SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The run scoring came late on Saturday for Portland after it had scored in bunches early on Friday. The Pilots snapped the Santa Clara University baseball team's scoreless relief streak with four runs in the eighth, turning a close, one-run contest into an 8-3, West Coast Conference series-clinching win at Stephen Schott Stadium.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Santa Clara (12-8, 0-2 WCC) bullpen held the Pilots (12-8, 2-0 WCC) scoreless for 6 2/3 innings in Friday's opener, and it entered Saturday with a 17 2/3 innings shutout streak dating to last weekend's series at UNLV. While Portland got to the Broncos' starting pitcher early on Friday, this time it was able to break through late against SCU's relief core.
   
• Santa Clara reliever Blake Hammond entered in the sixth and extended the bullpen's scoreless streak to 19 1/3 innings, keeping it a one-run, 4-3 ballgame. But the Pilots put together back-to-back RBI hits in the eighth inning after two leadoff walks to score three runs and go ahead, 7-4. Ben Patacsil knocked in the two leadoff walks with a two-run double, and Riley McCarthy drove him home with an RBI single. Spencer Scott added a two-out RBI single to cap the four-run rally and make it 8-4.
   
• The Broncos took an early 1-0 lead, its first of the series, in the first inning. JonJon Berring reached base safely for the 21st consecutive game with a leadoff double. He moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a sacrifice fly from Coleman Brigman, making it 1-0. The Broncos got three more singles in the third to tie the game up at 2-2 after Portland had scored twice in the top half. The Broncos pulled to within one in the bottom of the fifth after back-to-back two-out singles from Michael O'Hara and Efrain Manzo.
   
• The third, fourth and fifth innings all ended with Santa Clara having runners in scoring position. But two groundouts and a flyout stranded them in place. And after the fifth, the combination of Portland starting pitcher Carter Gaston (3-1) and Tanner Douglas retired the Broncos in order to carry the Pilots to the win.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

• 13: Gaston and Douglas retired 13 Broncos in a row from the fifth through the ninth innings to end the game. They were ahead or even in the count during 10 of the 13 at-bats, and got to two-strike counts in seven of them.
• 21: Berring's reached base safely streak was extended to 21 games Saturday, a streak that dates to last year's Fayetteville Regional in Arkansas. He's hit safely in 16 of 19 games this season, including 11 of his last 12.

NEXT UP
The WCC-opening series concludes at noon Sunday. Fans can purchase tickets and find all live coverage links on SantaClaraBroncos.com.