SACRAMENTO -- Sophomore Jeffery Heard's emphatic two-run home run over the right field wall capped a four-run fifth inning and senior Jorge Bojorquez broke a five-all tie with a double to right field, helping Sacramento State come back from down four runs en route to an 8-6 victory over North Dakota State in game two of their series on Saturday afternoon at John Smith Field.

Cesar Valero finished 3-for-4 with a pair of runs and two RBI, while Bojorquez and Wehiwa Aloy added two hits apiece at the top of the order to pace the Hornet attack, while Bojorquez came around to score three times.

Junior right-hander Evan Gibbons picked up the win in relief, striking out three while surrendering a pair of runs on two hits over three innings of relief. Senior right-hander Jack Zalasky picked up his first save of the year despite allowing a run in the ninth, striking out two in the ninth to nail down the win.

For Gibbons, it was his first win on the mound since a relief appearance against Grand Canyon as a freshman on May 17, 2019, while Zalasky's save was the 16th of his career, tying Tanner Dalton (2018-19) and Michael Penbera (1999-01) for fourth on the program's all-time list.

Reliever Carson Jacobs (0-1) suffered the loss for the Bison, allowing three runs on four hits and striking out three over the final three innings. Sacramento State touched up starter Max Loven for five runs (four earned) on five hits over 4.2 innings of work, striking out four before leaving in the fifth.

North Dakota State built a quick 3-0 lead on a sacrifice fly by Stephen Lund in the first and a two-run home run by Druw Sackett in the third before the Hornets were able to finally break through against Loven in the home half of the latter.

Bojorquez picked up Sacramento State's first hit of the day with a single up the middle and came all the way around to score on a wild sequence with two outs. Bojorquez made his move to second on a pitch in the dirt, but the throw from the Bison catcher sailed into centerfield, where it was misplayed by the outfield, rolling all the way to the wall. That allowed Bojorquez to motor all the way home for the first Hornet run of the game, making it 3-1.

Sackett ballooned the lead to four runs with his second home run of the day — and his third of the series — in the fifth, launching a two-run shot to left to make it 5-1, but that's when Sacramento State took over.

Bojorquez got the rally started by taking a pitch off the leg with one out and moved to second on Aloy's single through the left side. Two batters later, Cesar Valero laced a double to the gap in left center, scoring both runners ahead of him and cutting the deficit to 5-3.

Heard then wasted little time in tying the game, taking the second pitch he saw from Loven over the wall in left for his first of the year, making it 5-5.

After retiring the Bison in order in the sixth, the Hornets tacked on two more in the home half on Bojorquez's go-ahead RBI double, scoring Braden Frank, who picked up his first collegiate hit with one out, and Aloy's double down the left field line for a 7-5 advantage.

A wild pitch in the seventh scored Valero from third to make it an 8-5 game and the Hornets turned away a ninth-inning NDSU rally after a Cadyn Schwabe RBI triple made it a two-run contest.

The two teams close out their series on Sunday with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.