Senior Lori Meixner

The Sacramento State softball team returns to the friendly confines of Shea Stadium this weekend after posting a 1-2 record at Cal State Northridge last week. The Hornets host Big West Conference-foe Utah State for a three-game series on Saturday-Sunday, April 13-14. The teams play a doubleheader Saturday at noon and a single Sunday at noon.

The Hornets (13-20, 2-6 Big West) have dropped 12 of their last 17 games after beginning the season 8-8. The team has played just four home games since Feb. 15 and is 4-6 overall at Shea Stadium this season.

This weekend’s series marks the beginning of a seven-game homestand as the Hornets will host Pacific for a single game (April 18, 3 p.m.) and Long Beach State for a three-game set on April 20-21. The game against Pacific is a makeup contest as the teams were rained out on March 23. After the Long Beach State series, the Hornets will play eight-straight on the road before closing the season with a three-game set at home vs. UC Santa Barbara.

Utah State enters the week with a 3-32 overall record and an 0-9 mark in the Big West. The Aggies, who host doubleheaders against Southern Utah on Tuesday and BYU on Thursday, have lost 13-straight games over the last three weeks. The team was swept by Pacific last weekend and has not won a game since posting a 2-5 record at the Capital Classic. The Aggies’ 4.58 team ERA and .187 team batting average both rank last in the Big West.

The Hornets are 12-5 against Utah State since joining the Big West in 1997.

Head Coach Kathy Strahan

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 519-497-3 career record in 18 years. During her nine seasons with the Hornets, Strahan has a 272-252-2 record while guiding Sacramento State to a pair of NCAA Regional appearances in 1993 and 1995. The NCAA Regional appearance in 1993 marked the first postseason bid for any program in Sacramento State Div. I history to an NCAA Championship event. 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 519 victories is good for 29th all-time on the NCAA list among active head coaches with at least five years of Div. I experience. She recently authored a 224-page book entitled, Coaching Girls Softball, detailing how to coach softball to girls ages 7-13.

In Previous Action

Sacramento State took one of three games from Cal State Northridge last weekend. The Hornets’ victory on Saturday snapped a seven-game losing streak against the Matadors that spanned the last two years.

Saturday, senior Alison Norman finished with three hits, including a home run and a career-high four RBIs, and sophomore Amber Dragomir collected four hits as the Hornets defeated Cal State Northridge, 7-4, in the second game of the doubleheader. Sacramento State pounded out seven runs and a season-high 14 hits as all but one starter recorded at least one hit. In the opener, Jenny Wheeler threw a two-hit shutout to lead the Matadors to a 4-0 victory. After allowing a single in the first inning to Meghan Cunningham, Wheeler retired the next 12 Hornets in a row before hitting Yolanda Estrada with a pitch in the fifth inning.

Sunday, Christen Bedwell and Sondra Milchiker each recorded two hits to lead the Matadors to a 5-2 victory. Cal State Northridge pounded out five runs and nine hits, including a decisive four-run fourth inning. Sacramento State also recorded nine hits, but left 10 runners on base. Dragomir, Norman and Erin Coyne each finished with two hits.

Hot Amber

Sophomore outfielder Amber Dragomir combined to hit .667 (6-9) over the three-game series with Cal State Northridge. The Tustin, Calif., native had been just 1-for-14 in her previous six games. After sitting out the opener on Saturday, Dragomir responded in the second game by going 4-for-5 with a double and an RBI. Her performance marked the first time a Hornet had recorded four hits in a game since Patty Villa accomplished the feat on March 18, 2000.

Dragomir then went 2-for-4 on Sunday to cap off an impressive weekend. She started 19 of the team’s first 21 games, but struggled at the plate, hitting just .214 over that span. Dragomir was then replaced in right field by Alison Norman as she made just two pinch-hitting appearances over the next 10 games before this weekend.

Dragomir, who has started five games in left and 16 in right field, raised her average 59 points over the weekend to its current season-high mark of .279.

The Coyne Collection

Freshman catcher Erin Coyne continues to impress in her first intercollegiate season. The San Diego, Calif., native has hit safely in 24 games this season and currently leads the Hornets with a .435 batting average against Big West competition. Coyne had a team-best eight-game hitting streak earlier this season and is currently riding a four-game streak, her fourth of at least four games this year. So far, she has notched hitting streaks of four (twice), six and eight games.

Overall, she is hitting .337 and has a .409 on-base percentage which places her seventh and 10th, respectively, among Big West leaders. Among team leaders, she is first in doubles (six), second in hits (33), walks (nine), RBIs (10) and total bases (39), and third in on-base percentage and slugging percentage (.398). She has also struck out just five times in 98 at-bats (one K every 19.6 at-bats).

Not So Hot Corner

Sacramento State’s starting platoon at third base has not fared well at the plate this season. So far, the starting tandem of Mary Villalpando (24 starts, .149 batting average), Meghan Cunningham (eight starts, .125) and Lori Meixner (one start, .000) have combined to hit .139 (10-72). In addition, the three have combined for a .934 fielding percentage.

When not starting at third base, Cunningham is hitting .314 (16-51) and Meixner is batting .197 (15-76). All 24 of Villalpando’s starts have come at third base.

Above The Norm

Senior Alison Norman went 5-for-9 with a double, home run and five RBIs over the weekend. In Saturday’s win over the Matadors, Norman went 3-for-3 with a home run, double and a career-high four RBIs. The four RBIs were the most in a game by a Hornet since Lori Meixner had five on March 17, 2000.

Through the first three years of her Hornet career, Norman had combined for just three RBIs and a .138 batting average (11-80). This season, she has appeared in 18 games (including 11 starts) while accumulating a .378 batting average, .410 on-base percentage and .486 slugging percentage. She is tied for second on the team with two multiple-RBI games and tied for fourth with five multiple-hit games despite appearing in just 18 games this year.

Comebacks Scarce

Sacramento State comebacks have been a rare commodity this season as the team is 1-13 when trailing after five innings and 3-11 when the opponent scores first.

The Hornets have been outscored by a combined margin of 56-31 from the fifth inning on, including 16-6 in the fifth inning and 21-10 in the seventh. The largest deficit the team has overcome this season to win a game is two runs, which they did against both Iowa State and Middle Tennessee.

Hornet Notables

Sacramento State pinch hitters have combined to hit .500 (6-12) this season with Alison Norman (3-4, .750) leading the way...among Big West leaders, junior Jillian Bivert is currently sixth in batting average (.350) and ninth in on-base percentage (.422)...the Hornets are 8-4 in games sophomore Nicole Deatherage has started. She is currently 6-3 with a 1.45 ERA...the Hornets are currently second in the Big West with 31 stolen bases as Meghan Cunningham and Michelle Bariao (five stolen bases each) lead the way...Erin Coyne, Cathy Coupar, Lori Meixner and Bivert have started all 33 games this season...Bivert is hitting .415 when starting at first base compared to .310 when starting at pitcher.