A Brief Preview

The Sacramento State softball team enters the week with a

16-30 overall record and a 4-11 mark in the Big West Conference after

being swept in a three-game series by 18th-ranked Pacific last

weekend. The Hornets have lost nine of their last 11 games and are a

season-worst 14 games under .500. In five conference series this

season, the Hornets have been swept in three games by Cal State

Fullerton, Cal State Northridge and Pacific, and have taken two of

three from both UC Santa Barbara and Utah State.

Sacramento State will look to turn things around this week as

it hosts Cal Poly in a three-game Big West series this

Saturday-Sunday, April 28-29. The two teams play a doubleheader on

Saturday at noon and a single game Sunday at noon. Sunday''s game will

be Senior Day as the team will honor seniors Andrea Becker, Jennifer

Jokinen and Patty Villa for their contributions to the program prior

to the game.

Cal Poly enters the week with a 21-26 overall record and a

5-10 mark in the Big West. The Mustangs won two of three games from

Utah State over the weekend and have won four of their last five

games. Before the five-game stretch, Cal Poly had lost 13 of its

previous 17 contests. The Mustangs took two of three games from the

Hornets last year but Sacramento State has won six of the last eight

meetings between the two teams.

Meet the Coaches

Hornet head coach Kathy Strahan, who has spent time as head

coach with Cal State Dominguez Hills (1984-85), San Jose State

(1986-92) and Sacramento State (1993-pres.), has posted a 505-470-3

career record in 17 years. During her eight seasons with the Hornets,

Strahan has a 258-225-2 record while guiding Sacramento State to a

pair of NCAA Regional appearances in 1993 and 1995. The Michigan

State graduate has also been named Western Athletic Conference Coach

of the Year in 1993 and co-Big West Conference Coach of the Year

while at San Jose State in 1989.

Strahan''s 505 victories is good for 29th all-time on the NCAA

list among active head coaches with at least five years of Div. I

experience.

Cal Poly is coached by Lisa Boyer, who is 360-279-1 in 13

years with the Mustangs.

A Look at the Hornets

Bivert Leads The Pitching and the Offense

After beginning the season as the Hornets'' No. 3 starter, sophomore Jillian Bivert has emerged as the team''s most consistent and reliable pitcher. The Woodland, Calif., native, who also leads the team with a .295 batting average and 18 RBI, has allowed one run or less in four of her last five starts.

She currently leads the pitching staff in ERA (1.83), opponents'' batting average (.225), shutouts (five), walks per seven innings (2.3) and extra base hits allowed (17). Bivert, who hadn''t allowed a run for 20.0-consecutive innings until losing, 1-0, to Pacific on Saturday, has allowed 28 earned runs and 90 hits in 107.0 innings.

On the offensive side of things, Bivert leads the team in

batting average, RBI, hits (43), home runs (three), total bases (56),

on-base percentage (.333), multiple-hit games (14), multiple-RBI

games (four) and batting average against right-handers (.300).

Problems At Home

The Hornets are currently 2-12 at home this season and have

lost 12 of their last 13 games.

Part of the reason for the lack of success is due in large

part to the strength of schedule this year. Of the Hornets'' 14 games

at home, 12 have come against ranked opponents (two games against

fourth-ranked Cal and 15th-ranked Iowa, three vs. ninth-ranked Cal

State Fullerton, two vs. 16th-ranked Oregon State and three vs.

25th-ranked Cal State Northridge).

In fact, the Hornets have scored more than two runs only

twice this year at home and have been outscored, 61-21 (an average of

2.9 runs per game).

The team has recorded just two losing records at home since

joining the Div. I ranks in 1990 (the 1994 squad finished 13-14-1 and

the 1990 team finished 12-13). Overall in the Div. I era, the Hornets

are 180-103-2 (.635) at home.

Comebacks Have Been Scarce

Thus far, Sacramento State is 0-20 in games when it is

trailing after five innings. The sixth inning has been unkind to the

team as opponents have outscored the Hornets, 43-8. In the sixth and

seventh innings combined, Sacramento State has been outscored, 60-20.

Rough Times

Even if the Hornets were to win their final eight games this

season, they would still finish with the worst record in their Div. I

history (1990-pres.). With a 16-30 record, the best the Hornets could

finish is six games under .500. The current Hornet low mark at the

Div. I level is five games under .500, held by the 1991 (28-33), 1994

(25-30-1) and 2000 (25-30) squads. Coincidentally, those teams are

the only three to finish below .500 in the Div. I era. Overall, the

Hornets are 353-313-2 since joining the Div. I ranks.

Struggling With The Bat

After being held to just eight hits over a three-game span

last weekend, the Hornets are now hitting a season-low .232 as a

team. Sacramento State has recorded five hits or less in 14 of its

last 21 games and has scored two runs or less in 22 of its last 26

games.

The Hornets are on pace to finish with their lowest batting

average in 10 years. The 1991 team holds the record for the lowest

batting average in the Div. I era (.222).

Playing On The Road

Despite being swept by Pacific in Stockton, Calif., last

weekend, the Hornets still own a 9-6 record on the road. The team has

split a doubleheader with San Jose State, swept a doubleheader from

Santa Clara and has taken two of three from both UC Santa Barbara and

Utah State.

One major reason for the success on the road has been

pitching. The pitching staff has combined for a 1.45 ERA in 15 road

contests while throwing 13 complete games and seven shutouts. In

fact, seven of the Hornets'' nine shutouts this year have come on the

road.

Jillian Bivert is 4-3 with a 0.84 ERA, Nicole Deatherage is

4-1 with a 1.34 ERA and Gina Steenburgen is 1-2 with a 3.05 ERA on

the road.

Thievery

Sacramento State has accumulated 35 stolen bases this season,

which already ties for the fourth-best mark in the school''s Div. I

history. The Hornets, who have traditionally been a team that doesn''t

steal many bases, have four players with at least five swipes this

season.

Amber Dragomir has nine stolen bases, Arlette Sunseri has

seven and Roni Rodrigues and Jillian Bivert each have five. Dragomir

is just two stolen bases shy of the single-season record of 11, held

by two players. The Hornets, who are 35-for-48 in stolen base

attempts this year, still need 16 swipes to tie the Div. I school

record of 51, set by the 1993 team.

Among Big West Leaders

Sacramento State is fourth in the eight-team Big West

Conference in hitting (.232), sixth in fielding percentage (.953) and

seventh in pitching (2.94). Freshman Amber Dragomir is sixth in

stolen basses (nine) and ninth in runs scored (23). Freshman Nicole

Deatherage is fifth in batters struck out looking (28), sixth in

innings pitched (135.2) and tied for eighth in starts (19). Junior

Lori Meixner is third in assists (128) and senior Patty Villa leads

the conference in throwing out runners trying to steal bases (14).

Hornet Notables

Senior Andrea Becker hit her first career home run Sunday

against Pacific...Patty Villa''s eight-game hitting streak earlier

this season remains the Hornets'' longest of the season...Sacramento

State pinch hitters are just 3-for-20 (.150) this year...no Hornet is

hitting above .280 in conference games.