PREVIEW
• Sacramento State (26-14, 10-2) will embark upon its final Big Sky Conference series of the season with a chance to win the league's regular season championship.
• The Hornets will host Idaho State (13-23, 5-4) for a three-game series this weekend. The Hornets and Bengals will play a doubleheader Saturday at noon, followed by a Sunday game at noon.
• Prior to Sunday's game, Sacramento State seniors Rylee Gresham, Carley Morfey, Nevaeh Pinon and Amber Rodriguez will be honored for their contributions to the program.
• The Hornets sit all alone in first place in the Big Sky standings, 3.5 games ahead of second place Idaho State. Sacramento State needs to win just one game this weekend over ISU to clinch the Big Sky regular season title, and No. 1 seed at the Big Sky Tourney in Ogden, Utah, on May 10-13.
• A regular season crown would also allow the Hornets to host next year's Big Sky Tournament.
• Sacramento State is seeking its first Big Sky regular season title in five years (2018), and second since the conference began sponsoring softball in 2013.
• The Big Sky is a six-member softball league, and the Hornets have won all four series they have played thus far against a conference opponent. That includes an impressive three-game road sweep of Portland State last week. PSU entered the series as the Big Sky's second place squad.
• With two wins this weekend, Sacramento State would register its best conference winning percentage since joining the league in 2013. The Hornets' top Big Sky winning percentage is .750, set by the 2014 team with a 12-4 conference record.
• All three games this weekend will stream on ESPN+ with play-by-play announcer Will Schilling calling all the action.
• Idaho State has been a thorn in the Hornets' side over the years, as Sacramento State is just 13-26 all-time against the Bengals. The Hornets did take two of three last season in Pocatello.
• Sacramento State is 4-10 at home against Idaho State, and has never won a three-game series vs. the Bengals at Shea Stadium in four tries.
• The Hornets' pitching staff has been lights out in Big Sky play. The staff of Marissa Bertuccio, Caroline Evans and Savannah Wahl has combined to go 10-2 with a 0.94 ERA and a .221 opponent batting average. In fact, the staff has not allowed a conference opponent more than three runs in any game this year.
• In addition, a Sacramento State pitcher has earned Big Sky Pitcher of the Week accolades nine straight weeks (Bertuccio 7x, Evans 1x, Wahl 1x).
• Speaking of Bertuccio, she is well on her way to a second straight Big Sky Pitcher of the Year award. The right-hander has been nearly unhitable in conference play, sporting a 6-0 record with two saves, a 0.33 ERA and .189 opponent average. Overall, she is 14-6 with a 1.52 ERA.
• Bertuccio has won a conference record seven Big Player of the Week awards this season, and her 17 career awards are also a conference record. Amazingly, Bertuccio, who threw a five-inning no-hitter on Friday at Portland State, hasn't allowed a Big Sky opponent more than one earned run in any of her eight appearances in league play.
• Lewa Day blasted her 44th career home run on Friday at Portland State, tying her with Suzy Brookshire for the most homers in program history. She is one away from taking over sole possession of first place in the Hornet record book, and moving into third place in Big Sky history.
• Jada Walker currently has a six-game hitting streak, and Gwen Ludwig has a five gamer.
• As a team, the Hornets are batting .296, and five regulars are hitting better than .320 - Gwen Ludwig (.350), Carley Morfey (.331), Jada Walker (.330), Lewa Day (.325) and Katie Marsh (.322).
• Sacramento State is 105-59 in league play during head coach Lori Perez's tenure. That included a second place finish a year ago and an appearance in the Big Sky championship game. Perez is the second winningest coach in Big Sky history, behind Weber State's Mary Kay Amicone.
• With four more wins, the Hornets would secure 30 victories for the second straight season, and fourth time in the last six years.