The 2009 softball season did not go as planned for head coach Kathy Strahan’s squad.

With a 14-6 conference record (28-23 overall), Sacramento State will not be headed back to the NCAA Tournament. The team finished in second place, one game behind Portland State (15-5, 29-24) in the Pacific Coast Softball Conference.

“The credit goes to Portland State. They were really solid and they didn’t slip. We slipped in a couple of games that we should have won,” Strahan said.

This year’s team was the preseason Pacific Coast softball favorite, as voted on by the coaches in the conference.

Sac State began the season on the road with a sweep of the University of the Pacific but was sidelined due to weather that canceled five games and an invitational.

Once the weather let up, the Hornets had a hard time finding their rhythm once they got back on the field. They had a poor showing at the Stanford Nike Invitational and were swept at Nevada, but managed to pick up a win at San Jose State.

This was followed with a four-game losing streak and lost six of eight overall. After this string of on-the-road losses, the Hornets finally had their first game at the friendly confines of Shea Stadium on March 11.

The team swept UC Davis in the softball version of the Causeway Classic, Sac State was unable to keep the momentum going into the National Invitational Softball Tournament and lost three of five games in San Jose. Sac State’s luck finally began to turn in its favor as Sac State returned home for the 17th annual Capital Classic.

The Hornets finished fourth in the seven-team invitational with a 2-2 record.

Sac State went on a four-game winning steak, highlighted by a victory over the 12th-ranked California Golden Bears, before beginning Pacific Coast softball play.

Sac State took three of four from San Diego on April 4-5.

Due to poor weather, Sac State had an unusual triple-header with Saint Mary’s on April 11. Sac State won two of the three games.

“We slipped in a couple of games. San Diego, Saint Mary’s, we needed to win those ball games. You take those two games and put them in the win column and there is a conference championship,” Strahan said.

Sac State ended the weekend third in the Pacific Coast standings with a four-game series against the second-place Portland State on April 18-19 and won only a single game.

Sac State regained its momentum as it took on second place Loyola Marymount April 25-26.

The Lions took game one but Sac State won the next three games to take control of second place in the Pacific Coast.

The Hornets ended the season on an eight-game winning streak by concluding with a four-game sweep of Santa Clara.

But it would be all for naught as Portland State clinched the Pacific Coast title on May 2. The stumbles the team took against San Diego and Saint Mary’s proved to be costly for the Hornets.

Sac State will lose five players from this year’s squad (Cabrera, Miles, Schloredt, Sherry Clark and Whitney Loomis) but will retain 13 members from this year’s squad.

“They have been incredible. They were a part of (our) conference championship. I’ve just adored them. They are great model student-athletes who have represented Sacramento State extremely well,” Strahan said.

The Hornets will have to rely on a new cast of characters to be leaders on next year’s team.

“We are a much improved team. Our freshmen really came a long way. We will be really young. Twelve of our players will be freshmen or sophomores but I am excited because we have a talented group coming in. Plus, the freshman class we had this year exceeded my expectations. They more than pulled their weight,” Strahan said.

Andrew Hazard can be reached at [email protected]