In the morning game, Jen O’Donnell drove in the winning run with a two-out single in the bottom of the sixth inning to give Pittsburgh a 2-1 victory. After Sacramento State starter Nicole Deatherage retired the first two batters she faced in the inning, Heather Andrews doubled down the left-field line before scoring on the single to center from O’Donnell. The run was just the second earned run allowed by Deatherage in her last 61 innings pitched.

The Panthers claimed a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning when Sheena Hellon singled to left field scoring Casey Pickard. The run, however, was unearned due to an error at second base which kept the inning alive.

Sacramento State answered in the top of the fifth inning on a double from Amy Hillel which scored Leslie Mayhorn.

Against Long Beach State (27-7), the 49ers took advantage of a pair of Hornet miscues to win the game in the eighth inning. Due to the international tie-breaker, Lauren Johnson began the inning on second base and immediately moved to third on a wild pitch. Arleigh Thorp then hit chopper back to the mound which hit off the glove of pitcher Brianne Ferguson allowing Thorp to score.

Sacramento State scored its only run in the third inning on a pair of doubles from Lindy Winkler and Amy Walter. The 49ers tied the contest in the fifth inning with a home run Kourtnee Gervasi which bounced off the top of the fence.

In the six tournament games, Sacramento State was led by Winkler who was 7-of-13 (.538) and scored four runs. Walter also was effective at the plate going 6-of-17 (.353) with two runs, two RBI and a double.

The team’s two pitchers, Ferguson and Deatherage stymied the opposition while each earning a pair of wins. Ferguson had a 0.33 ERA in 21.0 innings. Deatherage had a 0.38 ERA, struck out 24 and held opponets to a .127 batting average.

Sacramento State will next be in action on Tuesday, March 23, in a doubleheader against Tennessee State. The first game against the Tigers is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. at Shea Stadium.

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