Sacramento State Claims 2018 #BigSkySB Championship
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OGDEN, Utah (May 12, 2018) – Following a week filled with more than 12 hours of weather delays, top seed Sacramento State captured its first Big Sky Conference Softball Championship and earned an NCAA Tournament automatic berth after claiming a 3-0 victory over No. 6 Northern Colorado on Saturday at Weber State's Wildcat Softball Field.
After beginning the 2018 championship with four games on Thursday, Mother Nature reigned supreme over the remainder of the tournament as the championship schedule was limited to just two games Friday and Saturday's eventual championship game.
Inclement weather forced the championship to fall behind schedule to a point where the scheduled 11 games could not be completed prior to the NCAA’s Sunday evening deadline to submit an automatic qualifier. The Big Sky Conference also implemented a rule this past year prohibiting teams from playing more than two games in a day. With Sacramento State’s win Saturday, no remaining team in the field would have been able to play enough games Sunday to claim a tournament title.
Sacramento State and Northern Colorado both advanced to the winner’s bracket Thursday after the Hornets took down No. 5 Montana and the Bears upset No. 2 Weber State and No. 3 North Dakota.
After a scoreless three innings, the Hornets went in front in the top of the fourth thanks to a leadoff solo home run over the left center field wall from Suzy Brookshire, the Big Sky regular season and tournament MVP.
Sacramento State (31-18) struck again in the fifth when Zamari Hinton delivered a two-out RBI single to left field for a 2-0 Hornets lead. The Hornets closed out their scoring in the sixth following an RBI double by Mo Spieth to right center field to plate Brookshire who led off the frame with a walk.
In the circle, the Big Sky Pitcher of the Year Celina Matthias fanned six batters while allowing four hits and three walks to collect her 20th win of the season.
Sophia Taylor paced the Bears (28-26) with two hits on the afternoon while Valerie Vidal suffered the loss after recording six strikeouts and allowing four hits and three walks.
Sacramento State awaits its destination and opponent for the NCAA Tournament as the NCAA Selection Show will air Sunday at 8 p.m. MT on ESPN2.
2018 Big Sky Softball All-Tournament Team
Suzy Brookshire, Sacramento State (MVP)
Rae Gall, Weber State
Delene Colburn, Montana
Valerie Vidal, Northern Colorado
Celina Matthias, Sacramento State
Madi Schmidt, Northern Colorado
Kaley Garcia, Northern Colorado
Marissa Bruno, Portland State
Sydnee Strong, Sacramento State
Marissa Maligad, Sacramento State
Kaylin VanDomelen, North Dakota