The Sacramento State softball team lost four out of five games this weekend in the UC San Diego Tournament. 

The Hornets (3-6) played the University of Utah (6-4) for their first game in the first half of a doubleheader. Despite a valiant comeback, the Hornets fell short in a 9-8 loss.

In the back half of their doubleheader, the Hornets beat the University of California San Diego (5-5) 3-2.

On their second day of the tournament, the Hornets played in another doubleheader. In the first half, they played the Utah Utes again, where the Hornets lost 13-0.

For the back half of the doubleheader, the Hornets faced off against Saint Mary’s College (4-6), and lost 13-7.

On their final day of the tournament, the Hornets lost 6-1 to CSU Fullerton. .

Hornets unable to come back in 9-8 loss versus Utah :

Sophomore pitcher and designated hitter Lexie Webb (1-2) would get the start on the bump for the Hornets. She had a rough outing as she allowed five earned runs, and had four strikeouts for the day.

The Hornets got on the scoreboard first, as junior third baseman Lewa Day led off the game with a single to left field. Freshman shortstop Nikki Barboza laid down a bunt to move Day up to second base. Junior outfielder Carley Morfey doubled to left-center, scoring Day and putting the Hornets up 1-0.

The  Utes took the lead in the bottom of the second inning as they scored two runs on two hits and a walk, to make the score 2-1. 

A big fifth inning would blow this game wide open as the Utah Utes scored six runs. A bases-clearing triple scored three runs, and an error scored one more. Finally, a two-run homer would stretch the lead 8-1.

But the Hornets didn’t quit.

They would slowly chip away at the Utah Utes lead. Junior catcher Amber Rodriguez singled to left field to start the one-out rally for the Hornets. Barboza and Webb singled to load the bases. 

Morfey was patient at the plate and walked in a run. A wild-pitch scored Barboza. Then junior infielder Samantha Parish hit a sacrifice fly to put the score at 8-4.

The Utah Utes scored one more run on a throwing error to push the score to 9-4.

The Hornets would make a final attempt to tie the game in the top of the seventh inning. Sophomore Alexis Parish singled and advanced to second on a throwing error. Junior Nevaeh Pinon knocked a single up the middle to advance Alexis Parish to third. 

Sophomore catcher Alicia Crewse singled to right-center to score Alexis Parish. Rodriguez singled to load the bases. Barboza singled to left field to score two runs as the lead was cut to just two. Samantha Parish singled through the left side to score one more run for the Hornets. 

But their comeback attempt fell short, as they dropped the first game of the UC San Diego Tournament 9-8.

Even though the Hornets fell short in this game, head coach Lori Perez was proud of her team for showing some fight in their comeback attempt. 

“The girls came in, they were very determined and they went after it,” Perez said. “They proved a lot to themselves that day, and the key is to keep that every ballgame.” 

Marissa Bertuccio’s complete game leads the Hornets to a 3-2 victory:

Junior pitcher Marissa Bertuccio secured her second win of the season with a complete game in which she struck out seven and only allowed two Tritons to cross home plate. 

The Tritons would get on the board first as they laid down a sacrifice bunt to score the first run of the game which put the score at 1-0.

The Hornets were able to score in the bottom of the fourth inning. Samantha Parish blasted her first home run of the season to tie the game. Freshman first baseman Caroline Evans drew a walk, where freshman Gwen Ludwig would pinch run for her. She stole second and advanced to third on an error. Alexis Parish hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Ludwig to put the Hornets in the lead 2-1.

In the top of the fifth, Webb would hit her third home run of the season to pad the Hornets lead 3-1. 

The Tritons cut the lead to one after a home-run in the seventh inning but Bertuccio closed them out. 

Samantha Parish was able to hit the second home run of her collegiate career, and it came at a big moment in this game where she would tie the game at 1-1. This started a mini-rally for the Hornets as they eventually took the lead later on in the inning. 

“That was amazing, first pitch, it was right there and I hit it, I’m looking forward to hitting more this year,” Parish said.

