by Brandon Rebboah

SANTA CLARA, Calif.- Santa Clara committed five errors and fell to Gonzaga, 8-0, in the first game of a three-game West Coast Conference series. The Broncos dashed Gonzaga starter Ryan Carpenter's no-hit bid in the seventh on a single by Kyle DeMerritt. Carpenter (6-1) picked up the win for the Zags, while Cory Hall fell to 4-5 despite allowing just one earned run.

"I think Cory pitched well tonight," said Santa Clara head  coach Mark O'Brien. " We didn't play defense behind him and that doesn't help him."

In the top of the second, the Zags scored two unearned runs on an inning that had two Santa Clara errors and a wild pitch.

After the shaky second inning for the Broncos, Hall settled in and the pitchers dueled back-and-forth for five scoreless innings.  In the third frame, Hall fanned two-straight batters. After allowing a six-pitch walk, he punched Alex Hunter for the third strikeout of the inning.

Hall continued to down Gonzaga batters, retiring the side in the fourth and fifth inning.  However, Carpenter continued to hold Santa Clara hitless.

Gonzaga broke the game open in the seventh, scoring five runs to put the Bulldogs up 7-0.

In the home half of the inning, Santa Clara broke up the perfect game and the no-hitter. Justin Viele walked to provide Santa Clara with their first base runner of the game. Kyle DeMerritt singled to left field to break up Ryan Carpenter's no-hit bid. However, a double play ended the inning.  

"When a guy is dominating…you want to get some guys on base," said O'Brien. "We just have to get back to the approach that works for us. We have to hit groundballs and line-drives

The Broncos ultimately fell by the final 8-0.

The series will continue tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. Hard-throwing righty J.R. Graham (2-2; 2.88 ERA) will take the mound for the Broncos.

Game Notes: First pitch was thrown at 6:05… tonight's game was Reggae Night at Schott Stadium…attendance was 250.