RENO, Nev. — In a 24-hour span, the season ended for the three Hawai'i players on Sacramento State's baseball team.

Recent graduate and pitcher Chris Mols (Roosevelt '02), junior catcher Brett Tanigawa (Moanalua '03) and junior infielder Taylor Watanabe ('Aiea '03) are members of the Hornets, who were the first victims of the double-elimination Western Athletic Conference tournament, losing to top-seeded Fresno State on Thursday and falling to fifth-seeded Hawai'i yesterday.

"It's tough to go out this way, but we tried to battle all year," said Mols, who pitched two-thirds of an inning in the Fresno State loss. "It's just too bad because we had a great group of guys. It just didn't work out the way we wanted it to."

Mols missed his graduation, which was yesterday. He received his degree in sociology.

An injury early in his career limited his playing time. He got into 19 games this season, making one start. But his first career victory came recently in relief.

"I came in relieving a lot, so it's good to get those wins," he said. "I started my whole life and got to win a lot (in high school), but coming up here I had to do some patch work (as a reliever), so it was kind of hard to get those wins."

Tanigawa was primarily a reserve, playing in 24 games, starting in 16 of the team's 57 games. His 4 for 4 game against Hawai'i yesterday lifted his season batting average to .264. Although his team has struggled over the years, he does not regret going to Sacramento State.

"It's a good experience," he said. "I wouldn't trade it for anything. It's the only opportunity I had, so I took it. I can't complain about anything. Everything's worked pretty well for me."

He will play summer ball in Bellingham, Wash., of the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League. The accounting major, who red-shirted as a freshman, will graduate in December.

Watanabe, also a fourth-year junior, played sparingly having coming off labrum surgery almost a year ago.

"The coaches were skeptical whether I'd be back a hundred percent," he explained. "On top of that, (infielder) Gary Johnson came through, had a hell of a year last year and I was behind a bunch of seniors. It's just a matter of me waiting out my turn. When I get the opportunity I have to do the job."

Watanabe said he's thinking of playing for the Hawaii Island Movers' summer team. He will return to Sacramento State next season and targets next spring to graduate with a degree in management information systems.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.