OREM, Utah — A trio of Hornets finished with two hits on the night while junior Jakob Poturnak clubbed his team-best 13th home run of the season, but visiting Sacramento State could not hold back the Western Athletic Conference's top offense on Friday, falling to host Utah Valley by a 14-2 score in seven innings at UCCU Ballpark in Orem, Utah.

The Hornets suffered only their second loss in a series opener this season, falling to 28-22 overall and 12-7 in conference play. The defeat snapped a run of 10 consecutive victories in series openers dating back to a 4-3 loss to Ball State on Feb. 20.

The Wolverines improved to 28-22 overall and 13-9 in league play with the victory.

Utah Valley wasted little time in jumping out to an early lead against Sacramento State, scoring five times in the first and two more in the second to put the Hornets in a hole. A balk with runners at the corners in the fifth scored Tyler White to break-up the shutout and Poturnak's blast to lead-off the sixth gave his team a second run.

Poturnak's 13 home runs are the most by a Hornet newcomer since JP Smith and Wehiwa Aloy finished with 14 apiece in 2023.

However, the Wolverines put the game well out of reach with a seven-run bottom of the sixth.

White, Luis Pimentel-Guerrero, and Ryan Christiansen each finished with a pair of hits for the Hornets, who finished with eight on the night. Pimentel-Guerrero posted his team-best 20th multi-hit game of the season while White collected his 19th and Christiansen his 14th.

Senior right-hander Evan Gibbons (8-2) suffered the loss — his first since Feb. 15 — after allowing seven runs on eight hits over the first 1.2 innings. Colin Hunter, who struck out four over 3.1 innings of relief, and Jackson Halverson, who pitched the sixth, followed him in relief.

Corbin Kirk (4-3) earned the win, allowing just two runs on seven hits over six innings, striking out three.

Game two of the series is scheduled for 3 p.m. PT on Saturday (May 10).