Even though the Sacramento State baseball team faced its causeway rival UC Davis Wednesday, head coach Reggie Christiansen did not view the Aggies as his team’s biggest nemesis. In his eyes, the real enemy was how the Hornets would deal with adversity.

Starting pitcher Ty Nichols recovered from his worst performance of the year last Sunday as the Hornets‘ offense supplied 13 hits in an 11-4 victory on Wednesday at John Smith Field.

Nichols pitched five innings, giving up only one run on two hits and striking out five, leading to his first win of the season.

“(Nichols) had a rough outing on Sunday at Louisiana Tech and we wanted to give him a new opportunity to get it out of his mind,” Christiansen said. “He was very good today.”

The Hornets were the first to score when senior Hunter Adrian launched a two-run home run over the right field wall in the second inning.

It was his first home run since the team played UC Riverside on March 11.

“I went up there and the pitcher was pounding the fastball, so I knew I was going to get the pitch to hit and got the inside half,” Adrian said. “It felt good.”

Three innings later, freshman Rhys Hoskins singled with the bases loaded to drive in a pair of runs to give Sac State a three-run lead.

In his first season with the Hornets, Hoskins leads the team with a .407 batting average, eight home runs and 32 RBIs. His batting average is also best in the conference.

While he has led Sac State in every offensive category this season, he said the pressure to do well has been reduced since the offense has become more consistent during the past month.

“I think as a team we are feeling pretty comfortable. We are seeing the ball well and hitting the ball hard,” Hoskins said. “We have guys on this team who if I don’t get it done they can pick me up.”

The Hornets extended their lead against Davis in the sixth inning when center fielder Justin Higley and catcher Derrick Chung had RBI base hits.

In the last two games, the Hornets offense has exploded with 22 runs and Christiansen said he gives credit to his hitting coach.

“Tommy (Nicholson) is doing a really good job with the hitters having a good plan and staying positive,” he said.  “A lot of it is mental with our guys. You have to overcome failure.”

The win is the third in the last four games against Davis dating back to last season. For some of the players, it gives them some bragging rights.

“We know some guys on their team and it is always nice to have that in your back pocket when a conversation comes up,” Adrian said. “There has always been a good rivalry there.”

The Hornets will return to the diamond Friday when they face No. 25 New Mexico State to start a three game series.

Last season, Sac State split a four game series against New Mexico State in Las Cruces, N.M. and Christiansen said he is not worried about New Mexico’s 25-9 (2-1) record.

“They are off to a pretty good start but you never know until you play,” Christiansen said.

First pitch is at 1 p.m.

Ryan Kuhn can be reached at @rskuhn