SANTA CLARA, Calif. — A long, back-and-forth battle ensued Tuesday night between rivals, with visiting San Jose State surviving blow after blow from the Santa Clara University baseball team to take an 11-8 non-conference win at Stephen Schott Stadium.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The teams combined for 19 runs on 24 hits -- eight for extra bases -- and 17 free passes (14 walks, three hit-by-pitches) in a game that lasted more than 3 1/2 hours to mark the Broncos' (15-11) longest nine-inning home game of the year. San Jose State (9-19) never trailed in the game, but Santa Clara pulled to within two and three runs on four different occasions.
   
• The Broncos didn't go quietly, and they had a chance to win it in the ninth. They entered the last half-inning facing a five-run deficit at 11-6, but the top of the batting order was due up, and like they've done all season, they rallied to put themselves in a position to win. SCU's first three batters of the inning reached safely to bring the tying run into the on-deck circle. A groundout and a fly out only brought home one run and put two outs on the scoreboard, but a walk and an infield single made it a three-run game and loaded the bases, sending the potential winning run to the plate.
   
• The Broncos pinch-hit with Ben Steck, who had a chance to be a hero for a team that already has one walk-off grand slam this year. Steck got ahead in the count, 2-1, but a called strike on the next pitch evened it at 2-2 before he'd go down swinging to end the game.
   
• San Jose State took an early 4-0 lead with all four runs being scored with two outs. Five of the Spartans' first six runs in the game were scored with two outs as they got out to a 6-2 lead through three innings. Santa Clara scored twice in the second, twice in the fifth and twice in the eighth, each time pulling itself within two or three runs of SJSU. But in each of those instances, the Spartans answered with two runs of their own in the very next half inning to put their lead right back where it was.
   
• The Broncos had four multi-hit performances led by JonJon Berring's 4-for-4 day in the leadoff spot. He had a double, a walk, a stolen base and scored three runs. Dylan Joyce went 2 for 5 with two RBIs, including a run-scoring double in the fifth. Malcolm Williams was also 2 for 5 with an RBI double, his coming in the seventh. Jordan Lewis went 2 for 4 with two RBI hits, a double in the second and an infield single in the ninth.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

• 4: Berring's four-hit game was his second of the season. He also had four hits on Feb. 25 versus UMBC. It was the third such game of his career, the first coming on April 6, 2023, versus Pacific.
• 11 and 8: Seven different Broncos pitchers combined for 11 strikeouts, but they also walked eight. It was only the second time this year the Santa Clara pitching staff has had double-digit strikeouts with at least eight walks in the same game, the other coming in an 8-4 win at Washington (11 strikeouts, 10 walks) on March 1.

NEXT UP
The Broncos travel north for a three-game West Coast Conference series starting Friday at Gonzaga. Fans can find all live coverage links on SantaClaraBroncos.com.