A Brief Preview

After enduring its longest losing streak in nine years (eight

games), the Sacramento State softball team has turned things around

lately, winning three of its last four games. The Hornets enter the

week with a 12-21 overall record and a 2-4 mark in the Big West

Conference. The team opened last week by getting swept in a home

doubleheader against 15th-ranked Oregon State before splitting a

doubleheader with Portland State on Thursday. The Hornets closed the

week by winning two of three games in a Big West series at UC Santa

Barbara over the weekend. Head coach Kathy Strahan picked up her

500th career victory on Saturday.

This week, Sacramento State plays a non-conference

doubleheader at Santa Clara on Wednesday, April 4, before hosting a

three-game Big West series against Cal State Northridge on

Saturday-Sunday, April 7-8. Saturday''s doubleheader will begin at

noon and Sunday''s single game will also begin at noon.

Santa Clara enters Wednesday''s games with an 11-24 overall

record and a five-game losing streak. After beginning the season 7-8,

the Broncos have won just four of their last 20 games. The team is

6-8 at home this year, but has won just two of its past eight games

at Marsalli Park. The Broncos defeated the Hornets, 9-3, earlier this

year at the National Invitational Tournament.

Cal State Northridge enters the week with a 19-17 overall

record and a 3-3 mark in the Big West. The Matadors, who are

currently receiving votes but are not ranked in the USA Today/NFCA

poll, play a home doubleheader against top-ranked UCLA on Wednesday

before travelling to Sacramento this weekend.

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 501-461-3

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

Strahan has a 254-216-2 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 501 victories is good for 29th all-time on the NCAA

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

experience.

Santa Clara is coached by Marcy Crouch, who has posted a

22-64 record in two years with the Broncos.

Cal State Northridge is led by Janet Sherman, who is

232-141-3 in seven years with the club.

A Look at the Hornets

Big Turnaround by Steenburgen

After getting off to an inauspicious start this season,

sophomore pitcher Gina Steenburgen has turned it around over the past

two weeks. The right-hander has allowed just two earned runs over her

last four outings (spanning 28.0 innings). This comes after she

posted a 1-3 record and a 5.73 ERA over her first nine appearances of

the year.

She has gone the distance in each of her last four starts

while allowing just 16 hits and striking out 16 over that span. In

three starts last week, Steenburgen went 2-1 with a 0.33 ERA

including her first shutout of the season and the second of her

career against UC Santa Barbara on Saturday. The El Dorado, Calif.,

native blanked the Gauchos on four hits while striking out four.

Overall this season, Steenburgen is now 3-5 with a 3.59 ERA.

Before the four-game surge, she had allowed at least five runs in six

of her first nine appearances.

Pitching Staff Beginning To Take Shape

Sacramento State''s pitching staff (freshman Nicole Deatherage

and sophomores Gina Steenburgen and Jillian Bivert) has now gone 35.0

consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. Over that span

(six games), the staff has lowered its ERA from 3.38 to its current

mark of 2.87. The three pitchers have combined to allow seven runs

over the 35.0 innings, but each run was unearned.

Additionally, the staff has combined to throw 11-straight

complete games, including three from Deatherage and four from Bivert

and Steenburgen.

Steenburgen and Deatherage threw back-to-back shutouts on

Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Bivert picked up the loss against

the Gauchos on Saturday despite allowing just two hits and two

unearned runs in six innings.

In Thursday''s doubleheader against Portland State,

Steenburgen allowed four hits and two unearned runs in the Hornets''

4-2 second-game victory. Bivert picked up the loss in the first game

despite allowing just two hits (again) and three unearned runs in the

team''s 3-0 loss in game one.

So far this year, the pitching staff has combined for six

shutouts (Deatherage three, Bivert two and Steenburgen one), which

already matches the staff''s output from all of last season.

Comebacks Have Been Scarce

Thus far, Sacramento State is 0-14 in games when it is

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

team as opponents have outscored the Hornets, 41-6. In the sixth and

seventh innings combined, Sacramento State has been outscored, 55-16.

Hornets Having A Rough Time Of Things

Although Sacramento State has won three of its last four

games, the team is still currently nine games under .500 (12-21

overall). The nine games is the most the team has been under .500 in

the Div. I era (1990-pres.).

Since 1990, the team has had just three losing seasons,

including a 25-30 record last year. Overall, the Hornets are

349-304-2 since joining the Div. I ranks.

The Hornets also snapped a season-high eight-game losing

streak in last Thursday''s victory over Portland State. The eight-game

streak was the Hornets'' longest drought since the team dropped 10 in

a row in 1991.

Sizzling Amber

Freshman outfielder Amber Dragomir has hit safely in eight of

her last nine games and is hitting .500 (15-30) over that span with

three runs scored. In that time, the Tustin, Calif., native has

raised her average from .250 to its current mark of .324.

During that stretch, Dragomir also had a season-high

seven-game hitting streak which was snapped last Saturday when she

went 0-for-4 in the second game of the doubleheader against UC Santa

Barbara.

Among team leaders, Dragomir is first in runs (19), second in

batting average, stolen bases (six) and hits (33), and third in

on-base percentage (.355) and total bases (34). She has started all

but one game this season, including 28 starts in right and four in

left field.

Multi-Dimensional

Sophomore Jillian Bivert is putting together quite a season

as she is now leading the team in both batting average (.330) and ERA

(1.77). The Woodland, Calif., native leads the team in seven

offensive categories including average, hits (35), RBI (14), total

bases (45), on-base percentage (.368), multiple-hit games (12) and

multiple-RBI games (three). Additionally, she has had three hitting

streaks of at least four games including a season-high six-gamer on

March 13-17.

On the mound, she has allowed opponents a .226 batting

average while giving up just 55 hits in 63.1 innings. Of her 10

starts, she has thrown eight complete games and two shutouts. Her 3-7

record can partly be attributed to poor defense as 16 of her 32 runs

given up have been unearned.

Hornet Notables

Sacramento State''s offense has combined to score just 17 runs

in the last 13 games (1.3 per game)...Jillian Bivert, Cathy Coupar

and Lori Meixner are the only Hornets to start all 33 games.