Sacramento State fought till the end, but ultimately lost in extra innings against the University of Minnesota in the final game of the series, Sunday at John Smith Field.

The Hornets lost 5-3 in the rubber match against the Golden Gophers.

Down 2-0 until the sixth inning, Hornets junior designated hitter Clay Cederquist, launched a solo home run just above the right field fence to cut the score in half. Two innings later, freshman pinch hitter Ryan Locke tied the game by hitting a two-out single to left that scored junior third baseman Scotty Burcham.

Locke has been called to pinch hit several times this season and he has been ready for every opportunity.

“I try to think base hit up the middle, I just try to hit it hard and I saw fastball second pitch and I just smoked it and hit it right back up there,” Locke said. “If you don’t swing at the pitch that’s there for you right away, you might not get another one.”

The game went into extra innings where Hornets relievers, freshman Julian Barron and senior Hunter Greenwood, struggled to throw strikes, giving up three runs in the top of the 10th. Head coach Reggie Christiansen used seven pitchers on the mound today.

We just ran out of guys at the end there,” Christiansen said. “We had to bring in Sutter (McLaughlin) to have a chance to stay in the game in the eighth and ninth. We just really ran out of guys. Hopefully we’ll learn from it and get better.”

In the bottom of the 10th, the Hornets, facing a three run deficit, had a runner on first when Burcham hit a double off the wall that scored junior first baseman Rhys Hoskins. Sac State would get the tying run on base, but there would be no further damage in the inning.

“Both teams had a lot of opportunities, they just took advantage of the opportunity they had late, it’s baseball,” Christiansen said.

The Hornets have played a difficult non-conference schedule and Cederquist thinks it will benefit them when Western Athletic Conference play begins.

“You know this season we’ve had our ups and downs, but that’s to be expected when we play a tough preseason like we’ve had,” Cederquist said. “Now that conference is rolling around, things will start clicking. We have a lot of fighters in this clubhouse so it’ll be fun.”

Playing close games has been a theme for Sac State as it is 5-5 in games decided by two runs or fewer.

“We battle hard, we just keep fighting all the time,” Locke said. “We’re not the team that blows teams out. We’re gonna be using everybody on the team to win and that’s how we’ve been told and that’s how we’ve been trying to play.”

The Hornets will have one final game against the University of Pacific before WAC play begins Friday. Sac State will take on Pacific, Tuesday at Raley Field. First pitch is at 6:35 p.m.

Curtis can be reached on twitter @CTMstatehornet