SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Sacramento State right-hander Celina Matthias threw a four-hit shutout, her third shutout of the series, as Sacramento State completed a three-game sweep of Southern Utah with a 4-0 victory this afternoon at Shea Stadium.

Matthias was unbelievable all series, throwing three shutouts in a span of 26 hours, blanking Southern Utah in each game. In fact, the sophomore allowed just 11 hits (nine singles) over 21.0 innings during the series, limiting the Thunderbirds to a .147 batting average with just two walks and nine strikeouts. Only one Southern Utah runner advanced past season base during the entire series, and that came today in the top of the first inning.

Amazingly, if you count Tuesday's non-conference 9-0 win over Santa Clara, Matthias has throws four straight shutouts, and each of those have come over a five-day span.

Matthias continues to baffle Big Sky Conference opposition, as she is now 8-0 with three saves and a 1.89 ERA in 11 appearances against league foes. Overall, the Elk Grove, Calif., native is 16-9 with a 2.69 ERA, and her 16 victories are tied for the eighth most in a season in Sacramento State's Div. I era (1990-pres.).

The Hornets (22-15, 11-1) have now won seven straight games and remain in first place in the Big Sky Conference standings with nine games remaining. The winning streak is the longest since the 2013 squad ripped off seven straight wins from March 2-9, 2013. In addition, Sacramento State improved to 10-2 at home, and 6-0 against league opposition at Shea Stadium.

Southern Utah, which averaged no runs and just 3.7 hits per game in the series, dropped to 7-35 overall and 3-9 in the Big Sky.

Offensively, Sacramento State hit .346 (28-for-81) during the three games as a team with five doubles, 10 RBIs and a .382 on-base percentage. Sasha Margulies, Kortney Solis and Kailey Olcott hit safely in all three games, and Solis, Olcott, Jessica Ravetti and Sydney Rasmussen each had four hits in the series. Solis was 4-for-7 during the three-game set and Olcott was 4-for-8 with two doubles and four RBIs.

The Hornets scored in the first inning in all three games, including a run in the bottom of the first today after Margulies' hard hit ground ball to shortstop allowed Rasmussen to race home from third. Rasmussen had opened the inning with a double that hit high off the left field wall and missed being a home run by three feet.

The Hornets tacked on two more runs in the second inning after Rasmussen laced an RBI-single to right field that allowed Kayla Papez to score from second base. On the play, the ball got by Thunderbird right fielder Megan Reed which allowed Shelby Johnston to score all the way from first base.

Sacramento State tacked on one more run in the fifth after an Olcott chopper to shortstop was booted by Javlyn Weaver, allowing Margulies to score from third base. Weaver had just been inserted into the game as a defensive replacement for starter Kendall Kapitzke who took a ball off the face while losing it in the sun on a high pop-up from Margulies.

Matthias allowed just four hits (three singles) while walking one and striking out five over seven innings. She needed just 88 pitches to complete the shutout, faced five batters over the minimum, and retired nine of the last 10 batters she faced. Jordan Theurer (1-12) got the loss for Southern Utah, allowing seven hits and three runs (two earned) over 2.1 innings.

The Hornets turned in a number of fine defensive plays today as well, including a full extension diving catch in foul territory by second baseman Zamari Hinton and Ravetti catching a ball with half her body stretched into the Southern Utah dugout for the first out of the seventh inning.

Sacramento State finished with 11 hits today, including multiple-hit games from Rasmussen (2-for-4 with a run and an RBI), Ravetti (2-for-3), Papez (2-for-3 with a run) and Johnston (2-for-3 with a run). The Hornets have now posted double figures in hits in nine of their last 14 games.

Sacramento State will now embark upon a six-game road trip that includes three-game stops at Idaho State (April 22-23) and Weber State (April 29-30).