SACRAMENTO — Sacramento State pounded out 11 runs on 13 hits, including a four-hit game from Dawsen Bacho, on the way to an 11-7 victory over Northern Illinois on Friday afternoon at John Smith Field.

The game marked the season opener for both teams as the Hornets are coming off a season in which they finished 35-22 overall. The two teams were playing the first leg of a four-game series that includes a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m., followed by the series finale on Sunday at noon.

Sacramento State scored in five different innings, including crooked numbers in the first (3), third (2) and seventh (7). The Hornets got a dominant performance on the mound from freshman Tyler Stewart. The local product from Cameron Park allowed just one hit in five innings of relief while earning his first collegiate win.

Offensively, the Hornets had seven different players collect hits, including multiple-hit games from three of those players. That included Bacho, a senior catcher. who finished 4-for-4 with three runs scored, a double and an RBI. A second team all-conference selection a year ago, Bacho collected hits in the first, third, fourth and seventh innings. He was a big part of rallies in each of those innings as Sacramento State scored in every frame he got a hit.

From the leadoff spot, senior Nick Iwasa finished 3-for-5 with a run, double and team-high three RBIs. Sophomore Cesar Valero, a transfer from Oregon State, went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and a home run in his Hornet debut. Senior Steven Moretto also homered for the Hornets, and finished 1-for-4 with a pair of runs and RBIs.

Though Sacramento State's bats were alive and well, perhaps the most important performance came on the mound from Stewart. The Hornets used four pitchers in the game, and Stewart was the only hurler to keep the Huskies off the board. He allowed three bease runners in five innings of work, and needed just 70 pitches to complete those five frames. He entered the game in the third inning with the Hornets ahead, 4-3, and left the game in the seventh after the Hornets had taken an 11-3 lead.

Sacramento State never trailed, taking an early 3-0 lead in the first inning after a two-run blast from Moretto highlighted the frame. Northern Illinois would score three times to tie things at 3-3 in the top of the second, but Sacramento State would score seven unanswered runs to put the game away.

Other Hornets to collect hits were Jorge Bojorquez, Martin Vincelli-Simard and Josh Walker. Josh Rolling, a transfer from Cal and the Hornets' center fielder, walked twice, scored a pair of runs and collected two RBIs.

On the mound, Sacramento State also used Eli Saul (2.0 ip), Brock Jessup (1.0 ip) and Myles Meyer (1.0 ip).