PREVIEW
• After 31 non-league games, Sacramento State (19-12) will open Big Sky Conference play this week on the road at Northern Colorado (15-17). The teams will play a three-game series, with a Friday doubleheader at 1 p.m. PT, followed by a Saturday game at 11 a.m. PT.
• The Bears and Hornets were selected second and third, respectively, in the Big Sky preseason coaches poll. Northern Colorado is the defending Big Sky Tournament champions.
• The Hornets are seven games above the .500 mark (19-12) despite five of the team's last nine games coming against Power Five schools. Three of those opponents were nationally ranked.
• Sacramento State has a 7-3 record when playing on an opponent's home field. That includes a 3-2 win at ninth-ranked Stanford on March 13.
• The Hornets are 28-8 all-time vs. Northern Colorado. Since the Big Sky began sponsoring softball in 2013, Sacramento State has dropped just one three-game series against Northern Colorado (Bears took two of three in 2018). Every other series, the Hornets have won. The two teams did not play in 2020 because of the pandemic.
• All three games of the series, and every Big Sky Conference game this season, will stream on ESPN+. Of the Hornets' final 17 games of the regular season, 15 will stream on ESPN+.
• Entering Big Sky play, among the six teams in the league, only two (Sacramento State, Idaho State at 18-17) currently sit with an overall record above the .500 mark.
• The Hornets are a combined 105-62 in Big Sky Conference play during Lori Perez's head coaching tenure. That includes conference championships in 2018 and 2023. Last year, the Hornets shared the Big Sky regular season title with Idaho State.
• Sacramento State will play its first two Big Sky series on the road (April 5-6 at Idaho State). The Bengals were selected to finish first in the Big Sky preseason coaches poll.
• Sacramento State's current winning percentage of .613 is the team's best entering Big Sky play since the 2018 team entered league with a .636 winning percentage (14-8).
• Sacramento State leads the Big Sky Conference in batting average (.294), fielding percentage (.970) and ERA (2.91). The fielding percentage is 55th in the nation among 294 Div. I teams.
• The Hornets have already defeated three Power Five schools this year in Michigan (Big 10), BYU (Big 12) and Stanford (Pac-12). That is the most Power Five wins since the 2008 season.
• Left fielder Alexis Parish is hitting .400, and is attempting to become just the fifth Hornet at the Div. I level (1990-pres.) to hit .400 in a season. And first since Sasha Margulies in 2015.
• The pitching staff has a 2.6 strikeout-to-walk ratio, the 39th best mark in the country. Hornet pitchers have struck out 160 batters compared to just 61 walks.
• The Hornets' 12 homers have come from two players - 9 from Lewa Day, 3 from Malissa George.
• During this season, Lewa Day became the first Hornet with 50 career homer runs, and the program's all-time leader in runs scored (141) and RBIs (164). In addition, she is currently the program's all-time leader in slugging percentage (.702).
• Shortstop Gwen Ludwig has four straight multiple-hit games. Over that span, she is batting .818 (9-for-11) with two walks, a double, four stolen bases and an .846 on-base percentage. She has reached base via hit or walk in each of her last seven plate appearances.
• Right fielder Haley Hanson is 16-for-17 in stolen base opportunities, and is currently tied with Nene Alas (2016) for most by a Hornet in the single-season Div. I era. In addition, her 39 career stolen bases are one shy of the Div. I era record of 40, held by Hilary Johnson (2005-08).
• Marissa Bertuccio (9-5, 1.92 ERA, .234 OBA) has 11 complete games in 12 starts, and leads the Big Sky in a number of categories, including ERA, wins, complete games, saves (2) and innings (91.0). She was named the Big Sky Pitcher of the Year each of the last two seasons.
• While Bertuccio is the staff ace, the Hornets have also received very nice seasons from Caroline Evans (4-3, 3.21 ERA, .251 opp avg) and Savannah Wahl (4-4, 3.62 ERA, 39 K in 50.1 IP).
• The Hornets have not lost more than two straight games all season.