SANTA CLARA, Calif. — They almost did it again.
 
The Santa Clara University baseball team brought the tying run to the plate in both the eighth and ninth innings Saturday, vying for a second come-from-behind win in as many days, but visiting CSUN held on and escaped with an 11-9 win to even the teams' non-conference series at Stephen Schott Stadium.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Santa Clara (1-1) faced an 11-3 deficit through 6 1/2 innings Saturday, and like Friday's comeback, it went to work in the late innings beginning in the sixth. The rally started small with single runs in the sixth and seventh on a sacrifice fly and a two-out RBI single, respectively, marking the Broncos' first scoring since the first and making it 11-4.
   
• Santa Clara surged for four runs in the eighth without recording an out, grabbing all the momentum after plodding along the previous six innings. Just like Friday night's game-winning four-run burst, the rally began with two free passes. Mateo Garcia had an RBI double, Ben Cleary notched his first hit of the season with a two-run double, and Max Ross singled home the fourth run to pull the Broncos within three at 11-8.
   
• Malcolm Williams – Friday night's hero – drew a one-out walk in the eighth to bring the tying run to the plate. Two batters later, Thomas Ferroggiaro worked a two-out walk to load the bases, but a mental lapse in base running at third base caught the Broncos off guard and caused the rally to end prematurely.
   
• Garcia came through again in the bottom of the ninth, singling home Luke Devine to make it 11-9. Devine tried to spark the Broncos to another game-winning rally with a leadoff double. Ross came up again – already with two hits and two RBIs in the game – with a chance for a game-tying home run, but his sharply-hit ball down the third-base line was snagged and the force out was made at second to get Garcia and end the game.
   
• Garcia finished the game 4 for 5 with a double, two RBIs and three runs scored. Dylan Joyce went 3 for 5 with an RBI, and both Williams and Ross each finished with two hits.
   
• CSUN (1-1) got another strong starting pitching performance Saturday, this one from Diego Gutierrez, but the Matadors' bullpen struggled for the second consecutive day. Gutierrez, like his predecessor Ryan Halamicek on Friday, left with the lead after throwing 5 1/3 innings with five strikeouts. Gutierrez got hit around a little more than Halamicek did the day before, allowing three runs on six hits and four walks, but he left with a 9-3 lead at the time. It took five CSUN relievers to throw the final 3 2/3 innings, giving up six runs on eight hits (three doubles) and four walks of their own before finally avoiding another SCU comeback.
   
• The Matadors got two more home runs Saturday after getting a two-run shot on Friday. Cleanup hitter Matthew Pena had a three-run homer in the fifth inning, part of his five-RBI day. Royce Clayton Jr. hit a two-run shot on the first pitch he saw in the fourth.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

• 3: Three more newcomers made their Santa Clara debuts, including freshman right-handed pitcher Andrew Habermann. The rookie threw three shutout innings at the end of the game, only allowing one hit and giving the Broncos a chance to come back. Transfer pitchers Cooper Lanz and Davis Franklin also made their debuts Saturday.
   
• 9: Williams extended his hitting streak to nine games Saturday with another multi-hit game (2 for 3), his second in as many games. He's now hitting .470 during his streak with seven multi-hit games and seven RBIs.

COMING UP

• The series concludes at noon Sunday with the rubber game. CSUN is scheduled to throw righty Jason Davis, while the Broncos have yet to announce a starter. Fans can purchase tickets and find all live coverage links on SantaClaraBroncos.com.