The Sacramento State softball team once again displayed that they can compete with the game’s elite this past weekend, as they hosted the Capital City Classic softball tournament at the Sacramento Softball Complex.-

For the Hornets, though, competing with the best doesn’t always mean beating the best. –

The Hornets went 1-3 in the round-robin tournament, losing to No. 3-ranked Washington 4-3, Utah 5-0 and Illinois 5-1. The Hornets finished eighth in a field of 11 teams in a tournament that lost its final day of play due to rain and wet fields.

Washington took the tournament title with a 4-0 tournament record.The Hornets lost again Sunday (5-0) in a non-tournament, non-conference game to Long Island at Shea Stadium.-

Sac State has now lost seven of its last eight games, including four-straight losses. Since starting the season 13-3, the Hornets have since gone 4-10, dropping their overall record to 17-13.-

“The competition has been top-notch,” head coach Kathy Strahan said. “These teams are all good. Washington will be in the World Series, Illinois is the top team out of the Big Ten (Conference) and Utah is another top team.”-

The Hornets continue to knock on the door, and losing to Washington by just one run is a great example, but they have yet to find a way to defeat top teams. The Hornets are now 1-7 in games played against opponents ranked, or receiving votes, in the top 25.-

“We are trying to measure ourselves and we’re just trying to get by a few of these things,” Strahan said. “It gets frustrating at times, because we feel that we’re better than this out here.”-

The Hornets watched what would have been their best win of the season slip away, when Washington’s Jaime Clark broke a 2-2 tie in the fifth with a two-run shot that later proved to be the game-winning hit in a 4-3 contest. Junior Amy Walter homered for the Hornets. –

Sac State’s lone tournament win came against Morehead State (8-1), highlighted by junior Nicole Deatherage’s third-career no-hitter. Deatherage, who already threw a no-hitter earlier this season against New Mexico, faced just 24 batters (three batters over the minimum), as a result of one walk and two errors. It was a Hornet error in the fifth that led to the one run scored.

-Freshman centerfielder Lindy Winkler hit .545 (6-for-11) in the tournament and was named to the Capital Classic all-tournament team. –

Sunday’s game against Long Island was originally scheduled for play within the tournament, but when the games were canceled due to wet fields at the Sacramento Softball Complex, the two teams agreed to play at Shea Stadium in a game separate from the Capital Classic. –

Long Island’s Jackie Brown threw a three-hit shutout, cruising to a 4-0 victory.

Deatherage got the loss, allowing four runs and nine hits through seven innings. -All three of Sac State’s hits were singles. In the last nine games, the Hornets have manufactured just five extra-base hits.-

“Our pitching staff is doing a great job,” Strahan said. “They have kept us in a position to win ball games, but we just aren’t giving them the offensive support.”-

The Hornets will look to end their four-game losing streak today against Cal Poly at 1 p.m. at Shea Stadium.

The team will then travel to play a doubleheader on the road against Nevada on Sunday at noon.

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