Junior reliever Mitch Lively allowed four runs in the ninth Wednesday at Hornet Field to blow his second consecutive save and the Hornets lost 6-4 to the University of San Francisco. The demoralizing loss for the Hornets (8-15) is the second in as many games in which they allowed a multiple-run lead to slip away.

“We’ve had two heart breakers; we had two games that were in our grasps to win, and it’s tough swallowing that pill,” Coach John Smith said.

With the game tied at 2, Hornets’ second baseman Gary Johnson led off the eighth inning with a solid single up the middle. Johnson then stole second and went to third on a wild pitch.

After left fielder Ryan Blair grounded out softly to third to record the first out of the inning, San Francisco elected to intentionally walk first baseman Gabe Jacobo to get to designated hitter Jeff Hannah.

The gamble appeared to pay off for the Dons temporarily when Hannah struck out swinging with Johnson still at third. Fortunately for Sac State, the third strike was in the dirt and Dons’ catcher Daniel Morales couldn’t block the pitch, allowing Johnson to score the go ahead run.

The run by Johnson offset an error he committed on a potential double play ball in the fifth that led to the Dons tying the game at two. Jacobo also moved to second on the wild pitch and got to third on pitcher John Quine’s third wild pitch of the inning.

Hornets’ catcher Jeff Giacomini plated Jacobo when he hit a routine fly ball to shortstop that was swirled around by a strong wind and fell just in front of diving shortstop Brian Chavez’s glove. The insurance run gave Sac State a 4-2 lead going into the ninth.

Dons right fielder Luke Sommer led off the top of the ninth with a single up the middle. After recording the first out of the inning, Lively gave up a single to center fielder Bobby Ethel to right center, moving Sommer over to second.

Chavez followed suit with a single of his own, scoring Sommer and cutting the lead to one. After pinch hitter Matt Lieb flied out to center for the second out, left fielder Jonnie Knoble hit an opposite field hooking double that fell just inside the line, scoring Ethel and tying the game at four.

“That’s not (Lively),” Smith said. “He’s been throwing so nice all season then all of a sudden the last two outings he’s given up quite a few runs.”

The game winning hit was credited to Dons’ second baseman Joey Railey when his bloop single landed just in front of Blair, scoring Chavez and Knoble to go up 6-4.

“They didn’t lie down and go quietly in the ninth, they came out and battled and that’s a tribute to them,” Smith said.

The Hornets will play a home and home with Pac-10 power Stanford this weekend with Sacramento’s half at 2 p.m. Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday in Palo Alto.