GREELEY, Colo. --
Marissa Bertuccio threw a two-hit shutout in the opener, and
Malissa George crushed a pinch-hit grand slam in the 6th inning of the nightcap to lead Sacramento State to a doubleheader sweep at Northern Colorado on Friday afternoon.
The Hornets won the first game, 1-0, and overcame a 4-1 deficit with five runs in the sixth inning of a 6-4 nightcap victory. The two teams braved a one hour and nine minute rain delay in between games one and two.
Today's doubleheader was the Big Sky Conference opening games for both teams and they close the three-game series tomorrow with a single game at 11 a.m. PT. Northern Colorado, the reigning Big Sky Tournament champions, was selected to finish second in the Big Sky preseason coaches poll while the Hornets were picked third.
The victories improved the Hornets' record to 21-12 overall and 2-0 in the Big Sky. Northern Colorado dropped to 15-19 overall and 0-2 in league play.
Alexis Parish posted multiple-hit games in both contests, finishing the day 5-for-7, and is now batting .423 this season.
Haley Hanson hit safely in both games, and extended her hitting streak to a career-high eight games.
Bertuccio was lights out in the opener as she was locked in a pitchers duel with Northern Colorado's Erin Caviness. In a matchup of perhaps the Big Sky's top two pitchers, neither hurler disappointed. The two combined for 20 strikeouts, as Bertuccio struck out a season-high 11 batters while allowing just two singles over seven innings. The reigning two-time Big Sky Pitcher of the Year is now 10-5 with a 1.79 ERA this season.
Caviness (8-6) was the tough luck losing pitcher, allowing eight hits and one run over seven innings. The two teams were scoreless through four innings before the Hornets finally broke through in the fifth. A one-out
Caroline Evans double (
Avery Brown came in to pinch run) was eventually followed by a two-out, RBI-triple from
Kennedy Echols to provide the game's lone run.
Northern Colorado failed to advance a runner past second base against Bertuccio, as the right-hander needed just 109 pitches to register her 12th complete game of the season in 13 starts. Sacramento State outhit the Bears, 8-2.
In the nightcap, Sacramento State overcame a 4-1 deficit with a dramatic five-run sixth inning that included perhaps the Hornets' biggest hit of the season. That hit came off the bat of a true freshman, George, who cranked a pinch-hit grand slam over the left-center field wall scoring Echols and the Parish sisters.
Samantha Parish drove home the first run of the inning with a one-out RBI-single scoring
Andrea Lira.
Northern Colorado scored four times in the third inning, but was otherwise held scoreless in each of the other six innings by starter
Caroline Evans. In fact, the Bears took a 4-0 lead before the Hornets scored once in the fourth (
Samantha Parish RBI-single) followed by the five-run sixth. Evans (5-3) allowed just two hits over the final four innings, wrapping up her third complete game of the season with six strikeouts.
The Parish sisters combined to go 5-for-6 with two runs and two RBIs. Alexis had three hits and Samantha had a pair of knocks.
The two teams will conclude the three-game series tomorrow with a single game at 11 a.m. PT.
