NAKKEN’S THREE-RUN BLAST CATAPULTS SOFTBALL TO 4-1 VICTORY OVER IOWA STATE

3/13/2010

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Sophomore Alyssa Nakken hit a three-run homer and sophomore right-hander Shelby Voelz tossed seven strong inning to lead Sacramento State to a 4-1 victory over Iowa State in the fourth round of the Mustang Classic Saturday evening at Bob Janssen Field.

With the victory, the Hornets (6-15) improved to 2-2 at the three-day, five-game tournament. Sacramento State, which also beat UC Santa Barbara and lost twice to host Cal Poly over the last two days, concludes the tournament tomorrow morning against Iowa State at 9 a.m.

The Cyclones (13-12) had won all three of their games at the Mustang Classic prior to tonight’s loss.

With two outs in the second inning, and both Molly Smith and Jenice Bartee on base, Nakken hit a ball that cleared the center field fence and proved to be the big blow of the game. In fact, Nakken’s home run was all the run support Voelz (3-8) needed. In seven innings, the right-hander scattered seven hits while walking two and striking out four.

Sacramento State made it a 4-0 lead in the fourth inning after Smith hit her first home run of the season, a shot that cleared the left field fence. After going hitless in her first 26 at-bats of the season, Smith, who is a true freshman, has six hits in her last nine at-bats spanning five games. That includes tonight’s performance when she went 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI.

Iowa State, which left 10 runners on base, scored its lone run in the fifth on an Alex Johnson sacrifice fly scoring Heidi Kidwell. The Cyclones had a pair of chances in the seventh inning with the tying run at the plate, but could not score. Iowa State’s Tori Torrescano (1-3) took the loss, allowing four runs and nine hits in six innings.

All but two Sacramento State starters collected hits today, including a pair from Nakken. The Hornets’ entire lineup is now starting to hit the ball well after the front half of the lineup carried the team the majority of the season.