BATS STAY HOT AS SOFTBALL POUNDS IDAHO STATE, 10-2
3/9/2012
Senior Marissa Navarro collected four more RBIs, and now has 22 RBIs in 19 games this season
DAVIS, Calif. -- Senior Marissa Navarro had three hits and four RBIs, and junior Emily McCormick added three hits and three RBIs to help lead Sacramento State to a 10-2 victory over Idaho State in the first round of the Aggie Softball Stampede Friday afternoon at La Rue Field. The game was stopped after five innings because of the eight-run mercy rule.
The Hornets (11-8) have now won a season-high tying four straight games, and five of their last six. Today marked the first of four games Sacramento State will play during the three-team round robin tournament, as the Hornets return to action tomorrow for a pair of games against host UC Davis (11:30 a.m.) and Idaho State (2 p.m.). The Bengals dropped to 3-14 with the loss.
Over the last seven games, Sacramento State’s offense is averaging 7.4 runs while batting .368 with 11 doubles, six home runs, 47 RBIs and 104 total bases. No one has been hotter over that stretch than Navarro, who has pounded opponent pitching to the tune of a .571 batting average (12-for-21) with three home runs, 16 RBIs and a ridiculous 1.095 slugging percentage. In fact, Navarro’s season totals now include 22 RBIs over 19 games (1.2 RBIs per game).
In today’s contest, Sacramento State scored four times in the third inning and three more in both the fourth and fifth innings. Navarro had at least one RBI in all three of those innings.
Each of the team’s four runs in the third inning came with two outs on RBI-singles from Navarro and Alyssa Nakken, and a two-run double from Kaitlyn Taylor. The Hornets’ three runs in the fourth also came with two outs, as McCormick singled home Devin Caldwell and Jessica Abelia, and Navarro doubled home McCormick.
The team’s final three runs came in the fifth inning via sacrifice fly from McCormick and two-run single from Navarro. Besides McCormick and Navarro, Caldwell also had a multi-hit game for the Hornets as she finished 2-for-3 with three runs and a walk. All but two Sacramento State starters collected at least one hit, and the Hornets finished the day batting .529 (9-for-17) with runners on base and .417 (5-for-12) with runners in scoring position.
Sacramento State starter Caitlin Brooks (2-4) got the win, allowing two runs and five hits over five innings. Amanda Fitzsimmons (2-5) took the loss, allowing eight hits and six runs over 3.2 innings.
NOTES -- Over the last seven games, Navarro (.571), Caldwell (.519), Nakken (.478), McCormick (.476) and Shannon Kaufman (.438) are all hitting better than .400…in the clutch hitting department, McCormick (.571, 12-for-21), Navarro (.458, 11-for-24) and Caldwell (.444, 8-for-18) are all posting monster numbers this season…Caldwell increased her career-high hitting streak to seven games.