 Hornets held scoreless as they lose 13-0 to the  Utes

Evans got the start on the bump for the third game of the weekend against Utah. . She had a rough outing as she allowed five earned runs and only one strikeout for the day.

The Hornets had just three hits on the day. Webb hit a single in the bottom of the first inning, Samantha Parish doubled to lead off the bottom of the second inning, and Barboza singled in the bottom of the third inning. Each would be left on base.

The Utah Utes got to work in the top of the third inning. They would connect on four straight hits to start the inning, scoring two runs in the process. A sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly scored two straight runs, with a solo home run to cap off the five-run inning, to push the  Utes’ lead to 5-0.

Sophomore pitcher Kelsey Alcantara would come in to relieve Evans in the third inning but would allow eight runs. 

The Utes scored one run on a sacrifice fly in the top of the fifth inning to bump the lead to 6-0. 

The Utes capped off their scoring with a seven-run seventh inning to make it 13-0.  

Hornets stung by errors in 13-7 loss to Saint Mary’s 

Webb got the start in the fourth game of the weekend against St. Mary’s. . She would allow 11 runs, with only two earned, and she would strike out one batter in 3.1 innings of work.

The Hornets would get on the board first as Barboza reached second on an error, and she stole third. Morfey knocked Barboza in on an RBI-single to left field to give the Hornets a 1-0 lead. 

The Gaels got to work in the bottom of the second inning as they drew two walks and an error, which led to a run. A single and a fielder’s choice would score two runs, and a bases-clearing triple scored three more runs for the Gaels, as they led 6-1 by the end of the frame. 

The Hornets made a lot of noise in the top of the third inning. Barboza and Samantha Parish both drew walks, and Webb singled to load the bases. 

Senior first baseman Alondra Mejia hit a grand slam to cut the lead to just one run. Sophomore infielder Arianna Pires singled to shortstop and sophomore Kennedy Echols reached first on an error. A wild pitch would score Pires, as the Hornets tied the game 6-6. 

The Gaels were back at it in the bottom of the fourth inning. Two straight errors and two straight hits led to two runs. A double scored two more, which ended Webb’s day on the mound. Bertuccio came into the game as a relief pitcher. A wild pitch would score another run, as the Gaels led 11-6. 

Day would lead off the top of the sixth inning with a single to left field. A Webb double set up Samantha Parish for an RBI that made the score 11-7. 

A double and a walk would put runners in scoring position for the Gaels in the bottom of the sixth inning. Two errors would result in two runs,  as the lead would extend to 13-7 and never change. 

Even though it came in a losing effort, Mejia’s grand slam was a welcome-back moment she will never forget. 

“It was super exciting, it was my first weekend out so I was just super excited and looking to get a hit, to score some runs,” Mejia said. “I had a little bit of pressure but one loves pressure in those big times where you just have to get the job done.”

The Hornets drop their last game of the tournament as UC San Diego wins 6-1

Senior pitcher Alyssa Nunez got the start for the final game of the weekend against UC San Diego.  She allowed three earned runs and had two strikeouts for the day.

The Tritons would score in the top of the third inning. They connected on two hits and they drew four straight walks to score three runs for the inning. Bertuccio came in to relieve Nunez to end the inning.

In the top of the fifth inning, the Tritons were able to score again. They connected with a double and a wild pitch put them in scoring position. A sacrifice fly brought in a run to increase the Triton lead to 4-0.

The Hornets were able to get on the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth inning as Webb doubled to lead off the inning and Mejia hit a one-out double to put the score at 4-1.

The Tritons led off the top of the seventh inning with a solo home run to left field.  A  sacrifice fly scored one more run to push the lead 6-1.

The Hornets went home losing 4-of-5 games over this past weekend. Perez talked about coming into games with a more competitive mentality.

“I learned that we got to get more competitive in the game, we were very competitive in practice, and we got to transfer that over to the game,” Perez said, “I think we have a lot of fight in us, we just have to learn how to show that. “Every single pitch, every single out, and every single inning.”