The 17th annual Capital Classic concluded Sunday with Cal Poly winning the four-day tournament with a 3-0 record.

Sacramento State finished fourth with a 2-2 record.

The tournament took place from Thursday through Sunday and was the first time the event took place at Shea Stadium.

In previous years the tournament was held at the Sacramento Softball Complex and usually featured 14 to 16 squads.

The 2009 version of the round robin tournament consisted of seven teams: Berkeley, BYU, Cal Poly, Colorado State, Dartmouth, Sac State and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Head coach Kathy Strahan was one of the tournament’s organizers. “We have great weather this time of the year. Sacramento is a good softball town and teams want to come out and play (in the Capital Classic),” Strahan said.

Strahan’s squad kicked off the tournament with a game against the Colorado State Rams.

After trading runs the first four innings, the Hornets tied the game in the bottom of the fifth inning. Rachel Miles hit a double deep into the outfield to allow Alicia Noriega to score. Then Jamie Schloredt brought Miles home to tie the game with a sacrifice fly. Sac State kept the offensive momentum going in the sixth inning.

Sac State took its first lead of the game with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Right fielder Jenice Bartee and Noriega both scored to give the Hornets a 7-5 lead but the Rams tied in the seventh to move the game into extra innings.

Sacramento State’s defense held strong with a 1-2-3 inning. Right fielder Jenice Bartee began the 10th inning on second base for Sac State.

Whitney Loomis was hit by a pitch and Rachel Miles hit a single down the left field line when shortstop Desiree Beltran stepped to the plate.

On the first pitch, the freshman roped one up the middle past the diving infielder, scoring Bartee for the 8-7 victory.

Beltran went three for four and had two runs batted in for the win. Miles had a good game as well. She went four for five, scored three runs and had one run batted in.

Pitcher Shelby Voelz came out of the bullpen and was throwing heat. Voelz pitched three innings, had three strikeouts, gave up three hits and allowed two earned runs for the victory.

“I just stayed in a tight zone, me and the catcher the whole time. (I) didn’t focus on anything else. I just really focused on what I need(ed) to do to help my team out and get the job done,” Voelz said.

Sac State’s second round game against Brigham Young University was 20 minutes after its hard-fought victory over Colorado State.

Sac State was not able to keep up with the Cougars as they lost 9-2. BYU took an early lead in the first inning and changed the dynamics of the game with a double-steal in the second inning.

Sac State’s lone bright spot of the second game came in the fourth inning.

With two runners on, designated hitter Sherry Clark smacked the ball in between the third baseman and shortstop, allowing Izmena Cabrera to score.

Then Noriega placed the ball in the exact same place as Clark to bring Schloredt to score.

The Hornets had many missed opportunities. Beltran had another good game at the plate (two for four), as did Schloredt (one for two, with one run).

“Our enthusiasm never really waned. (BYU is) definitely an upper-tier team in our region,” Strahan said.

UNLV beat Sac State in another close game 9-8. Schloredt hit her fifth home run of the year in the first inning. The three-run blast gave the Hornets a 3-2 lead.

Sacramento State looked well on its way to a victory when in the bottom of the fifth inning, Clark hit a two-run double. Sac State was ahead 8-3.

After scoring three runs in the sixth inning UNLV was down to its last out when the Rebels’ Ashli Holland came to the plate.

On a 3-2 pitch, with two runners on base, Holland connected on the pitch and sent it over the wall.

Sac State made one last push to win the game, but UNLV pitcher Stephanie Bregante sat-down the next three Sac State batters to end the game.

Sac State wrapped up its participation in the Capital Classic with a game early Sunday morning against the Dartmouth Big Green. The Hornets won another thrilling game with a 5-4 victory.

With the game tied in the bottom of the seventh inning and a runner on second base, Cabrera came to the plate.

Cabrera smacked the ball into the outfield allowing pinch runner Jacquelyn Serrano to score the game-winning run.

“I (have) to get her in – that’s all I was thinking,” Cabrera said.

In the bottom of the third inning Schloredt extended Sac State’s lead to 3-0 when she zipped the ball past the diving infielder, which allowed Miles to score.

“(Hillary Barker) happened to give me a good strike early on in the count a couple times so I took advantage of it,” Schloredt said.

With a runner on second base, Dartmouth had back-to-back doubles to the outfield from Ashley Gleason and Leigha Clarkson to cut Sac State’s lead to 3-2.

An error in the outfield allowed Clarkson to score and Audrey Kolodziej to advance to second base.

Brittani Clifford gained her composure and struck out three of the final five batters she faced for the win.

Strahan’s seniors led the team to victory. Schloredt had a great game. She went two for three, scored two runs and had three runs batted in.

“I have been struggling a little bit so I was just trying to stay relaxed and take what I could,” Schloredt said.

Sac State hopes the experiences they gained this weekend will help them in the near future.

“It helps out a lot. It is going to be just like this when we go in conference. We’re playing good teams and it is going to always be close. Getting this experience will help us a lot and get us ready,” Cabrera said.

Strahan hopes the move of the tournament’s site will put Shea Stadium in the spotlight.

“We have a beautiful facility. This softball stadium it is one of the best (stadiums) in the state of California. It is just great venue to have these teams play each other,” Strahan said.

Andrew Hazard can be reached at [email protected]