LOS ANGELES — Junior Jakob Poturnak slugged a two-run home run in the first and senior Ryan Ellis had a game-tying sacrifice fly in the seventh, but another late-inning rally by No. 1 UCLA was enough to take the series as the Bruins scored twice in the bottom of the eighth to lift them to a 5-3 victory on Saturday afternoon at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
The Hornets fell to 19-25 overall on the year despite holding the powerful UCLA offense to just five hits through the first seven innings of Saturday's contest. The Bruins, who scored twice in their last ups in Friday night's victory, improved to 39-3 overall on the season.
For the third straight game, the Hornets were on the scoreboard first as Luis Pimentel-Guerrero worked a one-out walk before Poturnak strode to the plate two batters later and launched a 1-1 pitch over the left-field wall for a 2-0 lead. It was the junior's sixth home run of the season and the 19th of his Sacramento State career.
UCLA, which entered the day with 68 home runs as a team, then rallied to take its first lead of the day with a trio of solo shots in the third, fifth, and sixth innings by the top three home run hitters in the lineup to take a 3-2 advantage.
The Hornets weren't done however, manufacturing the tying run in the seventh to bring them level. Jace Jeremiah led-off the inning with a single, moved to second on a wild pitch, and gained third on a passed ball following a four-pitch walk to Cameron Sewell. With runners at the corners and a new pitcher in from the bullpen, Ellis pinch hit for Jamie Mullin and took the first pitch he saw into left field, deep enough to score Jeremiah to make it 3-3.
Rallying for the second-straight night, the Bruins parlayed three hits and a walk into the go-ahead runs. A single and a double to lead-off the inning put a pair into scoring position before a wild pitch two batters later broke the tie. A walk put runners at the corners before an RBI single after a pitching change gave UCLA some insurance.
The Bruins then retired the Hornets in order in the ninth to nail down the win.
Junior Kurt Marton started and surrendered only one run on three hits while striking out four over four innings, while Sean Carey and Colin Hunter (0-1) followed, charged with two runs each. Chase Sorlie and Ian Winterhalder got an out each to finish the night.
Easton Hawk (3-1) earned the win, striking out three over the final 1.2 innings.
No Hornet finished with multiple hits on the day, but Sewell and Jeremiah each extended their respective hitting streaks to eight games, while Sam Harry reached base for the ninth consecutive game with a hit of his own. Poturnak's two RBI gave him his seventh multi-RBI game of the season, ranking second on the team.
Sacramento State will attempt to salvage a game in the series in Sunday's finale (April 26). First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
