With the split, Sacramento State moved its record to 22-15 overall and 3-3 in the PCSC. Santa Clara is now 14-25 and 3-3 in the conference. These same two teams square off again tomorrow (Saturday, April 15) when they close out the four-game series with a doubleheader beginning at noon.

After being limited to just six hits in the first game, Sacramento State’s offense woke up in the nightcap, posting eight runs and 10 hits in five innings, capped by a walkoff home run from senior Danielle Ackland. The solo homer from Ackland led off the fifth inning and instituted the eight-run mercy rule. The home run was the first of the season and second of her career for Ackland.

In the second game, Winkler and Tompkins each went 3-for-3 with three runs scored, and six different Hornets had at least one RBI. That included two RBIs from senior Nikki Cinque, and one RBI from Tompkins, Ackland, freshman Jamie Schloredt, senior Gloria Toledo and freshman Rachel Miles.

The eight runs were more than enough for Cervantes, who won her fourth-consecutive start. The freshman right-hander, who moved her record to 9-4 this year, entered the week ranked third in the nation in strikeouts per seven innings (13.7). She added nine more strikeouts to her season total (146), allowing just two singles while walking four.

Sacramento State scored two times in the first inning, three more in the third, two in the fourth, and Ackland’s home run to lead off the fifth inning. With an RBI in both the first and second games, Schloredt added two more RBIs to her season total (31) and is now four shy of tying the Sacramento State Div. I (1990-pres.) season record of 35, set by Jillian Bivert in 2003.

In the first game, Santa Clara’s Nos. 1-4 hitters went a combined 7-for-14 with all six runs and four RBIs. Leading the charge was Angela Kabanuck, who went 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs, including a solo home run in the seventh. Jessica Clee also had a pair of RBIs, including a two-run shot in the third inning.

The Broncos scored in all but three innings off Hornet starter Cinque, including a three-run third. Sacramento State opened the scoring in the bottom of the first after Schloredt singled home Winkler. However, Santa Clara immediately answered with one run in the second and three in the third. The Broncos never led by anything less than three runs the rest of the way.

Santa Clara starter Liz Courter, who allowed just three hits through the first five innings, improved her record to 6-10 with the victory. She allowed just six hits and two runs while striking out nine over seven innings.

Cinque (9-10) got the loss, allowing six runs (four earned) and eight hits in seven innings. The lack of offensive run support for Cinque continued, as the Hornets have now scored two runs or less in nine of her 10 losses.

Sacramento State sophomore Hilary Johnson, who is second on the team with a .327 batting average, missed both games of the doubleheader with a sprained knee.

Winkler combined for four hits in the doublheader, and improved her hitting streak to nine games. She has now hit safely in 27 of her last 28 games, including a school-record 18-game hitting streak earlier this season. The senior, who ranks among the nation’s leaders in batting average, upped her average to .426 today. If the season ended today, she would surpass the current Div. I school record for single-season batting average (.380) by 46 points.