SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Sacramento State rallied with three runs in the ninth to knock off Utah Valley University, 4-3, on Thursday night at John Smith Field in the first of three games in the final WAC regular season series of the season.
 
The win allowed the Hornets (29-23, 15-7) to stay alive in the hunt for a shared WAC regular season title while the Wolverines (15-35, 6-16) lost despite a strong performance from right-hander Paxton Schultz.
 
Schultz cruised through eight innings before the ninth-inning rally. He allowed just two hits after eight complete innings, retiring 15 of 16 after the first hitter of the game singled against him.
 
David Modler got UVU in the scoring column when he led off the second with a home run on the first pitch of the inning, his fifth homer of the season. In the third, Ryan Eastburn and Jackson Overlund delivered back-to-back doubles to give Utah Valley a 2-1 lead.
 
The Wolverines added a run in the seventh on a safety squeeze off the bat of Michael Beltran. Paul Estrada reached on an error to lead off the inning and moved to second when Drew Sims singled. A hitter later, with runners at first and third, Beltran squared on an 0-1 pitch and got it down, allowing Estrada to score and make it 3-0.
 
Sac State got on the board in the seventh when James Outman led off the inning with a home run, cutting the deficit to 3-1. Schultz retired the next six hitters heading into the ninth before the Hornets came back.
 
Keith Torres doubled on the first pitch before Vinny Esposito walked. Outman singled to load the bases and Matt Smith walked to force in a run and chase Schultz in favor of Jake Carr. PJ Floyd worked a walk to force in the tying run and Andrew McWilliam singled to left on the very next pitch for the walk-off win.
 
Utah Valley out-hit Sac State, 10-5, getting two-hit days from Overlund and Sims. Outman had two hits and scored twice for the Hornets. Schultz (1-5) took the loss while Austin Roberts (3-2), who pitched the ninth, got the win. The series continues on Friday with a 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT first pitch.