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SACRAMENTO -- Despite effective pitching from both Marissa Bertuccio (5.0 ip) and Alyssa Nunez (2.0 ip), Sacramento State dropped its season opener to San Jose State, 2-1, on Friday afternoon at Shea Stadium.

Today marked the first day of the season-opening NorCal Classic, a three-day tournament the Hornets are hosting. Sacramento State is back in action tomorrow for games vs. Santa Clara at 9 a.m., and San Jose State at 2 p.m. The Hornets conclude the tournament on Sunday vs. Santa Clara at 11:30 a.m.

After registering a run and two hits in the first inning, the Hornets combined for just three hits the rest of the way against Spartan starter Lacie Ham. The big blow in the game was a two-out, two-run homer in the fourth inning from San Jose State's Karizma Bergesen. That was all the run support Ham would need as she scattered five hits over seven innings with one walk and four strikeouts. She needed just 93 pitches in the complete-game effort.

Sacramento State got its lone run in the first inning after Haley Hanson led off with a double, and scored when Nikki Barboza singled her home. For Barboza, it marked the true freshman's first collegiate hit.

The Hornets had two runners aboard in both the second and third innings, but could not push across anymore runs. Ham (1-0) retired each of the final 10 batters she faced.

Bertuccio (0-1) took the loss, allowing six hits and two runs with three strikeouts in five innings. Nunez worked the final two innings, allowing two hits with three strikeouts.

Hanson, Barboza, Samantha Parish, Milan Machado-Buckley and Kennedy Echols accounted for the Hornets' five hits. Parish had a one-out triple in the third inning, but was stranded at third base.

Hanson had to leave the game in the fourth inning after injuring her foot while attempting to track down Bergesen's home run at the right-center field wall.