SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Sacramento State and Santa Clara went back and forth on Thursday night before the Hornets ultimately came up short, falling 6-5 to the visiting Broncos.

Trailing 6-5 in the bottom of the ninth, Sacramento State (5-3) very nearly came back against Santa Clara (7-3) for the third time of the night. With two outs, Keith Torres and Chris Gonzalez both singled, putting runners at first and third for Dawsen Bacho.

After a Broncos meeting on the mound, Bacho jumped on the first pitch he saw, sending a towering fly ball deep to centerfield. The junior catcher missed the walk-off home run by inches as the ball was caught at the wall for the game's final out.

In total on Thursday, the Hornets and Broncos traded leads three times and were tied four times in just nine innings.

Sacramento State score the game's first run on a Ryan Walstad home run, his first of the season. Walstad had a busy night on Thursday, going 1-2 with a home run, a game-tying run in the eighth inning, and a big defensive play to keep the game tied at the time in the ninth. 

Steven Moretto added an RBI with a two-out double in the second inning, but Santa Clara came right back with a two-run home run in the top of the third.

Sacramento State took back the lead in the third when Torres came around to score on a wild pitch, but the lead was short-lived as Santa Clara tied it again in the top of the fourth before jumping ahead, 5-3.

The Hornets rallied back in the eighth, scoring two runs on one hit, one walk, an error, and two wild pitches. Bacho scored on an RBI-groundout from Martin Vincelli-Simard and Walstad scored on a wild pitch in the inning, with Walstad's tying the game.

Moments later, with one out and a runner on third in the top of the ninth, Walstad and Bacho connected on a clean play at the plate to cut down the would-be go-ahead run. Despite the Hornets' strong play, Santa Clara still managed to scratch one across in the inning anyway, going ahead for good, 6-5.

Torres (2-4, R, BB) and Bacho (2-5, R) each finished with two hits in the game. Torres raised his batting average to .417 overall and is reaching base at a .559 clip. Bacho is now hitting .323, third-best on the club.

The Hornets turned to six different pitchers on Thursday, starting with freshman Carter Morris. Coming off a strong four-inning outing in his last start, Morris went just 2.1 innings on Thursday, giving up two runs on three hits and two walks. 

Travis Martizia (0-1), who came on to pitch the ninth for Sacramento State, was charged with the loss, his first of the year. Santa Clara's Travis Howard (3-1) picked up the win, his third, after giving up the lead in the eighth.

The two teams will get right back at it tomorrow, Friday, Feb. 28 at John Smith Field. First pitch is set for 5 p.m.

More details on the upcoming series – and all future Hornets baseball games – can be found online at HornetSports.com. Fans can also keep up with the Hornets on the Hornet Sports Experience app.