PORTLAND, Ore. --- With the score tied in the top of the eighth inning, the Santa Clara Broncos scored three runs before adding two more in the ninth to claim a 7-2 win over the Portland Pilots in a West Coast Conference baseball game played on a sunny and warm afternoon at Joe Etzel Field. The Pilots led 2-0 for most of the game before the Broncos rallied for the win.
 
Portland (10-38, 5-18 WCC) starter Kurt Yinger was in vintage form early as he retired the first eight batters he faced to begin the game. He also got some help defensively as second baseman Kevin Farley made a nice diving stop on a hard-hit grounder in the second inning. Left fielder Turner Gill also made a pair of diving catches to help keep the Broncos off the board.
 
Both of Portland's runs came in the bottom of the third and both came with two outs. Ryan Barr led off the frame with a single up the middle and he moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Grant Taylor. After a fly out by Michael Lucarelli, Brady Kerr singled to left, scoring Barr with the game's first run. Gill then made it a two-run game when he drove a double to the left-center gap that scored Kerr all the way from first.
 
The lead would stand for a while as Yinger was cruising. The senior right-hander faced one batter more than the minimum through five innings, but in the sixth the Bronco bats finally came to life. In that sixth inning, Kyle Cortopassi cut the deficit in half with an RBI single, and an inning later Santa Clara tied it with a run-scoring single off the bat of Ryan Budnick.
 
The Broncos then took control of the game with that three-run eighth, which chased Yinger from the game. Jose Vizcaino, Jr., gave the Broncos their first lead when he greeted new pitcher Alex Fisher with an RBI single to left. Two more runs would eventually score before Santa Clara added a pair of insurance runs in the final frame.
 
Yinger (2-9) scattered nine hits in 7.1 innings, allowing four runs. He struck out four and didn't issue a walk. Fisher was followed on the mound by relievers Carl Snaring and Jake Hawken.
 
Santa Clara (23-26, 10-13 WCC) starter Eric Lex evens his record at 4-4 on the year by holding the Pilots to just two runs. He surrendered six hits in 7.0 innings and Mitchell White allowed just one hit in the final 2.0 innings to earn his fifth save of the year.
 
Kerr and Gill both had two hits for the Pilots, and Gill moves five doubles closer to becoming Portland's all-time leader in that category. The senior has 53 doubles for his career, which are behind only Brad Clem's (1989-92) 57.
 
The Pilots next conclude the home portion of the 2015 season when they host the Broncos tomorrow for the series finale at 1 p.m. The game will be preceded by Portland's Senior Day ceremony as the Pilots will honor their eight seniors.