The Sacramento State softball team competed in the Silicon Valley Classic this weekend, where they went 3-2 and scored a total of 29 runs. 

The Hornets (6-8) kicked the weekend off with a doubleheader on Friday against Utah State and Santa Clara.

In the first game, the Hornets lost to the Aggies (6-7) 8-2.

The Hornets bounced back in a big way for the second game of the doubleheader, however, as they clobbered Santa Clara University (8-9) 8-0.

In thrilling fashion, the Hornets pulled off a win against the Broncos 5-4 and scored the go-ahead run in extra-innings in the first game of their doubleheader on Saturday.

Two home runs kept the Hornets afloat in their 6-5 victory against Cal Poly (0-10) in the second gamer.

The Hornets dropped the final game of the Silicon Valley Classic 12-7 against San Jose State (9-5) on Sunday. 

Hornets defeated in 8-2 loss versus the Aggies:

Sophomore pitcher Lexie Webb (1-3) got the start for the Hornets on Friday. She had a rough day on the mound as she allowed seven runs, five earned, and then recorded one strikeout. 

Junior third baseman Lewa Day led the game off with a solo homer to right-center as a junior outfielder, Carley Morfey knocked a single into left field. Freshman shortstop Nikki Barboza reached first on an error, which scored Morfey. 

This put the Hornets on top 2-0 in the top of the first inning, but their lead was short-lived as the Aggies had a big inning of their own.

In the bottom of the first, a walk and a double scored UC Davis’s first run. Two fielder’s choice scored two more, which pushed the Aggies lead 3-2. 

The Aggies got right back to work in the bottom of the third inning as they connected on five singles and one double, which resulted in four runs. This bumped the Aggies’ lead 7-2.

Two singles for the Aggies put the nail in the coffin for the Hornets, as they dropped their first game of the Silicon Valley Classic 8-2.

Marissa Bertuccio lifts the Hornets over the Broncos in 8-0 win:

Junior pitcher Marissa Bertuccio (3-1) shut down the Broncos lineup for the second time this season. She threw a complete-game shutout and struck out five batters as well.

This was a scoreless game until the top of the sixth inning when freshman Gwen Ludwig drew a walk to start.. 

A steal and a Bronco throwing error moved Ludwig up to third base where senior first baseman Alondra Mejia was able to single to left field and score Ludwig. 

A Morfey double moved Mejia to third base and junior infielder Samantha Parish reached on an error, scoring Mejia.

Junior catcher Amber Rodriguez singled to left field, which scored Morfey, and moved Parish to second. 

Sophomore Milan Machado-Buckley came in as a pinch hitter, and she delivered. She connected on a single down the right-field line to score Parish and moved Rodriguez to third base. 

Sophomore Kennedy Echols came into pinch run for Machado-Buckley. A Day single scored Rodriguez and advanced Echols to second. 

Freshman Caroline Evans delivered the final blow, as she launched her second home run of the season over the right-field fence. 

The Hornets smashed the Broncos 8-0 for their fourth win of the season, and the first of the Silicon Valley Classic.

“It was crazy, I remember Coach Rios telling me you’re crazy for hitting the first pitch like that,” Evans said. “I was just walking in there off the bench, being able to come up and do what I need to do for my team. It was nice that it was a home run, it was just really exciting, to put up a lot of runs in the inning, bouncing off my teammate’s energy and to get the dub.”

The Hornets beat the Broncos for the fourth time this season 5-4:

Webb got her second start of the Silicon Valley Classic on Saturday. She had a solid day on the mound, allowing two earned runs and seven hits.

The Hornets struck first in the top of the third inning, as Rodriguez smacked her first collegiate home run over the left-field wall to lead off the inning. 

Barboza drew a walk and an Enchols bunt-single put runners on first and second base. Day connected with a single to left field to load the bases as Mejia punched a single to right field to score two more runs. This pushed the Hornet’s lead 3-0.

The Hornets got back to work in the top of the fourth inning as well, with Parish singling through the right side to get things started. Echols connected on a hit to center field for a triple, which scored Parish to extend the Hornets’ lead 4-0. 

The Broncos bats finally came alive at the bottom of the sixth inning. 

They connected on back-to-back doubles to score a run. A ground out moved a runner to third base and a single got them home to cut the lead 4-2.

Senior pitcher Alyssa Nunez came in to try and close out the game. She allowed two earned runs and two hits.

The Broncos weren’t finished as they fought hard to tie the game.

Another lead-off double put a runner in scoring position. A single to left field scored a run. Nunez hit a Broncos batter, resulting in a walk to put two runners on. A fielder’s choice put runners in scoring position for the Broncos. A sacrifice bunt tied the game 4-4.

