SACRAMENTO -- Senior catcher Dylan McPhillips finished with a season-high three hits — including his first home run since April of last season — and drove in three runs, while Josh Rolling homered and Jorge Bojorquez added two more hits, but Sacramento State dropped a slugfest with Western Athletic Conference rival Dixie State, falling in game two by an 18-7 score in eight innings on Saturday night at John Smith Field.

The Hornets moved to 9-6 overall and 1-1 in conference play with the defeat, while the Trailblazers improved to 7-6 overall and 3-2 in league.

After finishing 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored and an RBI in the series opener, McPhillips stayed hot on Saturday, roping an RBI single in the second, slugging a two-run home run in the fourth, and adding a single in the sixth en route to a 3-for-4 night. The home run was his first since clearing the fence in an 11-6 win at Kansas on April 27 of last year, while the three hits tied his career high, matching the mark he has set on three other occasions.

Rolling's round-tripper was his second of the season, leading off the fourth with a shot over the left field wall that was followed by McPhillips' blast two batters later. Trevor Doyle added a pair of runs with a single in the sixth and Steven Moretto added another driven in with a sac fly in the second.

Dixie State got on the board quickly in the first, plating five unearned runs after an error that should have ended the inning prolonged the frame. The Trailblazers added three more in the second on a run-scoring ground ball and a two-run home run for an 8-0 advantage as Dixie State was off to the races.

The Hornets were able to pull two back in the second on Moretto's sac fly and McPhillips' single, and closed the gap to three runs on the two home runs by Rolling and McPhillips.

However, that would be as close as Sacramento State would get as the Trailblazers plated one in the fifth, three more in the sixth and, after the Hornets scored twice in their half of the sixth, added six more runs in the final two innings to invoke the run-rule.

Bojorquez's two hits extended his streak of reaching base safely to 16 consecutive games dating back to last year, hitting safely in all but one game thus far in 2022. He has multiple hits in each of his last three contests, and five times overall this year, hitting .700 (7-for-10) with a run scored, a pair of walks, and two RBI in the three games thus far this week.

Starter Noah Lucchesi (0-2) suffered the loss, allowing eight runs — only three earned — on eight hits while striking out a pair in two innings. Brett Portion (3-0) earned the win for Dixie State, allowing five runs — only three earned — on seven hits in five innings of work while striking out four.

The two teams meet in the rubber match on Sunday (March 13) at Noon, with the Hornets' Colin Hunter (1-1) scheduled to face the Trailblazers' Jimmy Borzone (0-1).