Next Game:
vs. Harvard
2/14/2026 | 10:30 am
Feb. 14 (Sat) / 10:30 am
vs. Harvard
PHOENIX — With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, and two runners on base, Saskia Raab’s double to the left-center field gap delivered Sacramento State a 5-4 walkoff win over South Dakota on Saturday morning.
Trailing by a run in the seventh with two outs and no one on base, Lafulafu Malepeai and Madi Mendoza drew back-to-back walks. After a wild pitch advanced Mendoza and pinch runner Faith Epperson to second and third base, respectively, that set the stage for Raab. The sophomore transfer from Nevada drove a 2-1 pitch to the left field gap, scoring both runners and setting off a celebration.
Sacramento State, which had a runner at second base in every inning, overcame a 3-0 deficit in the first inning. The Hornets improved to 6-2 overall, and 2-1 at the GCU Invite, a three-day tournament hosted by Grand Canyon.
After the Coyotes scored three times in the top of the first, Katie Marsh helped start the comeback with a two-out, two-run homer in the bottom half of the inning. The home run was Marsh’s second of the season, and four of the Hornets’ five runs in today’s game came with two outs.
The Hornets tied the score at 3-3 in the second inning when Malissa George clubbed her first home run of the season – a shot to left field. South Dakota reclaimed the lead at 4-3 in the fourth inning, and the Hornets had plenty of chances to tie, but could not get over the hump until Raab’s heroics in the seventh.
Both teams had 10 hits, and combined to strand 12 runners on base. The Hornets used three pitchers, and Keeli Smith got the win in relief, throwing shutout innings in the sixth and seventh. Danyelle Leone entered the game in the first inning, and kept the Hornets close, allowing just a run and five hits with a pair of strikeouts in 4.2 innings.
Raab, who is the Hornets’ No. 3 hitter, finished 3-for-4 with a run, two doubles and two RBIs. Marsh and Madison Evers-Lyles both had a pair of hits, and Mendoza, George and Ava Medellin each had a hit. Malepeai drew a pair of walks.
Sacramento State will play Harvard later this morning, as the Hornets attempt to start a season 7-2. That would be the team’s best nine-game start since the 1995 team began the year 8-1.