PREVIEW
• Sacramento State (17-18, 3-3) jumps back into Big Sky Conference play when the Hornets host a three-game series Friday-Saturday vs. Northern Colorado (12-24, 3-3). The teams will play a doubleheader on Friday at noon, followed by a single game Saturday at noon.
• The Hornets are coming off a 3-2 home win over Fresno State on Tuesday in which they erased a 2-0 deficit with three sixth-inning runs. Last week, Sacramento State took two of three games at Portland State.
• Northern Colorado was swept in a three-game series at Idaho State, and was outscored, 34-15, in the series. The Bears opened league play with a three-game home sweep of Montana two weeks ago.
• Northern Colorado is the defending Big Sky regular season and tournament champions. The Bears were selected first in the Big Sky preseason coaches poll. The Hornets were selected fourth.
• With 14 new players on the roster (over 50 percent of the team), that fourth place prediction was the lowest for the Hornets since the Big Sky's first year of softball in 2013. In addition, of Sacramento State's 26 players, 16 are underclassmen - 10 of which are freshmen.
• Sacramento State has won four of its last five games. And during that five game stretch, four of those contests were decided by two runs or less.
• The Hornets are 8-10 at home this season, and have won the last two. That includes Tuesday's 3-2 win over Fresno State, and a 2-1 victory over Idaho State in the final game of that series.
• Northern Colorado has already played 29 games away from home, and is 2-12 on the road and 5-10 at neutral sites. The Bears have lost eight straight true road games with the last win on an opponent's home field coming in a 7-3 victory at Colorado State on March 1.
• Sacramento State is 30-10 all-time against the Bears, which includes a 14-3 record at home, and a 26-7 mark in Big Sky Conference play.
• The Hornets have won five straight series against Northern Colorado, and have not lost a three-game set to the Bears since 2018. However, Northern Colorado has defeated Sacramento State in the Big Sky Tournament each of the last two seasons (9-8 in 2024; 12-10 in 2023).
• Sacramento State has dealt with injuries to a pair of significant players, including shortstop Gwen Ludwig and pitcher/first baseman Caroline Evans, two of the team's four captains. The Hornets have played the last 10 games without Ludwig in the starting lineup while Evans' injury has been a tricky one that has kept her in, and out, of the lineup.
• When not in the lineup, Ludwig has been available to pinch run. She currently has 43 career stolen bases, and needs just one to set the program's all-time record. Ludwig's 43 stolen bases are tied with Haley Hanson, who played for the Hornets from 2020-24.
• Right fielder Andrea Lira saw her season-best 15-game hitting streak come to a close after going 0-for-2 with a walk vs. Fresno State. Lira is now the owner of two long hitting streaks, which included a 16-gamer that spanned parts of both the 2024 and 2025 seasons. The only Hornet to start all 35 games this year, Lira has hit safely in 29 of those 35 games.
• The Hornets currently rank second in the Big Sky in both batting average (.295) and ERA (4.14).
• Four Big Sky teams currently have between 36 and 45 home runs, including Idaho State (45), Sacramento State (39), Weber State (37) and Northern Colorado (36).
• Of those 39 Hornet homers, 28 have come from Andrea Lira (6), Madison Evers-Lyles (6), Nikki Barboza (6), Lafulafu Malepeai (5) and Katie Marsh (5).
• During the first three innings of games, the Hornets have outscored their opponent by 20 runs (92-72). However, the fourth inning has been a problem. During the fourth, Sacramento State has been outscored by a 40-16 margin. The fifth inning has been great to the Hornets as the team is outscoring the opposition, 48-32.
• Head coach Lori Perez is just five wins shy of 300 during her head coaching career.