CEDAR CITY, Utah -- Sacramento State's pitching staff yielded 17 runs and 25 hits over two games as Southern Utah was able to sweep a Big Sky Conference doubleheader over the Hornets on Friday afternoon. The Thunderbirds won the first game, 9-3, before taking the nightcap in walkoff fashion by an 8-7 score.

These same two teams will finish the three-game series tomorrow at 11 a.m. PDT.

The losses dropped Sacramento State to 14-25-1 overall and 4-9 in the Big Sky. The nine conference losses are the most suffered by the Hornets since joining the Big Sky for softball in 2013. In fact, Sacramento State had entered the season with a 49-24 combined Big Sky record and had finished no worse than second place in the league standings each of the last three years.

Southern Utah improved its record to 13-23 and 9-5 in the conference. Sacramento State, which is still 23-10 all-time against the Thunderbirds, had won five straight in the series until today's losses.

The biggest highlight for the Hornets today was the play of freshman left fielder Suzy Brookshire who combined to go 4-for-6 with two walks and three RBIs. That included belting her team-high 11th home run of the season in opener. She is now just one home run shy of the Sacramento State single-season record for round trippers (12), set by Jamie Schloredt in 2008. As its stands now, Brookshire's 11 home runs are the second most in school history.

GAME 2

After Sacramento State's Traci Shaw hit a dramatic home run with two outs in the seventh to tie the score at 7-7, Southern Utah's Kendall Kapitzke crushed a one-out, walkoff homer in the bottom of the seventh to give the Thunderbirds an 8-7 win. The two teams combined for 15 runs and 22 hits as Sacramento State scored in every inning but the first and sixth, and Southern Utah scored in every frame but the second, four and sixth. That included a four-run first inning to take a 4-0 lead.

The Hornets used single runs in the second, third and fourth innings to chip away at their deficit, getting a Jessica Ravetti solo homer in the second, a sacrifice fly from Zamari Hinton in the third, and a Shaw RBI-double in the fourth.

With Sacramento State trailing, 5-3, the Hornets put up a three-run fifth inning to take its first lead of the game at 6-5. During that three-run fifth, the Hornets got a bases loaded walk from Mo Spieth, an RBI-grounder from Shaw and an error allowing Ravetti to score.

Southern Utah would reclaim the lead in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI-double from Karlee Manzione and RBI-single Megan Reed. After being held scoreless in the sixth, the Hornets mounted a two-out rally in the seventh, Shaw's homer was followed by Sydney Rasmussen getting hit by a pitch and Shelby Johnston's single to put runners at the corners. Nikki Gialketsis then crushed a 1-0 pitch to deep left-center that Southern Utah center fielder Sarah Murphy caught while crashing into the wall.

That set the stage for Kapitzke's dramatic home run that came on full count offering from reliever Celina Matthias. For the Hornets, Shaw finished the game 2-for-4 with three RBIs while Ravetti went 2-for-4 with three runs an RBI. Left-hander Danielle Sperry started the game for the Hornets and pitched the first three innings before making way for Matthias in the fourth. Matthias (6-7) got the loss, allowing five hits and three runs in 3.1 innings.

Southern Utah's Cheyenne Cudahy (2-2) got the win in relief, allowing three hits and two runs (one earned) in three innings. The Thunderbirds' Nos. 1-4 hitters of Murphy, Nicole Simonson, Kapitzke and Manzione combined to go 10-for-15 with six runs scored and four RBIs.

GAME 1

In a game that Sacramento State led, 2-1, after the top of the fifth inning, Southern Utah scored twice in the bottom half, and tacked on six more runs in the sixth to eventually win, 9-3.

A Brookshire one-out, RBI-single up the middle scoring both Johnston and pinch runner Rylee Sager allowed the Hornets to take a 2-1 lead in the fifth. Prior to the inning, Sacramento State had advanced just one runner past first base before Johnston and Sager got into scoring position for Brookshire.

However, Southern Utah would take advantage of a Hornet error in the bottom of the fifth to score a pair of unearned runs to reclaim a 3-2 lead. The Thunderbirds would then send 12 batters to the plate in the sixth inning, scoring six times on six hits. The big blow of the inning was a three-run homer by cleanup hitter Karlee Manzione that broke the game open.

Sacramento State pitchers yielded a season-high tying seven walks as Southern Utah needed 11 hits to score nine times. Taylor Tessier (4-12) took the loss for the Hornets, allowing five hits and three runs (one earned) in 4.1 innings. Reliever Savanna Corr pitched the final 1.2 innings. Hanna Wynn (3-7) went the distance to earn the victory for Southern Utah, allowing six hits and three runs over seven innings.

Brookshire hit her solo home run in the seventh inning, a shot to the opposite field on a 2-1 pitch. In addition, Brookshire had three of the Hornets' six hits, going 3-for-4 with a run scored and three RBIs out of the leadoff spot.