SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- Senior Nicole Deatherage threw her third shutout in her last four starts and senior Amber Dragomir combined for five hits in two games as the Sacramento State softball team went 2-0 in the second day of the National Invitational Softball Tournament Saturday afternoon at the Twin Creeks Softball Complex. Sacramento State opened the day with a 3-0 victory over Virginia and finished with a 3-1 win over Santa Clara. With the victories, the Hornets improved to 2-2 at the tournament and 10-11 overall this season. Sacramento State has now defeated Virginia all three times the two teams have met this year.
Deatherage, who ran her record to 4-4 with the win over Virginia, allowed just two hits over seven innings while striking out six. The right-hander retired 13 of the final 14 batters she faced while not allowing a Virginia runner past second base during the entire contest. The senior co-captain has now gone 29.1-consecutive innings without allowing an earned run.
The Hornets scored single runs in the third, fourth and sixth innings against Virginia, as sophomore Lindy Winkler (2-for-4), senior Amy Walter (2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI) and Dragomir (3-for-3 with a run and an RBI) each had multiple-hit games. In fact, Sacramento State had at least one hit in every inning but the second as the team finished with 10 hits.
A Walter RBI-single in the third, an RBI-single from Dragomir in the fourth and Jessica Rojo''s first career home run in the sixth accounted for the Hornets'' three runs. Virginia starter Erin Horn (4-5) took the loss, allowing three runs and 10 hits in six innings.
In the Hornets'' second game of the day, Sacramento State scored three runs in the first two innings and rode the arm of junior Brianne Ferguson to earn a 3-1 win over Pacific Coast Softball Conference-rival Santa Clara.
Ferguson (4-6) went the distance for the victory, allowing just one unearned run and six hits in seven innings. Santa Clara''s only run came in the fifth inning when a Hornet error allowed Jaime Forman-Lau to score.
Sacramento State got on the board in the first inning on an RBI-single from junior Erin Coyne. The Hornets picked up two more in the second on an RBI-single from Dragomir and a sacrifice fly from Walter.
The Hornets made the lead stick as Ferguson allowed at least one hit in each the final five innings of the contest, but allowed just one run to score. Forman-Lau (7-12) got the loss for Santa Clara, allowing three runs (two earned) and six hits in seven innings.
Dragomir finished with three hits against Virginia and two more against Santa Clara while reaching base safely in five of her six plate appearances during the two games.
The Hornets finish up the three-day tournament tomorrow (Sunday, March 14) against host San Jose State at 9 a.m.
