Sacramento State hosted the NorCal Kickoff tournament and opened their season in dominant fashion, going 3-1 on the weekend.

Sac State welcomed Saint Mary’s, Utah Valley, San Jose State and Boise State to Shea Stadium, controlling the playing field with career-high performances.

Senior pitcher Caroline Evans and junior catcher Katie Marsh, the team’s captains, were key contributors in the Hornets’ victories, both earning conference-wide achievements.

The Hornets’ offense took over the diamond and scored 24 runs in 86 at-bats.

Friday: Saint Mary’s: 3, Sacramento State: 6

Sac State opened up their season against Saint Mary’s on Friday, Feb. 7.

Saint Mary’s got on the board first with a run in the first inning. The Hornets swiftly countered with a run of their own as senior third baseman Nikki Barboza hit an RBI single to send junior outfielder Faith Epperson home to score for the Hornets’ first of the season.

Saint Mary’s responded quickly, scoring again in the top of the third, but Marsh opened the floodgates for Sac State’s offense by blasting a solo home run out to right field.

The Hornets capitalized on a multitude of errors as the Gaels piled up errant throws, catapulting the Hornets to a 6-2 lead they never gave up.

In contrast to the offense, Evans made all the difference in the Hornets’ defensive game. She retired batters left and right, racking up a career-high 10 strikeouts in five innings.

Sac State started the tournament off on the right foot, defeating Saint Mary’s 6-3 and carried their dominant offense through the weekend.

Saturday, Game 1: Utah Valley: 1, Sacramento State: 9

Sac State extended their scoring run against Utah Valley in the first game of a double header on Saturday, Feb. 8.

Early in the first inning, the Hornets scored two solo home runs on back-to-back pitches. Both were launched in opposite directions, first by junior outfielder Andrea Lira followed by Marsh.

The Hornets began to rain hits on the Wolverines in the third inning starting with a second home run from Lira. The Hornets followed up with a double to left field from Marsh that sent home two runners to make it an 8-0 game.

Sac State capitalized on two errors by Utah Valley, scoring one more run and closing the door on the Wolverines.

Utah Valley managed to earn one run in the top of the fourth, but it wasn’t enough as Sac State’s eight-run lead brought the game to an end in the top of the fifth inning.

Marsh had a substantial weekend with two HRs, five RBIs and a hit percentage of .636, propelling her to Big Sky Conference Player of the Week honors.

Congrats to our #BigSkySB Player of the Week #ExperienceElevated pic.twitter.com/v6WC2ufx08

— Big Sky Conference (@BigSkyConf) February 10, 2025

“The weekend was filled with nerves and excitement for the program, but the team came out firing on all cylinders and I had a good few games. I couldn’t have done it without my team,” Marsh said.

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Saturday, Game 2: Boise State: 10, Sacramento State: 1

Boise State flipped the script on Sac State, capitalizing on fielding errors in the second half of the Hornets’ double header on Saturday, Feb. 8.

Boise established themselves early and scored off an RBI in the second inning for the first point of the contest.

In the fourth inning, a string of RBIs as a result of pitching struggles and errors by the Hornets led to six runs for the Broncos, extending the lead to an insurmountable 8-1.

The Hornets’ pitching strength for the weekend faltered in this game as the Broncos ran in 10 runs, including a 2-run home run in the fifth inning to seal the game.

Sunday: San Jose State: 0, Sacramento State: (8)

Sac State brushed off their previous loss by shutting out the San Jose State Spartans in their next match on Sunday, Feb. 9.

The Hornets were the first to score thanks to a Marsh RBI double to left center field in the third inning, resulting in senior shortstop Gwen Ludwig running home.

Sac State poured it on in the fourth inning with a double to left field by Evans, driving in a run followed by another double from freshman outfielder Karissa Avila.

Walks and pitching errors by the Spartans set up four runs for the Hornets to effectively put the game to bed.

Evans dominated once again, serving straight heat with eight strikeouts to finish the game.

Evans, won both her games this past weekend and piled up 18 strikeouts, good enough to earn the Big Sky Conference Pitcher of the Week.

Congrats to our #BigSkySB Pitcher of the Week #ExperienceElevated pic.twitter.com/afFWohOQPr

— Big Sky Conference (@BigSkyConf) February 10, 2025

“The team has been preparing all year and I thank our pitching coach for showing and telling me my confidence is everything and it helped fuel my performance this weekend,” Evans said.

Sac State head coach Lori Perez said she liked what she saw from her team and is looking forward to her team’s potential.

“We didn’t get beat, we just didn’t play our best game. Proud of what we did this weekend,” Perez said. “Our best ball of is still ahead of us.”

Perez said her team’s fiery offensive performance helped power the team to an impressive start to the season.

“[I’m] proud of our team offensively,” Perez said. “We gave each pitcher a run for the money and our pitching had a few solid outings.”

Perez also said she’s looking to find a consistent rotation during their upcoming trip to Hawaii this week.

“[I’m] looking forward to the challenge, using our bench to establish depth. The goal is to come home 6-0,” Perez said.

The Hornets are scheduled to play in the Hawaii Spring Fling starting with a game against Utah Tech on Thursday, Feb.13 at 12:30 p.m.