SANTA CLARA, Calif. — 13 innings, 26 runs, 36 hits, 18 different pitchers and more than five hours of baseball made for a wild series finale Sunday between the Santa Clara University baseball team and Saint Mary's, as the two teams combined to score 12 runs in extra innings before the Gaels finally got away with a 15-11 victory, completing a West Coast Conference series sweep at Stephen Schott Stadium.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Santa Clara (13-21, 3-9 WCC) jumped all over Saint Mary's starter Jake Hilton, scoring three runs in the first inning and two more in the third to chase Hilton early while leading 5-2. The Broncos would get out to a 7-2 lead after six innings, handing a lead over to the bullpen for the second consecutive day. Tyler Alleman made the first weekend start of his career Sunday and only allowed two runs in a season-long-tying three innings of work, striking out two.
   
• Like Saturday, the Gaels (21-14, 8-4 WCC) slowly chipped away at Santa Clara's lead late in the game. The Gaels scored two runs, two more runs and a final tying run, respectively, in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings to force extras. Makoa Sniffen's leadoff, first-pitch home run in the top of the ninth tied the game at 7-7. Three of Saint Mary's five comeback runs were scored on RBI groundouts.
   
• Santa Clara had numerous chances to win the game late. The Broncos left the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth and 10th. They got a leadoff hit-by-pitch to start the bottom of the 11th, but back-to-back strikeouts and a first-pitch groundout stranded the runner at first. Max Ross put himself at third base with only one out in the bottom of the 12th after hitting a game-tying, two-run triple, but he was stranded there after back-to-back groundouts.
   
• Saint Mary's scored three runs in the top of the 12th with a rally that began with two outs and no one on. Three RBI base hits and two free passes (hit-by-pitch, walk) powered the go-ahead rally. But Santa Clara answered right back with three runs of its own in the bottom half to tie the game again at 10-10. Camden Sos doubled home Will Anderson and Ross' two-run triple knotted the game. The Broncos' rally also started with a hit-by-pitch, like SMC's did in the top half of the 12th. Finn Chapman (1-0) entered and got two groundouts to strand Ross at third, helping him earn his first victory of the season.
   
• The Gaels struck again in the top of the 13th, this time for five runs – four unearned. Another rally that began with a leadoff walk – one of nine issued by Santa Clara pitchers Sunday – resulted in a 15-10 lead for Saint Mary's. Diego Castellanos hit a first-pitch two-run homer during the rally, and a fielding error on a potential sacrifice bunt extended the inning, allowing four additional runs to score.
   
• Those four runs made the difference, as Santa Clara put together one more rally in the bottom half of the 13th. Johnny Luetzow singled home Andrew Rayment, who led off the inning with a four-pitch walk, to make it 15-11, but a flyout and a groundout ended the threat and the game with the tying run in the hole.
   
• Payton Lambert had a career-high four hits and scored twice to lead the Broncos' offense. Rayment went 3 for 5 with three runs scored, two walks and a triple, combining with Lambert to go 7 for 11 with five runs scored and only one strikeout at the top of the order. Luke Devine tied a career high with four RBIs, hitting his first home run of the season, a two-run shot in the first inning that put Santa Clara up early. Devine, Luetzow, Ross and Sos all had two hits apiece.
   
• Saint Mary's had three four-hit performances in its lineup, all from its 2-3-4 hitters, Castellanos, Sniffen and Ian Armstrong. Armstrong hit for the cycle for the second time this week, getting a no-man's land double to fall right next to the right field foul line in the 13th to complete the feat. The Gaels outhit Santa Clara, 19-17, to cap off a weekend in which they scored 31 runs on 42 hits.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

• 5: Santa Clara tied a season-high with five stolen bases in the game. With the five steals, they reached 36 on the season, surpassing their entire year's total from 2025 (34), with five weeks still to play in the regular season.
• 13: Sunday's 13 innings marked Santa Clara's longest game since also playing 13 innings at San Diego on May 3, 2024.
• 17: The Broncos collected a season-high 17 hits, their most in a single game since also having 17 at Arizona State on Feb. 17, 2024.

COMING UP

• The Broncos begin a four-game Northern California road trip on Wednesday with a single non-conference game at Stanford. Fans can find all live coverage links on SantaClaraBroncos.com.