Softball to play No. 16 Cal today

There’s no place like home.

Hoping to use the home-field advantage, the Hornets softball team will try to defeat the (USA Today/NFCA Division I) No. 16-ranked Cal Bears (32-14 overall, 7-9 in Pac-10 Conference) in a doubleheader today at noon.

The Hornets, who have an enviable 6-3 home record and a less-than-glowing 3-6 road record, are enthused about their chances now that they are back on their own turf.

“We are absolutely thrilled to be at home,” Strahan said.

Two of the road wins came last week against the Aggies of Utah State.

The Hornets started the two-day series with a 2-0 victory, but lost the second game that day 1-2.

“We collapsed in the bottom of the seventh,” Strahan said. “I brought (pitcher) Kelly Lovato in at the end to tighten it up but I realize that her strength really isn’t as a reliever but as a starter.”

The team was able to rally back on day two with some motivating words from one of its heavy hitters, shortstop Katie Cichy.

“I’m not taking the field after the fifth” Cichy told the girls at breakfast, referring to the fast-pitch softball rule which calls any game that is spread by eight points after the fifth inning.

The women responded to Cichy, scoring eight runs by the top of the third inning and holding the Aggies scoreless through the end of the fifth inning. Strahan noted that Cichy has stepped up to plate to lead the team this year and her personal motivations play a role along with her concern for the team.

“Cichy is on a mission,” Strahan said. “She’ll be signing a professional contract at the end of the season and wants to put her best foot forward to ensure a good outcome there.”

Strahan is clear on just what the team needs to do to garner the crucial wins.

“We can pitch like crazy and have outstanding defense but if we don’t have any runs we are at the whim of the other team,” Strahan said.

Strahan said she is looking for her big hitters to claim the power position on a consistent basis.

“We need a money player,” Strahan said. “We need someone who is going to get us runs when it’s critical. We’ve got the table setters, now we need the clean-up hitters to come through.”

With that in mind Strahan said she is keeping her team’s focus game by game and not concerning them with conference rankings or playoff hype.

“I don’t focus on the season standings or the post-season,” Strahan said. “We tried to use that as motivation in the beginning of the season and didn’t get the results we wanted.”

Even in the midst of the recent focus on Sac State athletics, Strahan said she isn’t feeling any pressure to advance to the playoffs.

“We only feel the pressure that we put on ourselves,” Strahan said. “We care about our image both personally and as representatives of the school, but we don’t allow external pressure to change our motivation.”

With less than two weeks before the NCAA regional playoff contenders are announced, the softball team knows its post-season destiny rests in its own hands. Currently tied for fifth in the Big West Conference and ranked 10th in the NCAA Pacific Region, Sac State’s chances of making a playoff bid are good.

Including today’s match-up and this weekend’s last home series against Cal Poly, there are only eight games that stand in the way of a post-season berth.

“Right now any one game can make the difference,” Strahan said. “I’m optimistic though. This team has been tested and has shown it can rise to the occasion.”