SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Cal State Northridge pounded out six runs and 12
hits and pitcher Sarah Farnworth picked up her third win of the
series as the 25th-ranked Matadors defeated the Sacramento State
softball team, 6-1, in a Big West Conference game Sunday afternoon at
Shea Stadium.
With the win, Cal State Northridge swept the three-game series and
improved its record to 22-19 overall and 6-3 in the Big West. With
the loss, Sacramento State, which has now lost 16 of its last 22
games, dropped to 14-24 and 2-7 in the conference.
Farnworth (16-11) allowed one run and five hits while striking out
five in six innings of work. The right-hander pitched 22 of 23
innings in the series while picking up the victory in all three
contests.
The Matadors scored three runs in each of the first and third innings
off Hornet starter Nicole Deatherage. Of the team's 12 hits, six went
for extra bases. Veronica Lopez finished 3-for-4 with a pair of
doubles and two runs and Summer Richardson went 3-for-3 with a double
and three RBI to lead Cal State Northridge.
After Deatherage struck out Christen Bedwell to open the game, the
Matadors' Amber Copelan tripled down the right field line. Copelan's
triple was followed by consecutive RBI-doubles by Lopez and Sondra
Milchiker. Richardson's RBI-single one out later gave the Matadors a
3-0 lead.
Farnworth's RBI-double opened the scoring for the Matadors in the
third before Richardson's two-run double gave Northridge the 6-0
lead. The Hornets scored their only run of the game on a Cathy Coupar
RBI-single in the bottom of the third inning.
Deatherage (7-11) got the loss, allowing six runs and 12 hits in
seven innings. Offensively, Deatherage picked up singles in her first
two career at-bats and finished the game 2-for-3 with a run scored.
The Matadors' six runs snapped a streak in which the Sacramento State
pitching staff had allowed three runs or less in 10-consecutive games.
The Hornets return to action as they host fifth-ranked Cal in a
doubleheader on Wednesday, April 11, at 2 p.m.
