hitters (Erick Dessens<\/a> also has 10) for the second straight season
\n\u2022 The blast was also the 23rd of his Sacramento State career
\n\u2022 Jakob Poturnak’s<\/a> four RBI against CBU tied the school single-game WAC Tournament record \u2014 a record he already shared with his four RBI against Grand Canyon last season\u00a0
\n\u2022 Nearly half (17) of the team’s 35 hits in the tournament have gone for extra bases \u2014 13 doubles and four home runs
\n\u2022 The team’s six doubles in the tournament opener against ACU were a school single-game WAC Tournament record, besting the five against Cal State Bakersfield in 2018
\n\u2022 Jace Jeremiah’s<\/a> home run against ACU in the tournament opener was the first by a Hornet in tournament play since JP Smith<\/a> hit two against Tarleton State in 2024
\n\u2022 Sam Harry’s<\/a> 19 doubles are the most by a Hornet hitter in a single season since Steven Moretto (22) and Ryan Walstad (20) in 2021
\n\u2022 Eight of Ellis’ 18 doubles on the year have come in the last five games
\n\u2022\u00a0Brett Ott<\/a> has now reached base safely in each of his last 12 games
\n\u2022 With two more strikeouts on Saturday, this year’s Hornet pitching staff would become only the third in school history to strikeout at least 500 batters along with the 2019 (537) and 2021 (532) pitching staffs
\n\u2022 Junior LHP Sean Carey<\/a>, who picked up his second save against Utah Tech and nailed down the win against California Baptist on Friday, has not allowed a run in his last seven appearances (14.2 innings), scattering four hits, walking five, and striking out 27
\n\u2022 In the tournament, Carey has allowed only two hits over 5.2 innings, walking two and striking out nine in three appearances, holding opponents to a .111 average
\n\u2022 Freshman RHP Trevor Wilson<\/a> has allowed just one unearned run on 12 hits over his last seven appearances (14.0 innings), walking four and striking out 11
\n\u2022\u00a0Sophomore RHP Carson Timothy<\/a> picked up his third win in his last five appearances without a loss dating back to the Hornets’ victory at No. 1 UCLA on April 26
\n\u2022\u00a0He has struck out 20 against seven walks in those five games (21 innings), including striking out a career-high six in the elimination game on Friday (May 22) against Utah Tech
\n\u2022 The 12 strikeouts in the team’s tournament opener against ACU tied the school single-game WAC Tournament record set against New Mexico State in 2018, while the 10 against California Baptist on Friday were the third-highest single-game total<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Following Friday’s games, Dessens now ranks tied for seventh on the school’s single-season list for at-bats (247), tied for sixth in hits (88), tied for sixth in RBI (64), and tied for 10th in multi-hit games (26)
\n\u2022 Sam Harry<\/a> is tied for 10th on the single-season runs list (56) and tied for 10th in doubles (19)
\n\u2022 Cameron Sewell<\/a> is tied for 10th in hit by pitches (14)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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