SOFTBALL PLAYS SIX HOME GAMES THIS WEEK, INCLUDING PCSC OPENER
3/31/2009
THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE
Wednesday, April 1 vs. Cal State Bakersfield – DH (Shea Stadium) – Noon – STATS, AUDIO
Saturday, April 4 vs. San Diego – DH (Shea Stadium) – Noon – STATS, AUDIO
Sunday, April 5 vs. San Diego – DH (Shea Stadium) – Noon – STATS, AUDIO
Sacramento State (12-17) continues its season-long 15-game homestand with six more home games this week...that includes the Pacific Coast Softball Conference (PCSC) opener this weekend...the team will host Cal State Bakersfield (17-17) for a doubleheader on Wednesday, April 1, at noon, and then host a four-game set against PCSC rival San Diego (9-21) this weekend...Sacramento State and San Diego will play doubleheaders on both Saturday and Sunday beginning at noon...www.hornetsports.com will offer live stats and live audio of all six games this week and every home game this season...despite the Hornets’ 12-17 record, the club has played much better of late. The Hornets have won eight of their last 13 games, and that includes a 2-1 upset victory over then 12th-ranked Cal last Tuesday at home...Shea Stadium, the Hornets’ home facility, has been kind to Sacramento State as the team is 70-38 (.648 winning percentage) inside the friendly confines since the 2004 season. That includes a 5-2 mark this season...Sacramento State is the reigning PCSC champions, and the team finished the 2008 regular season by winning eight straight conference games to win the title for the first time since the league’s inception in 2003. That includes a four-game sweep at San Diego to conclude the regular season, a series which saw the Hornets outscore the Toreros, 47-8.
HORNET BRIEFS
• After struggling through the first five weeks of the season, Sacramento State’s offensive production has dramatically increased over the last eight games. During that eight-game span, the Hornets have recorded double figures in hits five times and are batting .339 with 17 doubles, three triples, five home runs and 40 RBIs. The team is averaging 5.4 runs over the eight-game stretch after averaging 2.6 runs during the first 21 games of the season.
• Senior left fielder Izmena Cabrera is currently first in the nation with an average of 0.52 doubles per game. She has 14 doubles overall this season and eight of those two baggers have come during the last 12 games. Cabrera also has a career-high 12-game hitting streak, tied for the fourth longest in the team’s Div. I history (1990-pres.). Lindy Winkler’s 18-game hitting streak in 2006 is the school’s top Div, I mark. During the 12-game stretch, Cabrera is batting .538 (21-for-39) with 11 runs, eight doubles, one triple, 10 RBIs and a .795 slugging percentage.
• Seniors Izmena Cabrera, Whitney Loomis and Rachel Miles each have 69 career RBIs, tied for the sixth best marks in school history. Senior Jamie Schloredt is the school’s all-time leader with 133 RBIs. The next closest player to Schloredt (Jillian Bivert, 2000-03) has 93 RBIs.
• Schloredt is currently riding an eight-game hitting streak and is batting .560 (14-for-25) with two home runs, 11 RBIs, an .840 slugging percentage and a .600 on-base percentage over that span. Defensively this season, Schloredt has picked off four runners on the base paths, and has throw out an impressive 54 percent of runners attempting to steal a base (just 11 stolen bases allowed in 24 attempts).
• Freshman shortstop Desiree Beltran has four separate four-game hitting streaks this season, and has hit safely in 19 of 28 games. Beltran’s batting average has never dipped below .333 at any point this season. She is currently second on the team with a .357 average and has started all but three games at shortstop.
• Schloredt (.457), Miles (.423) and Cabrera (.407) are batting a combined .432 (38-for-88) with runners in scoring position. Thirteen of Schloredt’s team-high 21 RBIs have come with two outs in an inning. Overall, the Hornets are batting .282 with runners in scoring position.
• Freshman first baseman Alyssa Nakken has played just once in the last 10 games while nursing a hamstring injury suffered on the final play of a 5-4 victory over UC Davis on March 11.
• Including her walkoff RBI-single in the eighth inning of last Tuesday’s 2-1 victory over 12th-ranked Cal, freshman Alicia Noriega has hit safely in six of her last seven games. She is batting .318 (7-for-22) with four runs, one double and three RBIs over that span.
• Loomis now ranks among Sacramento State’s top 10 career leaders in four different categories, including third in home runs (11), sixth in triples (6), tied for sixth in RBIs (69) and 10th in runs scored (76).
• Over her last six games, Miles is batting .500 (10-for-20) with nine runs, four walks, four doubles, one home run and four RBIs.
• Sophomore right-hander Megan Schaefer has allowed two earned runs or less in three straight starts, including last Tuesday’s gem against 12th-ranked Cal. In that game, she allowed just one run and six hits while striking out six over 8.0 innings. For her efforts against Cal, Schaefer received PCSC Pitcher of the Week honors for the third time this season (Feb. 17, Mar. 10 and Mar. 31).
• Freshman right-hander Shelby Voelz has received the decision in seven of the Hornets’ last 11 games, going 4-3 over that span.
THIS WEEK’S PREVIEW
