Heading into the 2008 softball season the Sacramento State Hornets hope to improve on their 20-33 record from last year.

The Hornets welcome five new players, along with one redshirt player.

The State Hornet takes a look at the new athletes who will dawn the green and gold.

Courtney Wilcox

A sophomore transfer, Wilcox joins the team from Dominican University in San Rafael, Calif. While at Dominican she batted .309 with four home runs and 19 RBIs. A graduate of Hanford West High School, Wilcox was a four-year varsity athlete in both softball and volleyball. In her final three seasons of high school softball she held a batting average of above .340 each season. Wilcox is currently majoring in psychology.

Ashlee Adkins

In her first year at Sacramento State, Adkins used her redshirt year. She graduated from Rio Vista High School, where she earned all-Sacramento Valley League honors four times. In her senior season as the team’s catcher, Adkins hit .375 and recorded 48 putouts. A business major, Adkins currently has a 3.08 grade point average.

Megan Schaefer

She enters her first season for the Hornets, as a pitcher and an infielder. Schaefer is a 2007 graduate of Southridge High School in Beaverton, Ore. Schaefer was a three-sport athlete while at Southridge. While competing for the Skyhawks, she was a four-time all-conference selection and two-time all-state choice. In her junior season with the Skyhawks she had a 0.85 ERA, and at the plate she had a .378 on-base percentage. She is currently majoring in kinesiology.

Izmena Cabrera

A junior, she enters her third year of collegiate softball. Cabrera joins the team after playing two seasons for the College of Charleston in South Carolina. In both seasons Cabrera was chosen to the all-Southern Conference team. In her last season at the College of Charleston, she started all of the team’s 60 games at multiple positions. At the plate Cabrera hit .313 with eight home runs and 34 RBIs in her last season with the Cougars. A 2005 graduate of Vacaville High School, Cabrera is majoring in psychology with a minor is Spanish.

Caitlin Lowe

A 2007 graduate of Vallejo High School, Lowe enters the Hornets squad as a catcher and an outfielder. Lowe played three years of varsity softball and was a three-time all-Solano County League selection, along with a two-time all-region selection. In her senior season Lowe had a team best .557 batting average and she also went the entire season without committing an error. Lowe led the Apaches to a 22-3 record, a Sac-Joaquin Div. III section title and a league title, all in her final season. Lowe is majoring in political science, with a minor in English.

Jacquelyne Serrano

A recent graduate of Downey High School, Serrano played four years of softball for the Vikings. As a pitcher and an infielder, she was a four-time all-San Gabriel Valley League selection. In her senior year Serrano batted .301 with a .462 slugging percentage. As a senior while in the circle Serrano posted a record of 13-7 with an ERA of 1.37, along with 104 strikeouts in 138 innings. Serrano currently hasn’t declared a major.

Jose Martinez can be reached at [email protected]