SACRAMENTO -- Sacramento State's
Marissa Bertuccio threw her eighth complete game and
Lewa Day's 3-run homer led the Hornets to a 5-3 victory in the first game of Friday's doubleheader vs. Northern Colorado. The two teams split as the Bears won the nightcap by a 3-0 score.
Today marked the first Big Sky Conference games of the season for both teams. Sacramento State moved its record to 16-12 overall and 1-1 in league, while Northern Colorado is now 13-15 and 1-1.
Sacramento State posted its eighth comeback win of the season in the opener, as Day's 3-run homer erased a 3-1 deficit in the fourth inning. The round home run was the 41st of her remarkable career, just three shy of the program record. Day finished with four RBIs, which included a third-inning sacrifice fly.
The Hornets tacked on an insurance run in the sixth on an RBI-single from
Leandra Coronado scoring pinch runner
Haley Hanson. Coronado started her fifth and sixth consecutive games at shortstop, and has hit safely in each of those contests.
Bertuccio improved to 9-5 and lowered her ERA to 1.94 as all three Bears runs in the opener were unearned. The right-hander allowed just seven hits with two walks and nine strikeouts over seven innings. She threw 113 pitches, and set down the side in order in the final inning.
In all, eight different Hornets had at least one hit in today's doubleheader, including two from Day, Coronado,
Rylee Gresham and
Carley Morfey.
In the nightcap, Northern Colorado scored three times in the first inning, and that was all the run support Bears starter Isabelle DiNapoli would need. DiNapoli tossed a five-hit shutout (all five Hornet hits were singles) while walking one and striking out four.
Hornet starter
Caroline Evans (2-3) was effective, but took the loss after allowing nine hits and three runs with a career-high nine strikeouts. She worked her way out of a number of jams, stranding 13 Northern Colorado runners on base.
Sacramento State left four runners on base in the first three innings, but just one runner stranded during the final four frames.
The Hornets and Bears will play the rubber game of their three-game series tomorrow at noon at Shea Stadium.
