Sacramento State had its last Big Sky Conference series on the road this weekend at Montana. The Hornets swept the series easily with 38 runs throughout the three games.
Friday, Game 1: Sac State 16, Montana 7
The bats were scorching hot in the Hornets’ best offensive game of the season.
The Griz got on the board first thanks to an RBI triple and an RBI single to right field that brought runners home to give them a 4-0 lead in the first inning.
Sac State responded drastically by adding nine runs in the second inning. Three homers, two from freshman third baseman Madison Evers-Lyles and one from freshman catcher Shannon Garcia, collectively put five runs on the board.
After two RBI doubles brought in runs by junior outfielder Lafulafu Malepeai and sophomore infielder Jenna Birch, the Hornets grabbed the lead at 9-4.
The Griz earned two runs off two singles to cut the Hornets’ lead to three by the end of the second inning.
In the third, the Hornets added on runs with a junior catcher Katie Marsh RBI double that brought in two runs to extend the lead to 11-6.
In the top of the fourth, the Griz added a run with the bases loaded due to a catcher interference call to make the game 11-7.
The Hornets ended this game in the fifth with a homer by Garcia, followed by an inside-the-park grand slam from freshman catcher Alexa Carino to put an early bow on this game as they led 16-7 in the fifth inning.
INSIDE THE PARK GRAND SLAM! Carino with the bomb. Hornets up big in Missoula #StingersUp pic.twitter.com/hyIV9AzOmQ
— Sacramento State Softball (@SacStSoftball) April 25, 2025
“The mentality going into the series was to secure the two seed and I was going to contribute anyway that I could,” Carino said. “The inside-the-park grand slam was definitely a highlight for me.”
This game was a colossal offensive performance, scoring 16 runs off 15 hits in only five innings.
Friday, Game 2: Sac State 10, Montana 1
The Hornets kept their foot on the Griz’s throat in game two of the series.
The Griz got their only run of the game in the first, a single down the right infield line to get an early 1-0 lead that only lasted one inning.
In the next at bat, Carino responded with one of her own. She homered to left center, adding to her productive five-hit day.
In the third, sophomore outfielder Avery Brown added in a run on a sacrifice fly, followed by a hit to left field from junior outfielder Andrea Lira that brought in a run to make the score 3-1.
Junior pitcher Kennedie Magorian retired 14 consecutive batters through the next four innings. She finished with five strikeouts.
The Hornets got hot in the seventh and added seven runs to help secure a win.
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Senior pitcher Caroline Evans started it off with a solo homer to left field, followed by RBIs that went for scores from Marsh, Malepeai and Lira.
The Hornets’ offense continued their hot streak, racking in a 2-run homer, an RBI single and a score off a wild pitch en route to a victory.
The Hornets poured it on in the seventh and finished the game with 10 runs on 14 hits to win 10-1. Their offense has been the star of the show all season, and after Friday’s doubleheader, they broke a program record with 56 home runs on the season and counting.
With 8 home runs today, the Hornets have set the new program record with 56 home runs this season! The 56 surpasses the previous mark of 55, set in 2022 #StingersUp pic.twitter.com/uSeYuPGyqS
— Sacramento State Softball (@SacStSoftball) April 26, 2025
Saturday: Sac State 12, Montana 2
The Hornets looked to clinch a bye as the second seed in the Big Sky tournament with a third win.
The first few innings were defensively minded, with no runs scored. Magorian, again on the mound, contributed with multiple groundouts and ended the game with four strikeouts.
The Hornets exploded again on offense in the third inning with six runs. A right solo homer from Birch, a 3-run double from Evers-Lyles and a 2-run bomb from Carino made the score 6-0 early on.
The bats cooled off until the sixth, when they added a few more runs. Brown added an RBI double that brought in a run and scored off a sacrifice fly immediately after to put the Hornets up 8-0.
The Griz added in their only runs of the game with an RBI double that scored two runners, making the game 8-2.
The Hornets ran away with this game thanks to a few seventh-inning home runs to put the Griz to bed.
Evans bombed a 3-run homer to right field, and Garcia, for the third time in this series, homered to secure the 12-2 win.
“It felt great to be able to contribute in any way I can,” Evans said. “Our entire team looks great and it feels like we are all hitting our stride going into the conference tournament.”
The Hornets once again hit the stitching off the ball with 12 runs off 16 hits. They had over 10 runs in each game in this series, accounting for 38 runs total.
“Clearly, our offense was the star. We have relied on it all year,” Perez said. “After being voted lower in the preseason polls, our regular season finish sends a message that we are a force to be reckoned with.”
With this series sweep, the Hornets secure the second seed in the Big Sky Conference Tournament, granting them a bye when tournament play starts on May 6, in Greeley, Colorado. The Hornets play their last regular season game at home versus Pacific on Wednesday at 4 P.M.
