LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Highlighted by a Marissa Bertuccio six-hit shutout of Purdue, Sacramento State split a pair of games on Sunday afternoon at LBSU Softball Complex.

Sacramento State was supposed to play five games over three days in Southern California, but the Hornets' first three games on Friday and Saturday were canceled because of rain. The team was able to play twice today, beating Purdue, 6-0, and falling to Columbia, 5-1.

Despite the loss to Columbia, Sacramento State has won nine of its last 12 games while improving to 12-9 this season. Purdue had been 11-7 prior to its loss to the Hornets.

Gwen Ludwig and Carley Morfey had hits in both games today, and extended their hitting streaks to nine and eight games, respectively.

The highlight was Bertuccio, who dominated a Purdue team from the Big 10 Conference. The senior right-hander went the distance, allowing just six hits and one walk over seven innings while throwing 87 pitches. Bertuccio (7-3) has now won seven consecutive decisions while her ERA dropped to 1.86.

The Hornets took a 1-0 lead into the fifth inning against Purdue, but broke things open with three runs in the fifth, and two more in the sixth. Four different Hornets had RBIs during those two innings, including an RBI-single from Lewa Day, two-run single from Morfey, RBI-single from Alicia Crewse, and RBI-double from Samantha Parish.

Morfey (2-for-3 with three RBIs) and Katie Marsh (2-for-3 with two runs) had multiple-hits games for the Hornets who outhit Purdue, 9-6.

In the 5-1 loss to Columbia, the story of the game was missed opportunities. Sacramento State stranded 10 runners on base between the third and sixth innings. That included leaving the bases loaded in third and fourth, and two runners aboard in the fifth and sixth. In fact, the Hornets finished the game 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

Caroline Evans threw well for the Hornets in the circle, but a pair of Sacramento State errors led to five unearned runs for Columbia. Evans retired the first nine batters of the game in succession.

Seven different Hornets had hits in the game, and Sacramento State scored its lone run in the third inning on a bases loaded walk to Day. The Hornets held a 1-0 lead through three innings, but Columbia scored three times in the fourth, and two more in the sixth.

Sacramento State is back in action when it hosts a doubleheader with Maine on Wednesday, beginning at 1 p.m. After those games, the Hornets do not play again until hosting Fresno State on March 21.