SACRAMENTO – Sacramento State’s potent offense combined for 29 runs and 31 hits over two games as the Hornets swept a Pacific Coast Softball Conference doubleheader from San Diego on May 4 at the USD Softball Complex. The Hornets mercy-ruled San Diego in both contests, winning the first game, 20-3, in five innings before taking the second game, 9-1, in six innings.

Sacramento State entered the final day of the regular season needing a sweep of San Diego, and one loss by Loyola Marymount in its doubleheader with Saint Mary’s. That’s exactly what the Hornets received.

After finishing second in the league standings each of the last three years, Sacramento State got over the hump, finishing the regular season with a 32-19 overall record, and a conference-best 14-6 mark in the PCSC.  Sacramento State will now receive the league’s automatic berth into the NCAA Regionals, a place the Hornets haven’t been since 1995. The team will make its third appearance in the NCAA’s postseason event (1993, 1995, 2008) since joining the Div. I ranks in 1990. Sacramento State will find out when, where and who it will play in the NCAA Regionals when selections are made on May 11 at 7 p.m. The selection show can be viewed live on ESPNU. Most likely, the team will be playing its first game on May 23.

Sacramento State, which has been a member of the Western Athletic Conference (1993-96), Big West Conference (1997-02) and the PCSC (2003-pres.), won its first conference title since joining the Div. I ranks.

Just weeks ago, Sacramento State, which has now won at least 30 games five times in the last six years, found itself in fourth place with a 6-6 conference record. The team needed to win its final eight games of the conference season to have a shot at the title, and that’s what the Hornets did, sweeping four-game series from both Santa Clara and San Diego.

The Hornets finish the regular season atop the conference standings, just one game ahead of both Loyola Marymount (13-7) and Portland State (13-7). Sacramento State will enter the NCAA postseason event as winners of eight straight and 13 of its last 18 games. The Hornets are 0-4 all-time at the NCAA Regionals, posting 0-2 records in both 1993 and 1995.

“I’m so proud of the team for staying focused and taking it one game at a time over the last couple weeks,” Sacramento State Head Coach Kathy Strahan said. “We’re excited to not only bring home a championship to Sacramento State, but also to the community. This has been a dream team to coach and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the ride, but our work is not done. We still have work to do at the NCAA Regionals.”

The title marks the seventh conference championship that the Sacramento State athletics department has earned this year. Sacramento State, which sponsors 20 intercollegiate sports, won a program-record eight conference crowns last year.

Sacramento State’s 20 runs in the first game obliterated the previous program single-game record of 16 runs, set in 2006 against Miami University.