PHOENIX -- Lafulafu Malepeai reached base in all four plate appearances, and Kennedie Bacon tossed a three-hit complete game to lead Sacramento State to a 9-1 mercy-rule shortened victory over South Dakota.

The game was the first of the GCU Invite for Sacramento State, and the team returns later this evening (5:30 p.m. PT) to play host Grand Canyon.

The Hornets moved their record to 5-1 for the third straight season. The team has not been 6-1 or better since the 1995 squad began the season 7-0.

Malepeai was 2-for-2 with two walks, three runs scored, a home run and three RBIs. Her fifth inning, two-run homer was a walkoff shot and punctuated the mercy rule victory. Malepeai, Madi Mendoza and Katie Marsh each had two hits, as the top four batters in the Sacramento State lineup combined to go 6-for-9 with seven runs, three walks and five RBIs.

The Hornets' first seven batters of the game reached base, and the team sent 11 batters to the plate to grab a 5-0 lead in the first. The team added two more runs in each of the fourth and fifth innings.

Bacon (2-1) was impressive, allowing just three hits and a run with three strikeouts in five innings. She lowered her season ERA to 2.00, and the Hornet pitching staff has now allowed two runs or less in five of the first six games of the season.

Hailee Bustos collected her first collegiate hit - a two-out, pinch-hit single in the fifth that preceded Malepeai's homer.