• Sacramento State (8-5) embarks upon one of its busiest weeks of the season. The Hornets will compete five straight days (Wed.-Sun.), and over that span, play a total of six games. Five of those games will be at home (Wed.-Sat.).
• Of those five home games, three will carry a video stream. That includes the Hornets' games on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. There will be no video stream on Saturday due to a scheduling conflict, and there will be no stream on Sunday when the Hornets play at UC Davis.
• Up first is a game against its Causeway rival UC Davis (5-9) on Wednesday at 2 p.m. The Hornets are 70-41 all-time against the Aggies. Sacramento State will take on UC Davis twice this week.
• The Hornets' second game will be Thursday against BYU (9-4) at 2 p.m. Sacramento State is 4-5 all-time against the Cougars, including a 4-3 Hornet win last season at Shea Stadium on Feb. 29.
• Friday begins the three-day Capital Classic, which the Hornets co-host with UC Davis. Sacramento State is hosting three games on both Friday and Saturday, while the Aggies are hosting three games on Sunday as part of tournament play.
• On Friday, the schedule is as follows: 9:30 a.m. - UC Riverside vs. Santa Clara. Noon - Nevada vs. Santa Clara. 2:30 p.m. - Hornets vs. Nevada. That marks the first of two straight days the Hornets will play Nevada (11-4), which includes a Saturday matchup at 2:30 p.m.
• The Hornets are 46-42 all-time vs. the Wolf Pack, but Nevada swept a doubleheader last season in Reno. Current Hornet assistant coach
Marina Demore led the Wolf Pack to a 40-17 overall record last season as the interim head coach.
• On Saturday, the Hornets will host three more games: 9:30 a.m. - Santa Clara vs. UC Davis; Noon - Hornets vs. Santa Clara (7-3). 2:30 p.m. - Hornets vs. Nevada.
• On Saturday, free inflatable bats will be given to the first 100 kids, and there will be a postgame autograph session with Hornet players on free team posters after the second game.
• Sacramento State is 86-28 all-time vs. Santa Clara, but fell to the Broncos last season in eight innings, 7-5.
• The Hornets' four opponents enter the week with a combined 32-20 record.
• Sacramento State completed a season-long nine-game road trip over the weekend by taking two of three games at Cal Poly. The Hornets outscored the Mustangs, 20-1, during Saturday's doubleheader sweep.
• On Monday, junior right-hander
Kennedie Magorian was named the Big Sky Pitcher of the Week after finishing the week 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA, including a three-hit shutout of Cal Poly.
• Through three weeks, a Hornet pitcher has received the Big Sky weekly honor twice, as
Caroline Evans was named Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 10.
• Spearheaded by Evans and Magorian, the Hornets' team ERA of 3.50 is the best mark in the conference. The staff has allowed just two home runs all season while accumulating 72 strikeouts and a .270 opponents batting average over 80.0 innings.
• During the three-game series at Cal Poly, the Hornets committed just one error, good for a .988 fielding percentage.
• Sacramento State is hitting .303 as a team, and six starters are hitting better than .320. That includes
Katie Marsh (.486),
Lafulafu Malepeai (.370),
Andrea Lira (.357),
Caroline Evans (.333),
Nikki Barboza (.324) and
Gwen Ludwig (.324). Marsh is 17th in the nation with a 1.057 slugging%.
• Each of the first 69 starts of Marsh's career came at either catcher or designated player, until starting all three games in right field at Cal Poly.
• Five Hornets have posted hitting streaks of at least four games long this season - Lira (8), Marsh (5), Malepeai (4),
Jazzy Fines (4) and
Shannon Garcia (4).
• Of the Hornets' 13 games, only seven have been a seven-inning regular season game. Five have been five-inning mercy rules, and one went to extra innings (8).
