The Sacramento State softball team’s regular season is ending with the two hardest conference series.

The team will have to get on base while the pitchers retain home runs from conference leaders Portland State and Idaho State. With the cancellation of the North Dakota contest this past weekend, the Hornets have only four games left to secure their spot in the Big Sky Championships.

Out of seven members, the top four teams will move on to the championships and Sac State is on the edge in fourth place as of now.

The Hornets 20-16 overall and 5-4 Big Sky conference record has really been backed the by the pitching staff this season.

In the leagues first year of awards, sophomore pitcher Caitlin Brooks earned Big Sky pitcher of the week five times with a 12-5 record and 1.24 ERA.

Sac State will also have to rely on outfielder Paige Martin who leads the team with a .360 batting average and 41 hits.

Martin is followed by fellow Sac State outfielder Kelli Frye with a .320 batting average and team-high 19 runs scored.

The Hornets have been steady this season, but they will see new lineups as they face two teams they have yet to see this season.

Its 9-3 conference record may carry Portland State in second place front, but its 16-25 overall should not intimidate the Hornets.

Although, Sac State is 8-9 at home and 6-6 away, which makes it unpredictable to know how these games will end up.

Now the real matchup lies at the end of the schedule as the Hornets are set to play Idaho. The Bengals have plenty of competition to offer Sac State so the Hornets are going to have to step it up to have a shot at a win.

Leading in almost every offensive category, Idaho State will undoubtedly be Sac State’s toughest game opponent of the year – but that might not be such a bad thing. The pressure can be good preparation for the Hornets as they transition to post season.

Idaho’s catcher Vicky Galasso brings a .476 batting average and .507 on base percentage, managing 14 home runs – more home runs than the entire Sac State team combined.

Galasso shares first place in home runs with Bengal’s pitcher Amanda Fitzsimmons who offers a .510 on base percentage.

Galasso also has 48 RBIs with teammate Terah Blackwell close behind with 42.

The Hornets got up to a seven-game winning streak earlier in the season, which proves there is enough talent within the team to take these two opponents down. It’s all a matter of what they do with that talent.

The Hornets’ series at Portland State starts on Friday.  

Jillian can be reached on Twitter at @jilliankweller