SANTA CLARA, Calif. --- Portland's Ryan Barr and Eric Sapp each hit a home run, but the Santa Clara Broncos prevailed 9-5 over the Pilots to begin a three-game West Coast Conference series on Friday night at Stephen Schott Stadium. Sapp finished the night with three hits.

Barr hit Portland's (17-30, 3-19 WCC) first home run, which came with the bases empty in the top of the fourth inning. It's Barr's first homer of the year, and it evened the score 1-1.

The Broncos (21-26, 8-14 WCC) then scored two in the bottom of the fourth inning to re-claim the lead. Stevie Berman drove in both runs with a single up the middle, which gave Santa Clara a 3-1 advantage.

Sapp then got one back when he led off the top of the fifth with a solo shot to right field. It's Sapp's first long fly of the year, and it pulled the Pilots within 3-2.

But the Broncos responded with a run in the home half of the fifth before taking control of the game with a four-run seventh. John Cresto had the big hit in the seventh when he belted a two-run home run to left field, to help push the lead to 8-2.

The Pilots did answer with a three-run eighth, cutting the deficit to 8-5. Caleb Whalen scored the first run on a passed ball, Kevin Farley brought home the second with a sac fly, and Brian Pozos drove in the third run on a fielder's choice.

Santa Clara then pushed one across in the eighth before sealing the win.

Portland starter Jordan Horak (1-7) takes the loss after pitching 5.0 innings. He allowed four runs on 10 hits, but the sophomore lefty did match a season-high with eight strikeouts. Cole Doherty and Adam Wozniak also took the hill for the Pilots.

Santa Clara starter Steven Wilson improves to 5-4 on the year after going 6.0 innings. He fanned nine and surrendered just two runs on five hits. He was followed by three Bronco relievers.

The Pilots will next look to recover during the second game of the series, which is scheduled for Saturday night at 6 p.m.