It wasn?t the way the Sacramento State softball team wanted to open its Big Sky Conference schedule.

The Hornets suffered a three-game road sweep at the hands of California State University, Fullerton over the weekend.

The Titans showed the Hornets (8-11, 0-3 BSC) why they were the 11th ranked team in the country with 3-1 and 8-0 victories in Saturday?s doubleheader, and then a 4-2 victory on Sunday.

Throughout the weekend, the Hornets struggled to slow down the surging Titans, who are now on an 11-game winning streak. The Hornets were on a four-game winning streak coming into the series.

“I thought that we played them well in the first and third game,” Hornet coach Kathy Strahan said. “When you are playing a championship level team you can?t afford too make a mistake when you are in a position to win the game.”

Titans hitters finished the series with 28 hits and 15 runs. Fullerton first baseman Monica Lucatero led her team, going 5-for-8 with two home runs, five RBIs and three runs.

Hornet pitcher Jillian Bivert lost both of her two starts over the weekend, dropping her overall record to 3-8. It wasn?t just the Hornet pitching that struggled, as the Hornets offense managed only three runs.

Strahan believes that the reason for the Hornets poor statistics was the play of the Titans.

“In the preseason they were picked to win the conference,” Strahan said. “Fullerton certainly is a better team who has phenomenal pitchers.”

In the first game of the series, the Titans scored an unearned run to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.

Lucatero added to her team?s lead when she hit a two-out double to right-center field to give her team a 2-0 lead.

The Hornets took advantage of a Titan error in the fifth inning, which allowed the inning to go continue, as pinch runner Arlette Sunseri scored, cutting the teams deficit to one. Lucatero would strike again though, hitting a home run to centerfield giving her team the 3-1 victory.

The problems for the Hornets started early in Game 2, as an error allowed the Titans to jump out to a 1-0 lead.

The Titans scored seven runs in the final three innings of the game. They finished with 13 hits, including two home runs. Hornet pitcher Nicole Deatherage allowed six runs, three earned on 11 hits.

In the final game of the series the Hornets jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a double by Erin Coyne, driving in lead off hitter Cathy Coupar. The lead would not last long, as the Titans scored two runs in the bottom of the inning, using singles from their first three batters to start the go-ahead rally.

The Hornets answered in the top of the second, as second baseman Lori Meixner led off the inning with a double, and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Coupar.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, an error by the Hornets allowed the Titans to score an unearned run and take a 3-2 lead. The Titans added to their lead, scoring the final run of the game in the bottom of the sixth.

Sac State played the University of Virginia Tuesday at home on Tuesday, but results were unavailable at press time. The Hornets will next host the 10th Annual Capital City Classic from Thursday through Sunday at the Sacramento Softball Complex.

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