PREVIEW
• With just two weeks left in non-conference portion of the season, Sacramento State (12-11) is scheduled to play four games this week against former Pac-12 Conference teams.
• The Hornets open the week on Thursday at home vs. Cal (19-4) at 3 p.m. Originally, the two teams were scheduled to play Wednesday, but expected inclement weather in the Sacramento area pushed that game back one day.
• The Hornets then travel to Corvallis for a three-game series at Oregon State (11-12) over the weekend. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m, followed by a single game Sunday at 11 a.m. That series is in jeopardy as rain is expected in Corvallis all weekend.
• All four games will be streamed live on ESPN+.
• Cal, which is now a member of the ACC, has won 13 straight games and hasn't lost since Feb. 20. The Bears are receiving votes in both the NFCA and ESPN.com top 25 polls.
• Oregon State, which is playing a WCC schedule, has yet to play at home this season.
• The Hornets are 23-69 all-time against Cal. The Hornets and Bears routinely play once a season, and the two teams have split the last four meetings against each other. Cal, however, has won the last two meetings by a combined 13-0 score. Sacramento State won on the road in 2022 (W, 5-4) and at home in 2021 (W, 3-0).
• Sacramento State is 12-15 all-time against Oregon State, but the Beavers have won eight straight in the series. The last Hornet win the series came in a 2-1 home victory on March 1, 1998.
• The Hornets are coming off a week in which they went 1-3, three of which were mercy rules. That includes a 14-3 win at Saint Mary's, a pair of losses to 6th-ranked UCLA, and a 5-2 loss at San Diego State. This is likely the toughest two-week stretch of the season, as UCLA is nationally ranked, and Cal is receiving votes. San Diego State was receiving votes when it played the Hornets.
• Sacramento State's offense continues to be the catalyst. The team is hitting .311, and ranks 22nd in the nation in homers per game (1.35) and 23rd in home runs (31). The Hornets' slugging percentage of .547 ranks 31st in the country.
• Four Hornets already have at least five home runs, and the team's 31 homers are over halfway to the program record of 55, set in 2022. Freshman Madison Evers-Lyles has led the way with a .400 batting average and six homers in 35 at-bats. She is averaging one homer every 5.8 at-bats.
• Evers-Lyles was one of three Hornets (and two freshmen) to hit home runs in Friday night's 12-4  loss at UCLA. Also homering were freshman Shannon Garcia and junior Andrea Lira.
• Katie Marsh, Nikki Barboza and Lira each have five home runs. That's already a career high for all three players. Three other Hornets have multiple home runs this season.
• Of the Hornets 23 games this year, 10 have been decided in mercy rule fashion (games stopped prior to the seventh inning). The Hornets are 7-3 in those mercy rule outcomes.
• Sacramento State has just eight games before Big Sky Conference play begins on March 28-29 at home vs. Idaho State.
• The Hornets have a pair of current lengthy hitting steaks. That includes a nine-gamer for Evers-Lyles, and an eight-game streak from Garcia. Both players are freshmen. Lira had an eight-game streak to begin the season (and a 16-game streak counting the final eight games of last year).
• Center field appears to be the one starting defensive position that is unsettled for the Hornets. Four players have started at the position (Avery Brown, Faith Epperson, Addy Buckley and Lira). All other positions appear to be locked down - Marsh at C, Malissa George at 1B, Barboza at 2B, Garcia at SS, Evers-Lyles at 3B, Lafulafu Malepeai in LF, and Lira in RF.
• The Hornets have started five pitchers in the circle this year, comprised of Caroline Evans (9), Kennedie Magorian (8), Alexa Ortiz (3), Danyelle Leone (2) and Kyndal Williams (1).
• The fifth inning has been kind to the Hornets. The team has 43 runs in the fifth, 16 more than any other inning. The next closest is 27, scored in the first inning.