The win gave the Hornets a 2-1 series record against the Bears and also improves Sacramento State to 9-12 on the year, while Northern Colorado falls to 5-12.

For Joyce, it is his second consecutive complete game, after pitching all nine innings in a 4-2 win over UC Irvine on March 5. The Temecula, Calif., native remains undefeated with a 4-0 record and an 1.76 ERA. After recording a career-high eight strikeouts in the victory, Joyce now leads the staff with 27 this season. In his first year as a full-time starter, Joyce surrendered just four hits and walked three batters in his outing.

Offensively, Sacramento State tallied 10 hits, led by junior second baseman Gary Johnson and senior left fielder Brian Conradi. Johnson finished the day 3-for-4, while Conradi was 3-for-3 from the plate with a double and two-run homer. Senior third baseman Pat Keiper, was 2-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and one run scored.

The Hornets got on the scoreboard early with three runs in the bottom of the third. Conradi led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from senior shortstop Everet Rincon. Northern Colorado starter Matt Collins then surrendered a single to Johnson and struck senior Jim Strombach to load the bases. Keiper produced an RBI-single up the middle to score Conradi and Johnson, while Strombach recorded the third run with a sacrifice fly to left field from Kyle Atrat.

After taking a 3-0 lead, Joyce commanded the mound through the next six innings, allowing just one hit and striking out six.

The Hornets tallied two additional runs in the fourth inning when Conradi sent a deep shot over the center field wall, scoring senior Buddy Morales, who was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. For Conradi, a Bakersfield, Calif., native, it was his first homer of the season and third of his career.

In the eighth, Keiper led off the inning with his eighth double of the season and scored Sacramento State’s final run on a RBI-single from junior Devin Spurling.

Collins (1-2) took the loss for Northern Colorado after pitching 3.0 innings and surrendering three runs on five hits.

Sacramento State, now on a two-game winning streak, will host San Francisco at 2 p.m. on Tuesday at Hornet Filed. The Hornets will finish their homestand with a four-game series against Utah Valley State, beginning at 2 p.m. on Friday, March 17.

Broadcasts of the games can be heard on www.hornetsports.com with Dylan McKenzie providing play-by-play. To access the broadcast click on the Live Audio link at the top of the page and scroll down to baseball.