TURLOCK, Calif.---  Stan State's 2023 home opener is set for this Friday, February 10 when the Warriors entertain the Holy Names University Hawks in a non-conference doubleheader at Warrior Baseball Field. First pitch is scheduled at 1pm. This will be the beginning of a home-away four-game series between the two teams. They will finish out the series on Saturday, February 11 with a 1pm starting doubleheader in Alameda at the College of Alameda Baseball Field.

RECAP OF SEASON OPENER:  Stan State won its season opener 7-6 over Academy of Art on February 1 in Alameda behind the Warrior bullpen and Kyle Rachels.  The Warriors trailed 4-0 after the first inning but came back to defeat the Urban Knights 7-6.  Kyle Rachels drove in five of the Warriors' seven runs while Jacob Baker had three of Stan State's ten hits.  Rachels went two-for-four with a three-run home run and a two-run double. Baker was three-for-three with two runs scored and two stolen bases. 

Rachels hit a three-run home run in the top of the third inning to cut the Urban Knight lead to 4-3.  Academy of Art increased its lead to 5-3 with a single run in the bottom of the fourth.  Mac Cabero's two-out two-run single in the top of the fifth inning tied the game at 5-5.  The Warriors took the lead on a two-out two-run double by Rachels in the top of the eighth, 7-5.  The Urban Knights cut the Stan State lead to 7-6 with a single run in the eighth, but Anthony Ramirez pitched a scoreless ninth and struck out three en route to his first save of the season.

The Warrior bullpen consisting of Austin Balentine, Caleb Bertoncini, Casey Carr and Anthony Ramirez combined to pitch 7.2 innings of two-hit ball while striking out 13 and walking three.  They gave two runs of which one was unearned.  Carr pitched three scoreless innings of relief, giving up no hits, striking out three and walking two batters to start the season 1-0. 

WHAT A DEBUT: In his first start in a Warrior uniform, transfer Kyle Rachels played a key role in Stan State's 7-6 season opening win at Academy of Art on February 1.  He was two-for-four with five runs batted in and two runs scored. Rachels hit a three-run home run and a two-run double while stealing a base.

THREE-FOR-THREE: Jacob Baker went three-for-three last Wednesday evening in Alameda.  He scored two of the Warriors' seven runs while going two-for-two in stolen base attempts. 

BULLPEN CAME TO THE RELIEF: The Warrior bullpen of Austin Balentine, Caleb Bertoncini, Casey Carr and Anthony Ramirez pitched 7.2 innings, giving up two hits, two runs (one earned), striking out 13 and walking three to key the Warriors' come-from-behind 7-6 victory.  Carr picked up the win, pitching three scoreless innings, giving up no hits, striking out three and walking two.  Ramirez pitched a scoreless ninth with three strikeouts for his first save of the season. 

HAWKS IN REVIEW:  Holy Names swept a three-game series from Simpson over the weekend to begin the Hawks season.  The Hawks will be at Sonoma State this Tuesday, February 7 for a non-conference game before facing the Warriors in Turlock on Friday. 

As a team, the Hawks are hitting .347 with a 3.75 earned run average.  Neko Capsallaris is hitting .583 while Jesus Hernandez has a .545 batting average.  Capsallaris leads the team with his seven hits and three doubles.  He is tied with Esai Santos each with five runs batted in and five runs scored.  Jake Guzman has stolen two bases for the Hawks. 

Picking up the three wins for the Hawks this weekend were Mitch Benson, Nicholas Martinez and Eddie Curley.  Casey Candiotti and Patrick Barnum have one save. Martinez is leading the team with his 1.50 earned run average.  Curley and Martinez lead the team with their six strikeouts. 

LIVE STATS/VIDEO: To view the live stats and video for Stan State home games, go to https://warriorathletics.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary and for the CCAA network go to www.ccaanetwork.com/Stan.  You can also listen to Bryan Nelson call the game at listen to Bryan Nelson call the game go to http://bluechipbroadcasting.com/.
 
The CCAA network has a monthly subscription rate of $9.95, which can watch any CCAA sport that is hosted at any CCAA institution during that 30-day period.
For the doubleheader at Holy Names on Saturday, go to https://hnuhawks.com/index.aspx.

UP NEXT: After Saturday's doubleheader at Holy Names, Stan State will begin a nine-game home stand with a single nine-inning game against Menlo College on February 14 at 5pm.   The home stand will continue with a four-game home series against Central Washington (back-to-back doubleheaders on February 17 and 18 each starting at 1pm).  Stan State will conclude the home stand with a four-game CCAA series against No. 29 Cal State Monterey Bay.  The series with the Otters will begin with a single nine-inning game on February 24 at 6pm.  The series will continue with a 1pm starting doubleheader on February 25 and conclude with a single game beginning at noon on February 26.