So it wasn’t a walk-off in the traditional sense ?” the kind of shot that ends a closely contested game in extra innings ?” but Danielle Ackland will still treasure this one.

The senior first baseman led off the bottom of the fifth inning with a deep homerun to right field to give the Sacramento State softball team an 8-0 lead thus ending the second game of their doubleheader with Santa Clara via the mercy rule. The Broncos won the first game 6-2.

“It was really exciting,” Ackland said. “Sometimes you know when you hit the ball that it’s going out.

“I knew this one was going out right away.”

Hornets starting pitcher Cassie Cervantes worked five impressive innings in the nightcap striking out nine batters while giving up two hits and four walks in five innings. Centerfielder Lindy Winkler ?” who is hitting .426 for the season ?” went 3-for-3 in game two scoring every time she reached base.

“We get mad after we lose the first game,” said Winkler of the team’s performance thus far in the Pacific Coast Softball Conference. In three league doubleheaders so far the Hornets have lost each first game before coming back to win the second. The Hornets are now 22-15 and 3-3 in the PCSC while Santa Clara is 14-25 and 3-3 in conference.

Sac State got on the board in the bottom of the first inning of game two as Winkler doubled to lead off the game and sophomore shortstop Amy Tompkins followed with an RBI single ?” one of her three hits on the day. Jamie Schloredt followed Tompkins with a double to right field, which plated Tompkins.

The Hornets broke the game open in the third inning getting three more runs ?” once again started off by Winkler. The senior from San Andreas singled through the left side to lead off the third followed by a single from Tompkins, walks to Schloredt and Nikki Cinque.

“I’m continually amazed by Lindy’s abilities,” Hornets coach Kathy Strahan said. “She’s constantly getting hits, running the bases and scoring runs for us.”

After the walk to Cinque senior shortstop Gloria Toledo singled off of newly-inserted pitcher Sara Overmier plating Tompkins. Freshman third baseman Rachel Miles capped the inning with a sacrifice fly to centerfield, which scored Schloredt from third base. The Hornets got two runs in the fourth Winkler and Tompkins hit back to back doubles and Cinque later drove in Tompkins with a double of her own.

Santa Clara hit two homeruns and Sac State committed two errors in game one resulting in a 6-2 rout for the Broncos.

Broncos left fielder Jessica Clee hit a two-run homer in the third inning and centerfielder Angela Kabanuck homered in the seventh inning. Santa Clara’s top four hitters combined to go 7-for-14 with two walks and scored all six runs.

Cinque took the loss for the Hornets dropping to 9-10 and 0-3 in PCSC play. Liz Courter ?” the loser of game two ?” got the win striking out nine batters and giving up six hits in a complete game.