SACRAMENTO -- Freshman JP Smith's two-run single with nobody out in the eighth-inning of a one-run game put the Sacramento State baseball team on top for the first time and the Hornets capitalized on a pair of errors in the inning to score six total times in the frame, lifting them to a come-from-behind 8-3 victory over UT Arlington in game two of their series on Saturday afternoon at John Smith Field.

The win pushed Sacramento State back over the .500 mark for the year at 18-17 overall and moved the Hornets to 6-8 in Western Athletic Conference play. It is the first-ever win in the series with the Mavericks, who had won the first four all-time meetings.

UTA fell to 18-17 overall and 8-6 in league with the loss.

After spotting the Mavericks two runs in the third, the Hornets tied the game in the home half of the fourth with one swing of the bat as Martin Vincelli-Simard clubbed his eighth home run of the season off the scoreboard in left centerfield to make it a 2-2 game.

Both pitchers were stingy save for those two half innings as starter Evan Gibbons went a career-high seven innings, scattering five hits and striking out three. Meanwhile, his counterpart Connery Peters allowed only the two runs on seven hits and struck out four in his seven innings of work before both gave way to their respective bullpens.

The Mavericks were the ones to strike first, getting a one-out double that fell fair down the left field line by Garrison Berkley, who scored one batter later on Wilson Galvan's single for the 3-2 lead.

That advantage wouldn't last long, however, as Sacramento State sent 11 batters to the plate in the home half and took the lead for good. Wehiwa Aloy reached on an infield single and moved to third when Vincelli-Simard snuck a double down the left field line.

That brought up Smith, who worked the count even before bouncing a ball up the middle, scoring both runners for a 4-3 advantage.

After a pair of fly balls, the inning was extended on an error and the Hornets took advantage, loading the bases on a walk and scoring two more runs on Jacob Cortez's single through the left side for a 6-3 advantage, and reloaded the bases for Aloy, whose ground ball could not be handled on the infield rolling into the outfield and allowing two more runs to come home for the final 8-3 score.

Junior left-hander Max Pettey (3-0), who gave up UTA's third run in the top of the eighth, then gave way to closer Jack Zalasky in the ninth, working around a single and a walk before ending the game on a ground ball.

Smith tied his career high with three hits for the fourth time this season, while Vincelli-Simard's three hits put him a triple short of the cycle and matched his season high last set at Stephen F. Austin on April 1. Cortez and Aloy also added multi-hit games with two hits apiece.

The rubber game of the series is scheduled for a Noon start on Sunday (April 16).