April 25, 2006
STANFORD, Calif. - In a Tuesday night battle between South Bay Area rivals it was only fitting that South Bay natives keyed the winning rally for Santa Clara. Atherton's Brady Fuerst pounded a one-out double that scored San Jose's own Eric Newton and Gabriel Alcantar in the top of the 10th inning as the Broncos came away with a 6-1 victory over the Stanford Cardinal at Sunken Diamond Stadium.
The win extends Santa Clara's winning streak to three heading into a crucial WCC home series this weekend against the Saint Mary's Gaels. Friday's opener at Stephen Schott Stadium is set for a 7 p.m. first pitch while Saturday and Sunday's contests are scheduled for 1 p.m. starts. Tickets are available by calling (408) 554-4660 or by visiting the Leavey Center ticket office.
Tuesday night the two teams combined for only six hits through the first nine innings of a classic pitcher's duel. SCU starter Donald Brandt gave up the only run to the Cardinal in his three innings, striking out three while allowing only three hits. On the opposing side, Stanford's Matt Leva surrendered only a single hit and struck out four in his six innings of work.
Fuerst's two-RBI double in the extra frame provided the winning runs for the Broncos (24-18, 5-7 WCC) and an RBI singles from Daniel Nava and Dustin Realini tacked on some insurance for SCU. Nava and Realini each had two hits and two RBIs in the game to help defeat the Cardinal (17-18, 3-9 Pac-10).
Jeff Lombard pitched scoreless frames in the ninth and tenth for his second victory of the season.
Stanford's bullpen, meanwhile, could not pick up Leva's effort as Max Fearnow gave up a lead-off double to Nava in the seventh. After Nava advanced to third on a groundout, Fearnow's two-out wild pitch to Eric Newton allowed Nava to scamper home with the tying run.
The Bronco bullpen came up huge on their end, as Daniel DeMarco, Chris Stansbury and Lombard held the Stanford offense to only one hit and one base on balls while striking out five Cardinal batters over the final seven innings. The trio combined to retire 13-straight batters at one point in the contest.
Lombard, looking to preserve the tie in the bottom of the ninth, came up with a big stop as he reacted quickly to snag a Brendan Domaracki shot that seemed headed up the middle for a potential game-winning single. Instead, Lombard's solid defensive effort ended the inning and set the stage for the offensive explosion for SCU in the tenth.