Because the game went to extra innings, Parish was placed at second base to start the inning. Rodriguez advanced the runner with a bunt and Barboza hit a sacrifice fly to score the go-ahead run for the Hornets, to make the score 5-4.

Bertuccio came in to relieve Nunez, and she shut down the Broncos in her one inning of work to get her first collegiate save.

This was the Hornet’s fifth win of the season, and their fourth win against the Broncos this season.

“It felt pretty exciting, just being able to come through for my team to spark the little energy that we needed to get going in the dugout, it just felt really good,” Rodriguez said. “I was full of excitement, it was my first one so I was pumped up and I was just humble and proud to hit one.”

Two homers lift the Hornets over the winless Mustangs 6-5:

Bertuccio got the start against the Mustangs on Saturday as she allowed four earned runs, and eight hits on the day and tallied four strikeouts. 

Day showed her patience off in the bottom of the first inning as she drew a walk to lead off the game, stealing second base to put herself in scoring position. Mejia reached on an error, which put runners at first and third base, helping Webb set up as she launched a three-run homer, for her fourth home run of the season. 

The Mustangs got on the board in the top of the fourth inning as back-to-back doubles scored their first run of the game to cut the Hornets’ lead 3-1.

The Hornets responded in a big way as Barboza hit a single. Echols connected on a single as well, but Barboza pushed her luck trying to reach third base, and she was called out. 

Day fired a two-run homer to push the lead 5-1 in the fourth home run of the season. 

The Mustangs had a big inning to tie the game in the top of the fifth.

Bertuccio allowed three straight hits, which resulted in two runs marking the end of her day. 

Evans came in to pitch the rest of the way, allowing two runs, one earned, and one hit on the day. She also recorded a strikeout and her first win as a collegiate pitcher.

“It felt really good, I was really excited, and with the work of my teammates, it made it more exciting, it felt more like a win because our whole team was in it,” Evans said about her first collegiate win.

A single and an error scored two runs for the Mustangs as they tied the game at 5-5. 

The Hornets came right back with a run of their own. A Morfey single set the table. Parish doubled to score the go-ahead run, to reclaim the lead for the Hornets 6-5. 

The Hornets handed the Mustangs their eighth straight loss and their own sixth win of the season.

“As a coach, I’m happy that we improved off of last weekend’s results, on the winning side is positive momentum,” Head Coach Lori Perez said. “For our team, we saw a lot of growth, not only what we were doing in the game, but what we were doing in leadership and team dynamic.”

Seven runs were not enough as the Hornets lose 12-7 to the Spartans:

Webb got her fourth start for the last game in the Silicon Valley Classic. She had a rough day in the circle as she allowed eight runs, five earned, in 3.2 innings of work.

The Hornets got on the scoreboard first in the top of the third inning as Parish doubled down the left-field line. 

Day smacked a triple to right field to score the first run of the game and Junior Nevaeh Pinon pinch ran for her. Mejia fouled out, which drove in Pinon to push the Hornets lead 2-0. 

The Spartans came right back in the bottom of the fourth inning and punched the Hornets in the mouth.

The Spartans were able to connect on seven hits, paired with two Hornet errors, resulting in eight runs to lead 8-2.

Evans came in to relieve Webb and allowed four earned runs, four walks and recorded one strikeout. 

The Hornets chipped away at the Spartans’ lead in the top of the fifth inning.

Day got the Hornets started with a single down the left-field line. Parish connected on a hit for a double to left field to move Day to third as Webb relieved some anger with a three-run homer to left-center field to cut the lead 8-5.

The Spartans answered in a big way in the bottom of the fifth inning as two straight walks and a single loaded the bases. Then, two straight doubles resulted in four runs for the Spartans to push the lead 12-5.

The Hornets kept chipping away at the Spartans’ lead in the top of the sixth inning.

Junior Rylee Gresham led off the inning with a double down the line and Machado-Buckley connected with a single to move Gresham to third. Ludwig came into pinch run for Machado-Buckley as Day grounded out, but Gresham was able to score. 

Webb reached first on a fielder’s choice, scoring Ludwig, but the Hornets fell short as they dropped the final game of the Silicon Valley Classic 12-7.

“The biggest thing we gotta improve on is our defense, that’s our pitching and defense,” Perez said. “We gotta focus on getting the fundamentals correct, what we’re doing, fielding the ball, making sure we’re focusing on the fundamentals in the circle to make sure we’re spinning and moving the ball a bit better.”

The Hornets will be back in action against Dixie State University to kick off the Capital Classic on Friday at 2 p.m. at Shea Stadium.