Softball now in first place in Big Sky after doubleheader sweep against UNC

State Hornet Staff

Sacramento State softball grabbed sole possession of first place in the Big Sky Conference over Northern Colorado on Friday as it swept the Bears in a doubleheader in Greeley, Colo.

The Hornets combined to get 31 hits and 19 runs. Freshman catcher Nikki Gialketsis hit her first career home run and collected five RBIs in the second game.

She finished the day 5-for-8, with two doubles, a home run and six RBIs.

Sac State tied the single game record for hits in a game with 19, with all nine of the starters reaching safely with a base hit in game one against Northern Colorado. Seven of the nine starters had multiple hit games.

The Hornets jumped to an early 4-0 lead in the first two innings, with an RBI double by junior left fielder Alexa Chattleton and single from junior shortstop Paige Castro that scored Chattleton in the second inning. Sophomore first baseman Sasha Margulies also had an two-out RBI single in the first to score junior right fielder Paige Martin.

The offense of Sac State was too much for the Bears, scoring six more runs, two in the fourth and four in the sixth.

The second game saw more of the same. Junior pitcher Caitlin Brooks made her first start since Mar. 8 at the Mustang Classic. Brooks who spent the past three weeks resting her pitching arm from overuse, showed no rust.

She stymied the Bears only giving up one run on two hits, two walks and eight strikeouts. One of those hits Brooks gave up was a home run by Northern Colorado’s third baseman Kaitlyn Flynn.

In the second inning, Gialketsis connected on a pitch that sent the ball over the right-center fence for a two-run home run. Gialketsis later would hit a base clearing three-RBI double in the fifth.

Brooks would use three of her strikeouts to set down the Bears in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Martin added her hit by pitch total to 19, after getting hit twice on Friday. Martin is ranked second in the NCAA in that category.

With Friday’s two wins, Sac State extends its streak to three wins and have won nine of its last 11. The Hornets (17-15, 6-1) and Bears (12-27, 3-2) will conclude the three-game series Saturday at noon.