SAN DIEGO -- Sacramento State split a pair of games on the first day of the La Jolla Softball Invitational on Friday, falling to Utah, 9-8, in the opener before returning later in the evening to defeat tournament host UC San Diego, 3-2.

The three-day event resumes tomorrow with Sacramento State taking on Utah at 11 a.m., followed by Saint Mary's at 1:30 p.m. The Hornets (3-3) conclude the tournament on Sunday at UC San Diego at 10 a.m.

Sacramento State's offense combined to hit .302 (16-for-53) today with two homers and a .350 on-base percentage. Samantha Parish led the way by going 3-for-6 with a run, homer and three RBIs. Lexie Webb also homered, and now has a team-high three round trippers this season. Other Hornets with multiple hits during the doubleheader included Amber Rodriguez, Nikki Barboza and Carley Morfey.

Lewa Day, the Hornets' top hitter, exited the Utah game in the fifth inning with a hand injury, and did not play against UC San Diego.

In the nightcap, Marissa Bertuccio had another solid performance in the circle, as the junior picked up the complete-game win, allowing six hits and two runs with zero walks and seven strikeouts. She needed just 90 pitches to go seven innings, and faced five batters over the minimum. The right-hander is now 2-1 with a 1.47 ERA and .225 opponents batting average.

Parish and Webb both hit solo shots accounting for two of Sacramento State's three runs. The other run came on a sacrifice fly from Alexis Parish. Webb's homer in the fifth inning proved to be the game-winning RBI. UC San Diego made things interesting in the seventh. Trailing, 3-1, the Tritons homered to lead off the frame, and later had a runner at second base with one out. However, Bertuccio was able to get a strikeout and fly out to end the contest.

In the loss to Utah, Sacramento State pounded out eight runs and 12 hits against a Pac-12 Conference pitching staff. The Hornets nearly overcame an 8-1 deficit after five innings, and a 9-4 deficit after six innings. Sacramento State scored three times in the sixth and four more in the seventh.

In fact, the Hornets had the potential tying and winning runners on base in the seventh inning before Utah closer Sydney Sandez got a strikeout to end the game. Ten different Sacramento State hitters collected at least one hit, including a pair of pinch-hit singles in the seventh inning from Nevaeh Pinon and Alicia Crewse.

Utah's big inning was the fifth when the Utes scored six runs, four of which were unearned after a very costly Hornet error. Sacramento State had just one run through the first five innings before the outburst in the sixth and seventh.

Of the 10 Hornets to collect hits, both Rodriguez and Barboza had multiple-hit games. Barboza, Carley Morfey and Samantha Parish each had a pair of RBIs. Webb (1-1) took the loss, pitching the first 4.1 innings. Alyssa Nunez threw 1.2 innings of relief work, and didn't get much help defensively as Utah scored four unearned runs while she was in the circle.