McCORMICK’S MONSTER WEEKEND LEADS TO PCSC PLAYER OF THE WEEK ACCOLADES

5/12/2010

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Sacramento State freshman Emily McCormick was named the Pacific Coast Softball Conference’s (PCSC) Player of the Week after leading the Hornets to a four-game sweep of Loyola Marymount last weekend in Los Angeles.

McCormick, who earned the award for the first time, hit .750 (12-for-16) with five runs scored, three doubles, two home runs, 10 RBIs, 21 total bases and a 1.313 slugging percentage. The Hesperia, Calif., native had multiple-hit games and drove in at least one run in all four contests, and scored runs in three of the four games. She never struck out in any of her 16 plate appearances, and the 10 RBIs over four games are nearly one-third of her output for the entire season (31).

The four-game sweep, which were the Hornets’ final games of the season, allowed Sacramento State to finish second in the PCSC’s Coastal Division standings with a 13-7 conference record. That marks the sixth straight year the team has finished second or better in the PCSC standings. In addition, the weekend marked the first time the Hornets had swept a four-game set on Loyola Marymount’s home field.

McCormick began the week by going 2-for-4 with an RBI in the Hornets’ 4-3 victory in Saturday’s opener, and followed that by going 3-for-4 with two runs, two doubles and two RBIs in the nightcap.

On Sunday, McCormick hit home runs in both games, including 4-for-4 with a run, double, home run and career-high tying four RBIs in the opener. In addition, she had at least one RBI in three of her four plate appearances. In Sunday’s nightcap, the true freshman went 3-for-4 with two runs, a homer and three RBIs. It was her three-run homer that gave the Hornets a 12-6 cushion in an eventual 12-8 victory.

McCormick destroyed conference pitching all season, finishing the year with a lofty .449 batting average against PCSC opposition, the best mark in the Coastal Division. Also, among division leaders, she finished first in hits (31) and doubles (7), second in total bases (53) and on-base percentage (.486), third in slugging percentage (.768) and fourth in home runs (5) and RBIs (19).

Overall, she hit .338, which is the third best mark posted by a Sacramento State freshman since the program joined the Div. I ranks in 1990.

Sacramento State (23-31, 13-7), which started at least six underclassmen in every game this year, will now look forward to a 2011 season in which the team will return all but two players from its current roster. That includes eight starters and the entire pitching staff.