After losing the season-opener the Sacramento State baseball team started the night before, the Hornets were looking for revenge.

And they got it.

The Hornets beat Washington State 9-8 with some ninth inning heroics.

Though the score indicates differently, the game wasn’t even close up until the 7th inning.

The Hornets opened the scoring in the first inning with three runs, just as they did the previous day.

An error on Cougar third baseman Zach McAngus allowed the first Hornet run to score. Catcher Matt Wilson then smoked an RBI single to center to score Blauser. Left fielder Josh Levine capped the scoring for the Hornets, lacing a single to centerfield, sending home Flowers for the early 3-0 lead.

Hornet right-hander Travis Kane allowed only one hit in five innings pitched, striking out three and walking two.

This was the second straight day a Hornet starting pitcher threw five shutout innings, as Friday’s pitcher Ethan Katz was the first to complete the feet.

“Our starters have done a great job of giving us quality innings and we have more of those guys,” Hornet coach John Smith said. “Our starting pitching has a chance to be really special.”

The Hornets’ offense didn’t let up, however, as it added four runs in the fourth inning.

Levine led off the inning with a double to the gap and ended up scoring after centerfielder Travis Kassebaum’s sacrifice bunt was muffed by the Cougar defense. Second baseman Billy Sinacori also scored on the play, coming all the way home from first base.

Shortstop Everet Rincon continued the onslaught with a smash single to right, scoring Kassebaum. Wilson finished off the inning with a laser down the left field line that missed a grand slam by mere feet. Only one run scored on the long single, but it was enough to give the Hornets a commanding 7-0 lead.

Washington State committed four errors in all, three coming from McAngus; two were costly, though, as both came on the same play, opening up the game for the Hornets. The Cougars have committed a total of seven errors in the last two games.

However, in the seventh inning, it was a Sac State error and several hit batsmen that led to a Cougar comeback.

Zach Franklin was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, giving Washington State their first run. After that, things fell apart for the Hornets.

Jeff Miller hit a routine groundball to Sinacori, but he couldn’t make the play, giving the Cougars their second run. Matthew Thomas then walked, forcing home a run. The next three Washington State batters were hit by a pitch, making it a marry-go-round to home plate for the Cougars, as the bases were loaded each time. After it was all said and done, Washington State scored six runs on only one hit in the inning, making the score 7-6.

“Our middle-relief guys have struggled quite a bit, yesterday and today,” Smith said. “They walked a lot of guys and hit a lot of them, too, but we just have to work with them on control so we can keep these leads we build early on.”

Both teams weren’t done scoring, though, as the sea-saw affair continued for the rest of the game.

In the top of the eighth, Cougar Jeff Miller doubled down the left field line and scored on pinch hitter Nick Hall’s double, which tied the score at 7-all. Jason Miller then singled to centerfield to score pinch runner Scott Suttmeier and put the Cougars ahead, 8-7, giving them their first lead of the game.

The lead wouldn’t last long, however, as the Hornets fought right back to tie the game up in their half of the 8th.

After a Wilson single to left, Blauser scored to tie the game up; the go-ahead run was thrown out at the plate, however, so the game would go into the ninth inning tied at 8-8.

Sac State had the chance to end the game and it did just that; Blauser came up big once again by singling up the middle, sending home pinch runner Darnell Guary.

“I was just trying to make something happen, so I took a fastball right back up the middle,” Blauser said. “It was a good win with a lot of offense, which isn’t normally our strong suit.”

The Hornets’ win was a big one because of the tough loss it suffered earlier in the day when it finished the tie game it started on Friday.

In the top of the tenth inning, Zach Kosturos doubled down the left field line, scoring Jason Freeman. The Hornets couldn’t muster any offense in their half of the inning and ultimately lost 8-7 in 10 innings.

The next Hornet home game is on Sunday at 12 p.m. at Hornet Field; the game is the finale of the three-game series the Hornets will play with Washington State.