May 1, 2002
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Santa Clara vs. Pepperdine
The Broncos and Waves have met 111 times on the field since the series inception in 1960. Pepperdine holds the all-time advantage in the series with a 67-41-2 record, including a 13-2 mark over the last five seasons. The Broncos have dropped five consecutive series to the Waves, with their last series win coming in 1997 when Santa Clara swept four straight from Pepperdine at Buck Shaw Stadium. Earlier this season, Pepperdine swept the Broncos in a three-game series in Malibu, Calif. by scores of 6-3, 8-7 and 4-3.
Sizing Up the Waves
Pepperdine enters Buck Shaw Stadium with a 23-24 overall record and a 11-8 conference mark. The Waves handed the USC Trojans a 7-1 defeat Tuesday afternoon in Los Angeles behind solid pitching performances from James Carroll and Robert Hobbs. Prior to the win at USC, the Waves had lost six of their last nine games, including a series sweep at Portland last weekend, drawing the WCC Coast Division race very close. Ty Harper continues to lead the Waves, entering the week with a .344 batting average and 31 RBI. Chris Kelly leads the Pepperdine power numbers with 13 home runs and 39 runs batted in to go along with his .267 average. As a team the Waves are hitting .292 while their opponents are batting at a .316 clip. The pitching staff is led by Jacob Barrack who has a 4-1 record with a 3.53 ERA and three saves. Derek Mills, Brandon Boesch and Kevin Beavers all have four victories for the Waves, helping the staff to a 5.96 ERA. Greg Ramirez is 2-4 on the season with a 6.91 ERA, but both of his wins came against Santa Clara in late March.
Broncos Take Two of Three from Loyola Marymount
Santa Clara traveled to Los Angeles, Calif. last weekend to take on Loyola Marymount in a three-game series at George Page Stadium. The Lions handed the Broncos a 14-6 series opening defeat Friday afternoon. Santa Clara returned Saturday with renewed interest in the game, handing the Lions a 6-3 loss in game two behind Jim Wallace's four RBI. The catcher from Reno, Nev. delivered again in Sunday's season finale, knocking in three more runs to the Broncos to a 17-1 rout. The win on Sunday evened Santa Clara's conference record at 10-10 and moved them to within 1 1/2 games of division leader Pepperdine.
Hitting the Mark
In eight of Santa Clara's last 11 games, the Broncos have recorded double-digit hits. Those hits however, have not translated into more wins, as Santa Clara is 5-6 during that same time span. Overall this season, the Broncos are 13-11 in games in which they have reached double digit hits.
Wallace Named WCC Player of the Week
Jim Wallace garnered WCC Player of the Week honors last week for his performances against Sacramento State and Loyola Marymount.The junior from Reno, Nev. went 9-for-15 (.562) on the week with three home runs, three doubles, seven runs scored, 11 RBI and a 1.312 slugging percentage. Wallace now leads the team by himself with 10 home runs on the season and is second on the team in batting average (.342), runs batted in (37), on base percentage (.422) and slugging percentage (.604).
Gomes Ranks Third in Nation, First in Santa Clara History for Doubles
Entering the week, senior right fielder Joey Gomes was ranked No. 3 in the nation in doubles per game in 2002. He was averaging 0.57 per game before the Saint Mary's game. James Boyd from UMBC ranks first in the nation with his 0.60 per game average. After stroking his 25th double of the year against Loyola Marymount last Sunday, Gomes tied the all-time single season mark in Santa Clara history that was originally set by Mike Frank during the 1997 season. His next double will give him the record all by himself.
Redmond Picks Up Two Wins in One Week
Sophomore southpaw John Redmond finished last week with a 2-0 record after picking up wins in Santa Clara's 18-1 win at Sacramento State and the 17-1 win at Loyola Marymount. For the week he threw 14.0 innings in which he posted a 1.29 ERA after allowing only two runs on 16 hits while striking out seven and walking only two. In Tuesday's win at Sac State, Redmond threw six full innings, allowing only one run on nine Hornet hits. At Loyola Marymount in the Broncos' series clinching 17-1 win, Redmond allowed only one run on seven hits. He evened his season record at 5-5 after the week and lowered his season ERA from 4.87 down to 4.23.
April Numbers Jump for Two Broncos
The month of April and the Broncos seemed to agree with one another as many Santa Clara
players put up good numbers during the team's 16 games. Jim Wallace led the Broncos to a 8-8 overall record and a 7-6 WCC mark during the month of April. During that time span he went 28-for-63 (.444) with eight home runs, five doubles and 26 RBI. He led the team in home runs, RBI, runs scored (18), total bases (56), slugging percentage (.949) and on base percentage (.515). Matt Travis made four starts during the month of April, going 3-1 with a 2.76 ERA. In his 29 1/3 innings of work he struck out 17 batters while walking only six and limited opponents to a .263 batting average. He recorded a win over San Francisco at home and wins over San Diego and Loyola Marymount on the road. His ERA before the month of April was at 6.26, but after April he has lowered it to where it stands now at 4.45. The Broncos as a team finished the month with an 8-8 overall record and a 7-6 mark in the WCC.
Probable Starters by Position
Santa Clara Pepperdine 26 Shawn Epidendio 1B 27 Chris Kelly 1B 4 A.J. LaBarbera 2B 9 Simon Ferrer 2B 15 Pat Peavey SS 8 Patrick Rooney SS 7 Mark Folgner 3B 10 Duke Sardhina 3B 8 Jim Wallace C 36 Rock Mills C 35 Ryan Chiarelli LF 5 Cory Brightwell LF 3 Jack Headley CF 13 Jason Durbin CF 21 Joey Gomes RF 11 Ed Montague RF 9 Scott Dierks DH 22 Ty Harper DH
Probable Starting Rotation
Santa Clara Pepperdine 10 Matt Travis 5-2, 4.23 ERA TBA 22 John Redmond 5-5, 4.23 ERA TBA 18 Joe Diefenderfer 4-6, 4.55 ERA TBA
WCC Baseball Standings (as of April 30, 2002)
WCC Overall Coast Division Team W L Pct. W L Pct. Pepperdine 11 8 .579 23 24 .489 Gonzaga 11 10 .524 23 21 .522 Saint Mary's 10 9 .526 18 21 .462 Santa Clara 10 11 .476 20 26 .435West Division Team W L Pct. W L Pct. San Diego 15 9 .625 33 17 .660 Portland 12 9 .571 20 21 .487 LMU 10 10 .500 17 27 .386 USF 5 18 .217 13 35 .233
WCC Series Schedule for May 3-5
Pepperdine at Santa Clara
Gonzaga at Saint Mary's
San Diego at Loyola Marymount
San Francisco at Portland