Sacramento State drops its fourth-straight while the Dons climb back to .500 at 3-3. The teams will finish their three-game weekend series on Sunday at Hornet Field, with the first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.

San Francisco built a 7-0 lead over the first six innings, with the Dons’ starting pitcher Ryan Muller holding the Hornets scoreless on two hits over the first six innings.

But senior Pat Keiper, who started at third base on Saturday, led off the seventh inning with a home run to right center. It was the Los Angeles, native''s first career blast and it marked the fourth consecutive game the Hornets have recorded a home run, all solo shots.

Senior Brian Blauser, who went 2-for-4 on the day, then singled to right field and advanced to second when senior Buddy Morales flied out to center field. Junior right fielder Montana Dye singled to left, advancing Blauser to third and with two outs and runners on first and third, Muller walked senior left fielder Brain Conradi to load the bases. Senior Everet Rincon then singled to right field, scoring Blauser and sophomore designated hitter Taylor Watanabe – in his first start of the season – singled, scoring Dye.

Watanabe, an Aiea, Hawaii native, was 3-for-5 on the day with an RBI and is leading the team with a .600 average and .714 on base percentage.

With the bases loaded, junior second baseman Gary Johnson then belted a shot deep to the right center gap in a play that looked as if it would clear the bases. Johnson’s third double of the season scored Rincon and Conradi, but Watanabe was tagged out along the third base line.

With the Dons’ lead cut to 7-5, San Francisco answered the call offensively, scoring three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning.

With two outs, George Lujan was walked by Sacramento State right-hander Mitch Lively and then stole second base. Eric Walterhouse was also walked . Left-hander John Schlager replaced Lively on the mound with runners at first and second, when Scott Cousins singled to load the bases. San Francisco right fielder Stefan Gartrell then doubled deep to right center to clear the bases and give the Dons’ their final 10-5 advantage.

Gartrell was 1-for-4 on the day with four RBIs. Cousins went 2-for-3, scoring two runs, while San Francisco’s Lucas Delong produced the biggest day, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs, two runs scored and a home run. He also was solid defensively in center field, making critical outs during the game.

For the Hornets, Dye finished the day 2-for-4, and is now hitting .357 on the season. Johnson went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, recording his third multiple hit game of the year. The transfer from Sierra Junior College also has two doubles and is hitting .375 at the plate.

Sacramento State’s Matt Campbell (0-2) took the loss after pitching 4.1 innings and allowing six runs on eight hits. Lively, in his second appearance of the year went 2.0 innings allowing two runs on one hit while recording a career-high four strikeouts.

Muller (1-1) earned the win after allowing five runs on eight hits, while striking out five. John Quine earned his first save of the year, holding the Hornets scoreless on four hits during the final two innings.