• Off to its best start since 2005, Sacramento State (6-3) will play three games away from home this week. Originally the team was supposed to play five games.
• The Hornets open the week with a game at Fresno State (6-4) on Wednesday. First pitch is 3 p.m.
• Sacramento State will then head to UC Santa Barbara for a tournament the Gauchos are hosting Thursday-Saturday. The Hornets were supposed to play a doubleheader against UCSB (3-7) on Thursday, and single games on Friday and Saturday vs. Michigan (6-3).
• However, Santa Barbara received plenty of rain over the weekend and early this week. That combined with poor drainage at their field has led the Gauchos to already cancel Thursday's doubleheader out of fear of an unplayable field.
• Sacramento State will still play Michigan in Santa Barbara on Friday at 2 p.m., and Saturday at 9 a.m. The Hornets are hoping another game will be scheduled for them in Santa Barbara.
• Wednesday's game at Fresno State will be video streamed, while both games vs. Michigan will have live stats. All multimedia links can be found on the softball schedule at hornetsports.com.
• The Hornets are off to their best start since the 2005 squad was also 6-3.
• Of Sacramento State's three losses, two were against Nebraska (currently receiving votes in the top 25 polls), and the other came by a single run (1-0) to Cal Poly in the season opener.
• The Hornets rank seventh in the nation in fielding percentage (.988), 13th in batting average (.376) and 39th in runs scored per game (6.4).
• Amazingly, Sacramento State has committed just three errors in 243 chances.
• The Hornets are 12-41 all-time against Fresno State, and 4-3 vs. Michigan. Sacramento State has not played Michigan since the 2001 season.
• On Monday, senior third baseman Lewa Day was named the Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week. Day, one of the most prolific players in program history, currently ranks among the top 15 players in the nation in RBIs (4th with 17), total bases (5th with 33), home runs (11th with four), and slugging percentage (11th at 1.179). She is also batting .594 this year, and became the first player to hit 50 career homers with her round tripper last week vs. North Dakota. Oh yeah, she also tied the program single-game record with four hits last week at New Mexico State.
• Freshman Malissa George has began her collegiate career in incredible fashion. The second baseman is batting .778 (7-for-9) with an .833 on-base percentage, two doubles, a homer and eight RBIs in four games. She has been retired twice in her first 12 collegiate plate appearances.
• Nine Hornet starters are batting better than .320, including George (.778), Day (.536), Haley Hanson (.452), Alexis Parish (.444), Andrea Lira (.379), Samantha Parish (.364), Kennedy Echols (.348), Caroline Evans (.333) and Gwen Ludwig (.323).
• Day (8) and Ludwig (7) both had their lengthy hitting streaks snapped on Sunday vs. Nebraska.
• Alexis Parish (5) and George (4) will both carry hitting streaks into Wednesday's game.
• Not only did Day match a program single-game record with four hits at New Mexico State, Caroline Evans also had four hits in the game. That was a 20-10 Hornet victory, as the 20 runs tied a school record, and the 25 hits easily set the new program record.
• In the circle, the Hornets' Caroline Evans, Marissa Bertuccio and Savannah Wahl have each started three games, while Keeli Smith has made three relief appearances. All four pitchers have registered at least one victory. Bertuccio is the reigning two-time Big Sky Pitcher of the Year.
• 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.
• 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. It will be a busy Senior Day ceremony as the Hornets boast 10 seniors on the roster.