The Sacramento State softball team opened up its home schedule with a split against the Cyclones of Iowa State.

Sac State won game one 1-0, but lost the late game 4-2, both in extra innings.

In game one, Sophomore pitcher Kayla Meeks helped the team win its home opener. Meeks was brilliant, pitching a one-hit shutout.

“It was a good feeling,” said Meeks. “(I) had forgotten how it felt.”

The first game went into an international tiebreaker.

An international tiebreaker is when a time game extends past seven innings in softball. Each team begins with a runner on second. The runner is the player who was the final out from the previous inning.

Meeks placed a sacrifice bunt down to advance Elias, who started on second, to start the bottom of the eighth. Senior Amy Jo McKenzie belted a shot past the third baseman giving Sac State the RBI it needed to win its first game at Shea Stadium.

Game two began on a faster pace than the first as the Hornets scored in the bottom of the first inning.

Junior co-captain Amy Tompkins singled to give Sac State a baserunner and advanced to second on a stolen base while Cyclone junior pitcher Amie Ford wasn’t paying attention.

Sophomore Rachel Miles smoked an RBI double giving the Hornets a l-0 lead.

Meeks replaced senior Michele Bochenski in the bottom of the sixth, but Meeks found trouble fast as Iowa State began hitting her.

Junior Kristy Olson singled, followed by a sacrifice bunt, another single and then Olson scored the game-tying run off a squeeze bunt by senior Katie Reichling.

Tompkins said the team knows that after Iowa scored they needed to keep the ball in the infield and shut them down.

The Hornets managed to load the bases in the bottom of the seventh, but nothing happened.

Again the game went into an international tiebreaker.

The Cyclones scored one in the eighth and the Hornets answered back with another run in the bottom of the seventh.

The damage was done when Iowa State scored two runs in the top of the ninth.

Sac State wasn’t able to recover and Meeks was handed a loss on just hours after her home opening victory. Meeks struck out eight batters in 12 innings in the two games combined.

Tompkins lead the Hornets with three hits on the day, extending her hitting streak to seven games. Senior Katie Rhoe had two hits in game two.

Sac State coach Kathy Strahan said winning game one gave the Hornets some confidence which will be good going into the weekend.

The Hornets will be back in action on Friday for the Capital Classic Softball Tournament, which runs through Sunday at the Sacramento Softball Complex.

Sac State will take on BYU at 12:30 p.m. and Iowa State in the nightcap at 5:30 p.m.