PREVIEW
• Sacramento State (2-3) will play at the Puerto Vallarta Challenge this week, its second appearance at the tournament, and first since 2019.
• The Hornets opened the season last week at home when they hosted the NorCal Kickoff. Sacramento State went 2-3, which included wins over Utah Valley and Pacific, and losses to UC Davis, Rutgers and Seattle.
• Sacramento State will play four times over three day in Puerto Vallarta, which includes a pair of games Thursday vs. North Dakota State (1 p.m. PT) and 10th-ranked Tennessee (6:30 p.m. PT). On Friday, the Hornets play Kansas at 1 p.m. PT, and wrap up tourney play on Saturday against Southern Illinois at 8 a.m. PT.
• The Hornets are seeking their first win in Puerto Vallarta as the team went 0-4 at the 2019 tournament. Two of those losses came against teams ranked in the top 25 in the nation.
• Sacramento State is a combined 7-6 all-time against its four opponents in Puerto Vallarta. That includes 3-0 vs. North Dakota State, 0-2 vs. Tennessee, 4-2 vs. Kansas, and 0-2 vs. Southern Illinois.
• FloSoftball will stream all four Hornet games during the tournament for a fee. The link to FloSoftball can be found next to each game on the softball schedule at hornetsports.com.
• Reminder that all multimedia links, including live stats and video, can be found at the softball schedule at hornetsports.com.
• North Dakota State, which is playing games for the second straight week in Puerto Vallarta, will enter Thursday's game with a 1-5 record. Tennessee, ranked 10th in the nation in the NFCA top 25 poll, will enter its game vs. the Hornets at 3-0.
• Kansas enters the week with a 3-2 record, and Southern Illinois is 4-0. The Hornets' four opponents are a combined 11-7 this season.
• The Hornets have scored one run or less in three games (0-3), and seven runs in two games (2-0).
• Fifteen of Sacramento State's 25 players have started at least one game. Only four players (third baseman Lewa Day, designated player Milan Machado-Buckley, infielder Gwen Ludwig and outfielder Carley Morfey) have started all five games thus far.
• Catcher Amber Rodriguez has hit safely in all four games she's appeared, and has yet to strike out in 10 at-bats (5-for-10 with a double and RBI).
• Carley Morfey, who hit .397 with runners in scoring position a season ago, is 4-for-8 with five RBIs with RISP this year. One of those hits was the go-ahead grand slam against Pacific. She hit what would have been a go-ahead two-run homer in the sixth inning against Rutgers, but heavy winds at Shea Stadium kept a smash from going out and the ball was caught at the wall.
• Right-hander Marissa Bertuccio, the reigning Big Sky Pitcher of the Year, has been excellent thus far. In three appearances (two starts), she has a 1.43 ERA with an 8.5-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio (17 strikeouts, 2 walks). She is 0-2, but has received a combined one run of support from her offense over those two starts.
• Lewa Day, a 2022 second team all-Pacific Region selection, is just five RBIs shy of becoming the fifth player in program history to reach 100 career RBIs. Her home run against Utah Valley gave her 37 career homers, seven shy of the school record of 44, set by Suzy Brookshire (2017-19).
• The Hornets finished last year with a 30-25 overall record, 12-6 in the Big Sky Conference, and 15-6 at home. Sacramento State placed second in the league standings, and lost in the Big Sky Tournament championship game to Weber State.
• The Hornets were co-favorites (along with Weber State) in the Big Sky preseason coaches poll.
• The Hornets have an experienced roster that returns 18 players, eight positional starters and four pitchers. The Hornets welcome seven newcomers to the program.
• Sacramento State's roster features seven returning all-conference players, and three returning all-region players. That includes third team all-Pacific Region selection Marissa Bertuccio. Lewa Day was a second team all-region choice, and Lexie Webb third team all-region selection.