SANTA CLARA, Calif. (Interstat) — The Santa Clara Broncos erupted for eight runs over the fifth and sixth innings to overcome an early deficit and complete a series sweep of the Loyola Marymount Lions with a 10-5 victory Sunday afternoon at Stephen Schott Stadium.

The Broncos, who outscored LMU 31-9 in the three-game set, improved to 12-14 overall. The Lions fell to 8-23.

Loyola Marymount built a 5-0 lead through the top of the fifth, capitalizing on Santa Clara mistakes and timely hitting. An unearned run scored in the second on Cole Whitton’s RBI single after a throwing error and a wild pitch. Travis Friend extended the lead with a solo home run to left-center in the third.

The Lions added two more in the fifth. Diego Ghiorso’s groundout plated Jack Wall, and Will Gurney followed with an RBI double to score Zach Wadas. Robbie Klosek’s single brought home Gurney to make it 5-0.

Santa Clara’s offense, dormant early against LMU starter Avery Laine, who threw three no-hit innings but allowed two earned runs, finally broke through in the third on an RBI single from Michael Luetzow and a sacrifice fly from Cole Anderson.

The game turned decisively in the bottom of the fifth. The Broncos sent 10 men to the plate, scoring four runs on five hits to tie the game at 5-5. Tate Medicoff and Efrain Garcia delivered run-scoring singles, and JonJon Walsh drove in another with a fielder’s choice.

The Broncos seized control an inning later, batting around again to score four more runs. Ben Cleary’s RBI double gave Santa Clara its first lead at 7-5. Later in the inning, with the bases loaded and two outs, Medicoff delivered the decisive blow, a two-run single through the left side that pushed the advantage to 9-5. Thomas Ferroggiaro added a solo home run in the seventh for the final margin.

The most important part of the game was Santa Clara’s relentless two-inning rally in the fifth and sixth, which transformed a five-run deficit into a four-run lead. After being stifled for four innings, the Broncos’ lineup strung together a series of patient at-bats and clutch hits, exploiting LMU’s bullpen and defensive miscues to completely reverse the game’s momentum.

Medicoff led Santa Clara’s 15-hit attack, going 3 for 5 with three RBIs. Ferroggiaro also had three hits, including his homer, and scored three runs. Cleary added two hits and an RBI.

Reliever RJ Meyn earned the win for Santa Clara, providing critical stability with 3 1/3 scoreless innings of two-hit ball, striking out two. His outing followed a rough appearance against San Francisco last week where he allowed five earned runs. Bronco starter Jace Gillmore went three innings, allowing two earned runs on two hits.

For Loyola Marymount, Friend had two hits, including his homer. Gurney and Whitton each drove in a run. Caleb Sweeney and Zachary DenDekker combined for 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief out of the Lions’ bullpen.

The victory gave Santa Clara its first three-game sweep of a West Coast Conference opponent this season. Loyola Marymount has lost 10 of its last 12 games.

Santa Clara hosts San Jose State on Monday. Loyola Marymount returns home to begin a series against San Francisco on Thursday.