• Fresh off a season-opening 3-1 record at the NorCal Kickoff, Sacramento State will travel to Las Cruces, N.M., to take part in the Troy Cox Classic. New Mexico State is the host institution.
• The Hornets will play five times over three days, beginning with a doubleheader on Friday vs. North Dakota beginning at 9 am PT. On Saturday, the Hornets will play Nebraska at 11 am PT, followed by New Mexico State at 4 pm. PT. Sacramento State concludes the tourney against Nebraska on Sunday morning at 8 am PT.
• New Mexico State will enter the tournament with a 4-0 record, Nebraska is 2-2, and North Dakota is 1-4.
• Live stats will be available for every Hornet game at the tournament. However, there will be no video streams. All multimedia links can be found on the softball schedule at hornetsports.com
• Nebraska had been ranked in both the preseason NFCA and ESPN.com top 25 polls, but fell out of the top 25 in the latest rankings.
• Sacramento State's all-time records vs. each opponent this week - North Dakota (14-3), Nebraska (8-3) and New Mexico State (6-15).
• Sunday's win at UC Davis began a stretch that will see the Hornets play 11 straight games away from home. In fact, the Hornets do not play at home again until Feb. 29.
• The Hornets could just as easily be 4-0 right now. The team's one loss came in a 1-0 defeat to Cal Poly in which Sacramento State had 10 hits, but could not push a run across.
• The Hornets are batting .356 as a team with seven extra base hits and a .402 on-base percentage. Six starters are currently hitting better than .330.
• The pitching staff has a 1.35 ERA, and opponents are hitting .214. Leading the way is Caroline Evans who went 2-0 with a 0.58 ERA and .103 opponents batting average last week. For her efforts, she was named the Big Sky Pitcher of the Week on Monday.
• In 116 total chances in the field, the Hornets have committed just one error. Though a small sample size, that .991 fielding percentage is the 16th best mark in the nation.
• Senior third baseman Lewa Day, one of the top players in program history, is off to a huge start. Last week, she went 6-for-11 (.545) with two doubles, triple, two home runs, eight RBIs and a .615 on-base percentage. She increased her program record total to 48 career homers.
• Right-hander Marissa Bertuccio, the two-time defending Big Sky Pitcher of the Year, got off to a nice start. She threw a complete game vs. Cal Poly, allowing just one run and seven hits.
• Day and newcomer Andrea Lira both hit safely in all four games last week, while Gwen Ludwig and Haley Hanson will carry three-game hitting streaks into this week's games.
• Hanson has six hits in her last seven bats, collecting three knocks vs. both Middle Tennessee and UC Davis. It was Hanson's walkoff RBI-single that delivered the Hornets' 5-4 win over Middle Tennessee. She is hitting .636, the 27th best mark in the country. Her 26 career stolen bases rank sixth in Sacramento State's Div. I era (1990-pres.).
• Sacramento State finished last season with a 27-20 overall record and 10-5 mark in the Big Sky Conference. The Hornets were Big Sky co-regular season champions, sharing the title with Idaho State.
• Since Lori Perez became head coach in 2014, the Hornets are 105-62 in Big Sky play.
• The Hornets were selected third in the Big Sky preseason coaches poll. Sacramento State, which had a first place vote, was selected behind Idaho State and Northern Colorado. It was Northern Colorado that won last year's Big Sky Tournament crown.
• The Hornets boast an experienced roster that returns seven positional starters and three pitchers. The list of returners include three first team all-league selections (pitcher Marissa Bertuccio, third baseman Lewa Day, pitcher/first baseman Caroline Evans), as well as a pair of second teamers (middle infielder Gwen Ludwig, outfielder Jada Walker).
• For the seventh straight season, Perez is joined in the dugout by associate head coaches Vicky Rios and Danielle Kaminaka.