• After concluding a nine-game stretch away from home, Sacramento State (7-5) is finally back at Shea Stadium this week when it hosts the Capital Classic from Thursday-Sunday.
• The Capital Classic, which is being co-hosted with UC Davis, will feature six teams playing games over four days at Shea Stadium. Sacramento State will host games Thursday-Sunday, while UC Davis will host games Friday-Sunday.
• The Hornets are hosting the Capital Classic for the 26th time. The tournament began in 1993, and has been played every season except 2011, 2014, 2016-18, and 2022.
• Unfortunately, there is rain in the forecast on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. In an effort to get as many games in as possible before the rains arrive in the Sacramento area, Thursday's schedule has been altered from two games to three games.
• There will now be nine games played at Shea Stadium (three on Thursday, two on the other three days), and the Hornets will play in six of those contests.
• The schedule: Thursday: Sacramento State vs. BYU at 9 a.m.; BYU vs. UC Davis at 11:30 a.m.; Sacramento State vs. UC Davis at 2 p.m. Friday: Sacramento State vs. Santa Clara at noon; Santa Clara vs. UC Santa Barbara at 2:30 p.m. Saturday: Sacramento State vs. Utah State doubleheader at 11 a.m. Sunday: UC Santa Barbara vs. Utah State; Sacramento State vs. UC Santa Barbara.
• Records for each team playing at Shea Stadium entering the week are as follows: BYU (12-3), Sacramento State (7-5), UC Davis (6-4), Utah State (7-7), Santa Clara (7-8) and UC Santa Barbara (3-10).
• Four tournament games will be streamed on ESPN+ with play-by-play voice Will Schilling on the call. That includes all three games on Thursday, and the Sacramento State game on Friday. There will be no video streams on Saturday or Sunday due to scheduling conflicts.
• The Hornets are 7-5 despite a formidable schedule. In the last six games, Sacramento State has played four times against Big 10 Conference opponents, one game against Conference USA, and one vs. the Mountain West. The Hornets were 2-4 during that stretch.
• Sacramento State is 2-1 at home. All three of those games came during the season-opening NorCal Kickoff at Shea Stadium.
• The Hornets' all-time series records against this week's opponents: BYU (3-5), UC Davis (70-41), Santa Clara (86-27), Utah State (15-3) and UC Santa Barbara (19-23).
• After the conclusion of the Capital Classic, Sacramento State will jump right back on the road for 11 straight games away from home.
• The Hornets are currently batting .348 as a team, the 16th best mark in the nation. Four starters are hitting at least .400, comprised of
Malissa George (.500),
Alexis Parish (.457),
Lewa Day (.421) and
Haley Hanson (.400). A total of eight starters are hitting over .300.
• Sacramento State has committed just seven errors all season, and the .979 fielding percentage is 26th in the country. Four of those errors were committed in one game (at Fresno State). Take that game away, and the Hornets would have a .990 fielding percentage.
• Right-hander
Marissa Bertuccio, the Hornets' ace, has allowed one earned run or less in five of her six appearances. She is coming off an impressive performance against Michigan where she limited the Big 10 lineup to just five hits and one run over seven innings. That included six strikeouts and she allowed just two runners past second base. Bertuccio (2-1, 2.24 ERA) is the defending two-time Big Sky Conference Pitcher of the Year. She has 52 career wins and a 2.56 ERA.
• In 12 games (all starts in left field),
Alexis Parish has multiple hits in seven of those contests. That ranks as the most multi-hit games on the team, and she is now batting .457. She had her career-best seven-game hitting streak snapped on Saturday against Michigan.
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Haley Hanson has struck out just once in 40 at-bats.
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Lewa Day, the owner of a program record 50 career home runs, is currently 20th in the nation with an average of 1.50 RBIs per game. She has four homers and 18 RBIs in 12 games.
