The Hornets, who have clinched a spot in the Western Athletic Conference postseason tournament (May 25-28), fall to 20-33 on the year and 8-14 in league, remaining in sixth place.

Fresno State, currently holding on to the top spot in conference, improves to 37-16 overall and 16-6 in the WAC.

The Hornets tallied 13 hits in the game, led by senior Buddy Morales, who went 3-for-4 from the plate and was also walked. Morales, a West Covina, Calif., native is batting .333 in conference play.

Down 3-0 after the top of the first, Sacramento State responded quickly when with the bases loaded, senior Brian Blauser was walked to score Gary Johnson. Senior Jim Strombach added the second run, scoring on David Flores’ RBI fielder’s choice.

Fresno State, led by Beau Mills’ 3-for-5, two home-run performance, added runs in the second and third to take a 6-2 lead that was matched by the Hornets in the bottom of the third.

Sacramento State pieced together a four-run, three-hit inning, paced by senior Brian Conradi’s two-run double off the left field wall, scoring Blauser and Flores. Senior Everet Rincon then hit a two-run single into center field to score Pat Keiper and Conradi.

The Hornets took a short-lived 7-6 lead in the fourth when Keiper’s RBI-single scored Morales.

The Bulldogs scored four unanswered runs in the final innings of the game. Kent Sakamoto finished the day 3-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBIs and Brian Lapin was also 3-for-5, while Christian Vitters added his 11th home run of the season.

Justin Demé (3-6) took the loss for Sacramento State after pitching 5.2 innings and allowing two runs on six hits. Brandon Burke (6-5) picked up the win, pitching 5.1 innings and holding the Hornets scoreless on five hits while recording four strikeouts.

For Sacramento State, Flores, Gary Johnson and Ronnie Machado, Jr., also recorded two hits apiece.

The Hornets and Bulldogs will play the second game of the series on Saturday at 1 p.m., with the final game starting at 1 p.m. on Sunday.