The Sacramento State softball team swept Big Sky Conference foe Northern Colorado in a Friday doubleheader on the road, winning by scores of 11-7 in the first game and 8-5 in the second.

The first game of the day featured tons of offense from both sides. Sac State went small-ball, scoring 11 runs while getting just two extra-base hits. They also drew six walks and swiped five bases.

The Hornets got the scoring started in the second inning, getting the first five batters of the frame on base on the way to jumping out to a 4-0 lead. Natalie Alas, Sydney Rasmussen, and Sasha Margulies all collected RBI singles.

Northern Colorado answered in the bottom half, getting three runs off Sac State starting pitcher Celina Matthias, capped by a two-run shot to center field to close the gap to 4-3.

Sac State would collect a couple of runs in the top of the third, scoring two runs via two walks and a single. The next inning, however, the Hornets cracked the game open, scoring four more runs to bring the score to 10-2.

Matthias clamped down with the huge lead, going the next four innings without yielding a run. Her final line, seven innings and seven runs allowed, didn’t reflect the quality start to the game, as she gave up just two base runners between the third and sixth innings and finishing the game for Sac State.

The Bears closed the gap to four runs in the final frame, scoring four runs off a base-clearing triple and an RBI single. The lead was insurmountable, however, as Sac State finished up the win.

The second game of the day was much closer, with both teams scoring a run in the first inning. Shortstop Rasmussen, who got on base seven times that day, led off the game with a single before swiping second and getting to third on a Zamari Hinton single. Designated hitter Margulies drove Rasmussen in off a fielder’s choice.

Hornet starter Taylor Tessier got off to a rocky start, giving up an RBI double in the first before walking the bases loaded to open the second. She would induce a double play before Savanna Corr would come in to shut the door on the Bears’ scoring threat.

Corr retired the side in the bottom of the third before running into trouble in the fourth. A bases-loaded, no-out error brought in a run but could have been worse; a slick defensive play led to an out at the plate. A two-out, two-run single brought in two runs to bring the score to 4-1 entering the top of the fifth.

That’s when Sac State’s bats woke up. With two outs and a runner on second, Sac State began to rally, starting with an RBI single by Alas. After loading the bases, Margulies drove in a run with a single followed by a two-run double by first baseman Jessica Ravetti to give the Hornets the lead. The next batter, third baseman Kailey Olcott, crushed a three-run shot to left-center to extend the lead to 8-4, her third home run of the year.

Matthias came in for the bottom of the fifth and gave up one run in three innings on her way to finishing the game to secure the win and get her fifth save of the year.

Sac State is now 7-1 in conference play, tied for first place with Weber State. The Hornets (17-15) finish their road trip with a Saturday afternoon game against Northern Colorado (4-26).