COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Santa Clara baseball team dropped to 0-3 on the season, falling in the final game of the series against No. 7/14 South Carolina, 6-0, today at Carolina Stadium.
The Broncos and Gamecocks went scoreless through five innings before South Carolina put up four runs in the bottom of the sixth. Starting pitcher sophomore Chris Mendoza had surrendered just three hits before the Gamecocks' offensive burst and allowed the first three runs in the inning. Freshman Max Deering and redshirt junior Jason Westerberg both made brief relief appearances in the sixth inning.
Junior J.R. Graham saw his first time this season on the mound, closing out the game for the Broncos. Graham struck out four batters in 2.1 innings pitched.
South Carolina added two more runs, one each in the seventh and eighth, to put the final score at 6-0.
Santa Clara once again struggled to ignite its offense against the defending national champions, only notching four hits in the game. Junior Lucas Herbst went 2-for-3 with a single and a double and the Broncos left six on base throughout the game.
Santa Clara returns home to host Albany this coming weekend in a four-game series at Stephen Schott Stadium. The first game of the series will be Friday, Feb. 25 at 6 p.m.
Notes: Broncos making their first appearance on the field in this season today were Drew Ozanne, Stephen Takahashi, Blake Leyva, Chris Mendoza, Jason Westerberg, and J.R. Graham.
