There were many presents for Sacramento State softball coach Kathy Strahan on her 50th birthday on Saturday all resulting a doubleheader sweep of Portland State.

The Hornets also took an important step toward a possible first-ever Pacific Coast Softball Conference championship in front of a season-high crowd of 218, which included members of the 1981 Division II National Championship team, at Shea Stadium ?” a few of them sporting “Happy 50th Birthday” visors.

Among the gifts bestowed by the players ?” who were all sporting black armbands on their left forearms in addition to eye black ?” was a two-run blast by Nikki Cinque and a 15-strikeout, no hitter by Cassie Cervantes in game one. Sac State won the opener 4-0 behind Cervantes’ third no-hitter of the season before taking the nightcap 3-0.

“This one is special,” Strahan said. “We brought our A+ game today.”

Cervantes struck out at least two Vikings in every inning and the final five she faced despite little knowledge of the Vikings lineup coming in.

“I don’t like looking at scouting reports,” Cervantes said. “I just try to throw my game and that’s it.”

The Hornets got two runs on sacrifice flys from Jamie Schloredt and Gloria Toledo in the bottom of the first game and Cinque delivered the big blow in the bottom of the fifth with a two-run homerun to left-centerfield. Cinque’s seventh homer of the season puts her one shy of the Hornets single-season record of eight set by Jill Haas in 1998.

Cinque picked up her fifth shutout of the season in the nightcap as Schloredt and Toledo delivered back-to-back RBI singles in the bottom of the fifth to carry the Hornets to a 3-0 win.

Sac State (32-20, 11-6 PCSC) still holds a faint chance of winning the Pacific Coast Softball Conference. With two wins on Sunday the Hornets could win the conference if Loyola Marymount wins just one of three in a make-up series in Portland, Ore., next weekend. If the Hornets and Vikings (34-25, 12-2) split on Sunday, Loyola Marymount would have to sweep Portland State.

The Hornets-Vikings series resumes Sunday at noon at Shea Stadium.

“If we come out tomorrow like we did today Portland State won’t be able to stop us,” Strahan said.