SACRAMENTO -- The Sacramento State baseball team closed out the opening weekend of the 2023 season with a series victory on Sunday, splitting a doubleheader with North Dakota State after winning the opener, 3-2, before falling in the nightcap, 13-4, at John Smith Field.

The Hornets moved to 3-1 overall on the season, while the Bison picked up their first win of the campaign with their win in the finale, improving to 1-3 on the year.

Sacramento State remains home next weekend, welcoming the University of St. Thomas to Northern California for a four-game series from Feb. 24-26. Friday's series opener begins a 4 p.m., followed by a Saturday doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. The series concludes with a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m.

GAME 1: SACRAMENTO STATE 3, NORTH DAKOTA STATE 2
Sophomore left-hander Noah Lucchesi threw five strong innings and the bullpen combined to limit NDSU to just one hit the rest of the way as Sacramento State took the series with a 3-2 victory to open the day.

Lucchesi (1-0) picked up the first win of his collegiate career, allowing only a first-inning run on five hits while striking out one. Newcomer Cooper Rons threw two innings, giving up an unearned run on one hit while striking out a pair, and was followed by Max Pettey and Trey Goodrich, who combined to strand a runner in the eighth.

Senior right-hander Jack Zalasky then entered in the ninth and struck out a pair to nail down his second save of the year.

After the Bison struck for the first run in each of the series' first two games, it was the Hornets' turn to strike first on Sunday as newcomer Garet Crenshaw collected his first Division I hit with a double down the left field line and scored when Braden Frank's ground ball to the right side was enough to get him home for the 1-0 lead.

Bojorquez wasted little time in making it a two-run lead when he swatted a 1-1 pitch off the scoreboard in left centerfield for his first of the year in the third inning, but the Bison cut the deficit in half two innings later as Will Busch laced a single up the middle to make it 2-1.

Sacramento State threatened to make it a big inning in the home half, loading the bases thanks to a pair of hit batters and a walk to bring up Jeffery Heard, who lifted a fly ball to center, deep enough to score freshman Wehiwa Aloy on the sacrifice fly for a 3-1 advantage.

North Dakota State made it interesting in the seventh, taking advantage of a throwing error to score its second run of the day and make it a one-run game once again, but the Hornet bullpen and defense shut the Bison down from there. Sacramento State worked away from any further damage by ending the inning on a strikeout and caught stealing and allowed only a walk the rest of the way en route to the win.

Four different Hornet batters collected hits on the day, while Crenshaw and Cesar Valero each walked twice.

GAME 2: NORTH DAKOTA STATE 13, SACRAMENTO STATE 4
Bojorquez finished 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and the Hornets dug out of an early hole to tie the game in the middle innings, but North Dakota State exploded for seven runs in the seventh to break open a one-run game en route to a 13-4 win in the series finale.

Martin Vincelli-Simard answered an early NDSU run with an RBI groundout in the first to tie the game at one, but the Bison quickly regained the lead with three more in the third to build a 4-1 advantage.

Sacramento State rallied with two in the fourth and another in the fifth to tie the game as Carson Blatnick drew a bases-loaded walk to score Valero and cut the deficit in half and was followed by freshman Jaxon Byrd, who collected his first collegiate RBI with a sacrifice fly to score Heard and make it 4-3.

In the fifth, Bojorquez led off the inning by absorbing a hit by pitch and moved to second on Vincelli-Simard's single through the left side to put two on for Valero, who dropped a double down the left field line to tie the game.

The Hornets left two on in the inning and that proved crucial as the Bison untied the game on a home run by Will Busch to lead off the sixth, sparking the late-inning explosion.

Freshman right-hander Xavier Richards made his first career start, but lasted only two innings before giving way to Tyler Stewart, who was stuck with the loss despite allowing just one run on three hits and striking out seven without a walk over four innings of relief.

Nolan Johnson (1-0) earned the win in relief for NDSU, allowing a run on two hits and striking out four over two innings of work.