SACRAMENTO -- For the seventh time in the last nine weeks, Sacramento State right-hander
Marissa Bertuccio has been named the Big Sky Conference Pitcher of the Week after yet another dominant performance in the circle.
Bertuccio played a big role in the Hornets' three-game road sweep of Portland State, as she finished the series 1-0 with a save and a perfect 0.00 ERA. In seven innings, she allowed just three hits with no walks and six strikeouts. PSU hitters batted just .125 against Bertuccio, who threw a five-inning no-hitter in Friday's 9-0 victory.
• Bertuccio's seven pitcher of the week awards are an ongoing Big Sky single-season record
• She has won the award seven times over a nine-week span (2/27, 3/6, 3/13, 3/20, 4/3, 4/17, 4/24)
• Bertuccio now has 17 career Big Sky Pitcher of the Week accolades, an ongoing Big Sky record
• A Hornet pitcher has won the award nine straight weeks, also a Big Sky record (Bertuccio 7x,
Caroline Evans 1x,
Savannah Wahl 1x)
• Against Big Sky competition this year, Bertuccio is 6-0 with two saves and a 0.33 ERA
Friday's no-hitter lasted just five innings as Sacramento State run ruled PSU. In that outing, she faced only one batter over the minimum with her lone blemish a hit batter in the second inning. She threw just 66 pitches, and 44 of those were strikes. Coupled with her no-hitter last season against Southern Utah, Bertuccio became the eighth Hornet to throw multiple no-hitters during the program's Div. I era (1990-pres.).
She came back on Saturday to record a two-inning save in the Hornets' 5-1 victory. In that outing, she allowed no runs with no walks and a pair of strikeouts.
Sacramento State (26-14, 10-2) has a magic number of one to clinch the Big Sky's regular season title. The Hornets host Idaho State for a three-game series this weekend, and need to win just one of those games to clinch the championship and No. 1 seed at the Big Sky Tournament (May 10-13) in Ogden, Utah. A regular season title would also mean Sacramento State will host next year's Big Sky Tourney.
