OREM, Utah -- Sophomore Cesar Valero finished 3-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to 13 consecutive games, while Jeffery Heard and Jorge Bojorquez each homered as part of two-hit days, but the offense wasn't enough to push past host Utah Valley as the Wolverines evened their Western Athletic Conference series with the Hornets thanks to a 10-4 victory on Saturday afternoon at UCCU Ballpark in Orem, Utah.

The loss dropped Sacramento State to 12-14 overall and 4-7 in league play, while Utah Valley moved to 9-18 overall and 3-8 against conference opponents.

Valero's three hits are second only to his career-high five hits in a record-setting day against Houston Baptist on March 4 and marked his team-best 10th multi-hit game of the season — six of those coming during his current hitting streak. Meanwhile, Bojorquez tallied his ninth multi-hit performance with a 2-for-5 day on Saturday and Heard notched his seventh multi-hit game, also finishing 2-for-5 for the contest.

It was, again, the Hornets striking first for the second straight game, putting up single runs in the first two innings to jump out to the early lead. An error on a ground ball by Nick Iwasa led to the first run as Valero promptly cashed in the run two batters later with a sacrifice fly for the 1-0 lead.

Bojorquez then led off the second inning with some fireworks, launching his second home run of the season over the wall in left for the two-run lead.

However, that would be it for a while for Sacramento State as Utah Valley's offense found a groove, rallying to take the lead for good with 10 unanswered runs.

A bases-loaded double in the third by Mick Madsen quickly erased the two-run deficit, and a two-run home run by Spencer Olsen in the fourth increased the lead to 5-2. A sac fly in the fifth, a two-run home run by Mitch Moralez in the seventh, a solo shot in the eighth by Kayler Yates, and a run-scoring single by Olsen, capped the scoring for the Wolverines, who stranded nine Hornet baserunners in that same stretch — including the bases loaded twice.

Sacramento State was able to pull two of those runs back in the ninth as Valero singled with two outs and came around to score when Heard left the yard for the fourth time this season, clearing the right field wall for the final 10-4 score.

Nick Sims (4-0) earned the win in relief of starter Mason Gray, scattering three hits over 4.2 innings and striking out a pair en route to the win. Freshman Noah Lucchesi (0-4) suffered the loss for Sacramento State, charged with five runs on five hits while striking out five over four innings.

The rubber game of the series is scheduled for Sunday (April 3) at 11 a.m. PT, with freshman right-hander Colin Hunter scheduled to take the mound for the Hornets against a starter to be named for Utah Valley.