SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Visiting Sacramento State had top-ranked UCLA down to its final strike twice in the ninth inning, but the No. 1 Bruins rallied to plate a pair of runs with two outs in their final at-bat to steal a 6-5 come-from-behind victory over the Hornets to open a three-game non-conference series on Friday night at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
Facing the No. 1 team in the nation for the first time in nearly two decades, Sacramento State fell to 19-24 overall with the defeat, building a two-run lead heading into the eighth inning before UCLA fashioned a rally. The Bruins improved to 38-3 overall with the win.
Junior outfielder Erick Dessens finished 2-for-4 with a double, home run, and three RBI to lead the Hornets' offense. Freshman Sam Harry also added a pair of hits as six different Sacramento State batters finished with knocks.
Dessens, Jace Jeremiah, and Sewell all extended their respective hitting streaks to seven games with their performances on the night, while Harry reached base safely for the eighth consecutive contest. Dessens' two hits marked his 20th multi-hit contest of the season, while the three RBI gave him his 15th game with two-or-more driven in — now 10 of those with three or more.
Senior right-hander Ethan Lay posted his eighth "quality start" of the season in the no-decision, allowing three runs on seven hits over six innings, walking two and striking out six before leaving with the lead. He stranded six base runners on the night, leaving three in scoring position, and limiting the damage against him to just the second inning.
He retired eight of nine at one point in the game, surrendering only a fourth-inning single in that stretch and left two on in the sixth to maintain a two-run lead.
Senior Andrew Monson allowed a run on two hits over 1.1 innings before freshman Trevor Wilson (1.1 innings) and Elijah Rogalski (0-1) finished out the game.
Sacramento State was on the board first with a run in the second as Jakob Poturnak led-off with a double and moved to third after a hit batter and a fielder's choice put two in scoring position. Cameron Sewell then lifted an 0-2 pitch deep into centerfield, enough to score Poturnak for the 1-0 lead.
UCLA hit Lay hard in the home half to plate its first three runs thanks to a two-run single and a sacrifice fly of its own to make it 3-1, but the Hornets answered back with four unanswered runs to make it 5-3.
Dessens led off the fourth with his 10th home run of the season — a line drive shot that cleared the wall in right field to make it a one-run game. An inning later, Brett Ott walked with one out and moved to second on a Harry single. Following a pitching change, two runners were still on as a throwing error on a fielder's choice by Ryan Ellis with the Bruins trying to turn a double play went wide.
That brought Dessens up again and it only took two pitches for him to lace a double to the wall in right centerfield, scoring a pair for a 4-3 advantage.
A two-out double by Sewell led to some insurance for the Hornets as Nikhil Beasley found space up the middle for an RBI single that made it a two-run game, but the Bruins weren't done.
A solo home run to lead-off the eighth brought the home team back to within a run and a wild finish with two outs in the ninth allowed UCLA to walk it off as a lead-off single and back-to-back walks loaded the bases. Down to their final strike, Roman Martin hit a ball to the right side that eluded the Hornet infield, allowing the tying run to come home.
However, an errant throw to the plate sailed wide, allowing the winning run to cross.
Justin Lee (3-0) earned the win for UCLA, getting the final two outs and stranding a pair of Hornets in scoring position in the top of the ninth. Starter Wylan Moss allowed three earned on five hits and struck out six over 4.1 innings of work.
Game two of the series is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday (April 25).
