The Sacramento State softball team opened up the 2008 season Wednesday by splitting a doubleheader with the San Jose State Spartans. Junior, Kayla Meeks, pitched the first of two games leading the Hornets to a 5-2 victory. Meeks pitched seven strong innings for the Hornets allowing only two earned runs, while striking out five. In the top of the first inning Meeks allowed back-to-back singles, but the Spartans would fail to push a run across leaving base runners stranded on second and third. After Amy Tompkins led off the bottom half of the first inning by grounding out, the Hornets would pound out three consecutive extra base hits to take a 2-0 lead. Juniors Izmena Cabrera and Jamie Schloredt each had RBI hits for the Hornets in the inning. Heading into the second frame already down, the Spartans quickly got runners on the base paths. Junior Danielle Brown singled to left field and teammate Kasey Igarta reached on a walk. But again Meeks would pitch out of a jam as the Spartans failed to score a run, leaving both runners in scoring position. The Hornets would turn to small ball in their half of the second, manufacturing a run by hitting two singles and having two players sacrifice. Hilary Johnson, the team’s centerfielder, would single in a run and steal a base. Johnson’s stolen base gave her the Sac State career stolen base record. She now has 33 in her collegiate career. In the third inning the Spartans continued to struggle as they again would leave runners in scoring position, after Elizabeth Perez and Natasha Hawkins struck out. Schloredt would give the Hornets their only run in the third by hitting a solo home run over the left field fence, pushing the lead to four runs. The Spartans wouldn’t find their stoke until the sixth inning, after leaving runners stranded in scoring position in four of the previous five innings. In the sixth junior Sarah Taylor would give San Jose State their only runs of the game with a two-RBI double. Meeks recorded her first win of the season, throwing 131 pitches, 80 of which were strikes. Roxanne Bejarano would get her second loss of the young season for the Spartans, putting their record at 1-4. After a brief intermission the teams took the field again. In the second game of the doubleheader the Hornets lost 6-5. Freshman Megan Schaefer made her Hornet debut as she took the circle against the Spartans and pitched six shut-out innings, but was tagged for all six of the Spartans’ runs in the final frame. Schloredt would hit her second home run of the day in the second game, a towering shot over the scoreboard in centerfield. This gave her the Sac State career home run record, passing Jill Haas. The record breaking day for the Hornets would be for naught, as the Spartans would score multiple runs with two outs in their half of the seventh inning. After a Scholredt walk and a Rachel Miles single, the Hornets were in business to mount a comeback, but it would be shot down after a Sherry Clark line-out to third. Two runners were left in scoring position. The Hornets will take the field again at home on Tuesday as they take on the Nevada Wolfpack. The first pitch of the doubleheader is set for 1p.m.