Softball finishes off North Dakota with 9-0 victory

State Hornet Staff

Sacramento State softball capped off its first Big Sky Conference series sweep since becoming a member last season. Sac State mercied the University of North Dakota, 9-0 in five innings on Saturday at Shea Stadium.

Senior pitcher Taylor Stroud kept North Dakota scoreless with a strong pitching performance.

Aside from allowing the first two base runners to reach in the first inning, Stroud retired the next 14 of 15 batters. She finished the game with five innings of work, and did not allow any runs on two hits and three strikeouts.

The Hornets scored three runs in the first inning with two RBI singles from freshman third baseman Alexis Martinez and junior shortstop Paige Castro. Senior second baseman Yesenia Alcala would add the third run when her sacrifice fly to right field scored sophomore first baseman Sasha Margulies.

Two innings later, the Hornets added four more runs to give them a 9-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth. Stroud would shut down the door on North Dakota to give her the complete game shutout win.

Stroud’s record improves to 4-5 on the season. Margulies went 2-for-2 with two RBIs on Saturday. Margulies now leads the team with a .351 batting average and 12 RBIs.

The Hornets will travel to face the UC Berkeley Bears on Wednesday in Berkeley, Calif. First pitch is at 3 p.m.