After sweeping a doubleheader on Saturday, Loyola Marymount came back on Sunday to win, 5-1, in the first game and 6-4 in the nightcap. With the victories, the Lions (28-12) improved to 11-5 in conference play and now assume second place in the PCSC standings. Sacramento State (32-24), which had not lost more than three in a row since the opening week of the season, dropped to third place in the standings with a 10-6 record. Santa Clara, which swept a four-game series from San Diego over the weekend, moved into first place with a 12-4 mark.

Sacramento State will host Santa Clara in a four-game set next weekend (Saturday-Sunday, May 1-2) to conclude the regular season. Loyola Marymount, which are the defending PCSC champions, will travel to Portland State for a four-game series next weekend. The PCSC is currently in its second year of existence and the regular-season champion is not eligible for an automatic berth into the NCAA Regionals until the 2005 season. However, this year’s PCSC champion will most certainly be on the bubble for an at-large berth into the NCAA Regionals. Sacramento State has not advanced to the NCAA’s postseason tournament since the 1995 season.

In the first game of the day, the Lions, who served as the visiting team in both games per PCSC rules, took a 5-0 lead after three innings. Kirsten Whitt hit a double to center field in the second and later scored on Lisa Abbott''s single to left. LMU added four runs in the second, starting with a solo home run by Sami Strinz. Danielle Kaminaka followed with a double and later scored on Caylin Hornish''s double to left. Emily Foltz then belted a two-run homer for the Lions'' final run of the game.

Sacramento State pushed across one run in the seventh when back-to-back singles by Erin Coyne and Lesley Mayhorn scored Lindy Winkler. Loyola Marymount’s Krystal Kehr (6-2) got the complete-game win for the Lions. Senior Nicole Deatherage allowed 12 hits in the loss and fell to 13-10 on the season. Deatherage has now lost each of her last four decisions after starting the year with a 13-6 record.

In game two, Mayhorn hit a three-run homer in the first inning for an early 3-0 Sacramento State lead. Hornets’ starter Brianne Ferguson allowed just two Lion hits through the first four innings, as LMU struggled to get runners on base. Foltz started the push for LMU with a single in the fifth inning. Abbott then doubled home Foltz for LMU''s first run of game. The Lions scored two more runs in the sixth inning when Foltz''s single scored Kaminaka and Gomes to tie the game at 3-3.

The Hornets went ahead, 4-3, in the bottom of the sixth when senior Amanda Moreland singled to right field and later scored on Jenni Friedrichs'' RBI-single. However, Loyola Marymount got what proved to be the game-winning hit from Hornish in the top of the seventh, as her three-run double to right center gave the Lions a 6-4 lead. Kehr held the Hornets scoreless in the bottom of the seventh to preserve the 6-4 win. The sophomore earned her second win of the day to improve her record to 7-2.

Ferguson (16-11) took the loss for the Hornets after holding the Lions scoreless until the fifth inning. Ferguson lost for the just the second time in conference play this season as the junior entered the series with a 7-0 PCSC record until losing twice to the Lions over the weekend.