According to the schedule it was supposed to be Sacramento State playning Southern Utah, but this softball contest could be more aptly described as Nikki Cinque vs. the Thunderbirds.

Cinque struck out six batters in five innings, had two hits including her first career homerun and had four RBIs in Sac State’s 8-0 rout of Southern Utah on Friday night in the first game of the Capital Classic at the Sacramento Softball complex. Lindy Winkler also hit her first career homerun to help the Hornets win their eighth game in the last nine contests.

“When the bats get rolling on this team it’s contagious,” Hornets coach Kathy Strahan said.

After the Hornets struck for four runs in the first three innings ?” which included a Cinque RBI singles with the bases loaded in the third ?” the bats erupted in the fourth inning for four runs.

“If we go up in attack mode and tell ourselves we’re gonna hit ?” we do well,” Cinque said.

Winkler’s shot to lead off the fourth was reminiscent of so many other balls she’s hit in her Hornet career that the centerfielder took for granted that it wouldn’t go over the fence.

“I didn’t think it was out when I hit it,” Winkler said.

It was and Winkler didn’t know until after she looked up after rounding first base that she’d hit her first career homerun. Cinque’s blast four batters after Winkler’s made the score 8-0 which held through five innings to clinch the eight-run mercy rule.

“After I saw Lindy hit her first homerun, I wanted to hit one too,” Cinque said.

Because of rain overnight on Thursday every team’s first game of the tournament was cancelled and afternoon games were pushed back an hour and a half so the Hornets are next in action at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday against Syracuse and 5:30 p.m. against Miami University. Sac State concludes tournament play at 11 a.m. on Sunday against Utah State.