Sacramento State, fresh off a series loss, rebounded on the road in a three game series against Portland State and a lone game at home against Fresno State. The pitching department had 28 strikeouts over the four games.
Friday: Sac State 6, Portland State 1
The Hornets started the series firing early, piling up hits and runs. Sac State practically hit the stitching off the ball, specifically in the second inning, with three hits resulting in five runs.
In the second, junior outfielder Lafulafu Malepeai and senior third baseman Nikki Barboza both smacked the ball out of the park for two runs each to give the Hornets a steep 4-0 lead early on in the game.
Another 2-run shot for the Hornets in the 2nd! Malepeai crushes her 4th home run of the season! Hornets take a 5-0 lead at Portland State #StingersUp pic.twitter.com/1GEJbnN8oU
— Sacramento State Softball (@SacStSoftball) April 4, 2025
“Nikki got the energy and momentum going for us. She hit the first 2-run homer and then I followed her afterward,” Malepeai said. “It was an all-out effort and fight that took each and every one of us to capitalize off that.”
Additional runs in this game came from sophomore first baseman Malissa George in the second and a run off a fielder’s choice by freshmen utility player Madison Evers-Lyles in the sixth.
On the defensive side, senior pitcher Caroline Evans got the start in the circle. She pitched the whole game and allowed three hits, one run and totaled six strikeouts, for a 6-1 win.
Friday: Sac State 2, Portland State 0
The Hornets delivered a defensive masterclass in the second game of the doubleheader.
A sacrifice fly finally broke the deadlock to give the Hornets a 1-0 lead in the fourth. The final run was scored shortly after by junior outfielder Faith Epperson from a double.
Junior pitcher Kennedie Magorian got the start in this game and dominated in the circle. In seven innings, she allowed just one hit with 10 strikeouts and retired each of the last 10 batters.
The Hornets’ offense didn’t make much contact with the ball, only picking up two runs and four hits.
“My focus through the entire game was to just attack the batters and make them earn whatever they get,” Magorian said. “Trusting my defense and knowing that they have my back really allowed me to relax and just let the ball move.”
Magorian was the engine that steered the team to a 2-0 win and won Big Sky Conference Pitcher of the Week for her efforts.
Congrats to our #BigSkySB Pitcher of the Week #ExperienceElevated pic.twitter.com/hwWRHKfgwP
— Big Sky Conference (@BigSkyConf) April 7, 2025
Saturday: Sac State 3, Portland State 4
After clinching the series win in the last game, the Hornets gave up the sweep late after failing to respond with runs in the fifth inning.
In the first inning, Evers-Lyles hit a double to bring a run to open the scoring.
Evans was busy in the hitting department, contributing an RBI double to make the score 2-0. The Vikings responded with a run in the third to make the game 2-1.
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In the fourth, an RBI double to left field by junior outfielder Andrea Lira made the score 3-1, but then the tides began to turn.
The Hornets failed to extend their lead and the Vikings added three runs in the fifth off two hits to left field. After giving up those runs, the Hornets couldn’t make any progress offensively and let the series sweep slip away, losing 4-3.
“I am happy the team was able to take the series on the road; that is always tough to do,’’ head coach Lori Perez said. “However, we need to execute better on defense and offense in order to get the sweep. In conference play, with so many limited games, all games matter for winning the regular season and seeding at the tourney.’’
Tuesday: Fresno State 2, Sac State 3
A non-conference game was on deck versus Fresno State following the conference road series.
Sac State was able to overcome a 2-run deficit late in the sixth to pull off a comeback win.
Early on, the game was slow with no runs until the fourth inning. A run from the Bulldogs off a double to left field and one unearned off a Hornet error gave them the early 2-0 lead.
The game changed in the sixth inning with a 2-run homer by Malepeia, similar to Friday’s game. Epperson followed up, stealing home to give the Hornets the 3-2 lead.
The Hornets’ pitching was notable again as both junior Danyelle Leone and sophomore Alexa Ortiz got 2 strikeouts each to help close out the 3-2 comeback win.
“I thought our pitching really did a great job executing their pitches. Our defense really played solid behind them as well,” Perez said. “We know with our firepower that we can change the game with one swing.”
Sac State went 3-1 through this 4-game stretch to improve to 17-18 and will face off at home against Northern Colorado on Friday at noon.
