by Brandon Rebboah
Watch Coach O'Brien in the WCC "Baseball Coaches Wired For Sound"
Santa Clara, Calif.- Santa Clara continues a four-game home stand with a mid-week bout with Cal. After the mid-week game, the Broncos will travel to Malibu, Calif. to battle Pepperdine in a West Coast Conference series.
Fans should keep an eye on SantaClaraBroncos.com, @SCUBroncos on Twitter or the athletics Facebook fan page for in-game updates.
Game Notes Week # 12 Apr. 12- Apr. 16, 2011
Cal @ Santa Clara
Tues., Apr. 16, 2011 6 p.m. Stephen Schott Stadium
Probable Starters: TBD Powell Fansler (3-3; 5.59 ERA) vs. LHP TBD
Santa Clara @ Pepperdine
Fri., May 6, 2011 6 p.m. Eddy D. Field Stadium (Malibu, Calif.)
Probable Starters: RHP Cory Hall (4-5; 3.16 ERA) vs. TBD
Sat., May 7, 20011 1 p.m. Eddy D. Field Stadium (Malibu, Calif.)
Probable Starters: TBD vs. TBD
Sun., May 23, 2011 1 p.m. Stephen Schott Stadium
Probable Starters: TBD vs. TBD
Santa Clara Pitching
Santa Clara senior RHP Cory Hall (4-5; 3.16 ERA) continues his solid season as the Broncos' ace, leading the Broncos in innings pitched (77.0) and strikeouts (61). In his last outing, he pitched 6.2 innings while allowing just one earned run. Hall tossed his second complete game at St. Mary's, Apr. 15. Hall pitched nine innings, allowing just two runs on five hits. He tallied a season-high 11 strikeouts in his Mar. 26 complete game against Brown… Senior RHP J.R. Graham (2-3; 3.47 ERA) is a legit prop prospect, hitting 90-plus on the radar gun all season. Graham, the team's closer, has proven his versatility by starting three WCC games. Graham hurled 7.0 innings of scoreless baseball, scattering three hits at SMC, a game the Broncos won in extra innings. Before moving into the rotation, Graham posted a 1.59 ERA in 22 innings of work.. From Mar. 1 to Apr. 3 Graham posted a 0.60 ERA. He currently leads the team in saves (3) and appearances (17). The hard-throwing righty has recorded 34 strikeouts on the season… LHP Powell Fansler (3-2; 5.59 ERA) continues to have a strong rookie season, and has moved into the starting rotation. Through 37.0 innings, he has fanned 17 batters…Look for RHP Brock Simon (3-5; 5.70 ERA) to appear in mid-inning relief. After beginning the season as the team's Friday starter, Simon has moved to the bullpen and become an asset for Santa Clara's relief corps. Simon picked up the win pitching three scoreless innings, while allowing just four hits at Saint Mary's on Apr. 16. Simon is also capable of starting for the Broncos. He started his seventh game of the year, his first since Apr. 2, against Gonzaga.
Santa Clara Offense
Senior C/DH Patrick Terry continues to post solid numbers for the Broncos, hitting .280 on the year. Terry has two homers on the year, his most recent was a two-run HR against Stanford. He has tallied 21 RBI… Freshman 3B Kyle DeMerritt is having a stellar rookie campaign, leading the team in seven offensive categories. He leads the Broncos in batting average (.327), at-bats (150), runs (27), hits (49), RBI (25), on-base percentage (.407) and total bases (57). DeMerritt takes advantage of his opportunities, hitting .417 with runners in scoring position. In a mid-week win against Pacific, DeMerritt tallied four RBI… All-WCC preseason selection, senior 1B Curtis Wagner leads the team in doubles (9) and has also driven in 21 runners … OF Lucas Herbst is hot for the Broncos. He has the second highest batting average on the team (.297) and is second on the 22 RBI… Sophomore OF Matt Ozanne has provided the Broncos with speed and power, leading the Broncos in homeruns (3) and stole bases (8)… His twin brother, 3B/DH Drew Ozanne has seen more playing time lately. He has served as the team's designated-hitter since his walkoff single against Bakersfield on Apr. 1. He is hitting .274 on the year with 13 RBI. He made his first start as a defensive player on Sat., Apr. 23, playing the entire game at 2B. He picked his second defensive start, this time playing third base on May 1 against Gonzaga… OF Stephen Takahashi has taken advantage of his opportunities. He has started the last ten games in centerfield, hitting .240 with five stolen bases.
Cal
Cal comes into the week after taking two of three from Oregon in Pac-10 play. Cal is currently ranked No. 21 by Baseball America and No. 24 by Collegiate Baseball. Offensively, the Bears are led by Tony Renda Chadd Krist who have combined for 63 RBI. Renda leads the team in at-bats (171), hits (57) and average (.333). He has posted nine doubles, a triple and a homerun this season. Krist is hitting .320 on the year and leads the team in total bases (73) and RBI (32). On the mound, the Bears are led by Erik Johnson, Justin Jones, and Kevin Miller. Johnson (5-1; 1.94 ERA) has started 11 games, allowing 15 runs in 64.1 innings of work. He has posted 64 strikeouts, while allowing 15 runs. Justin Jones (2.10; 5-3 ERA) leads Cal in innings pitches (79.1) and has made 10 starts. Kevin Miller leads the Bears with 69 strikeouts and has allowed 52 hits.
Pepperdine
Pepperdine(18-20; 4-5 WCC) plays two mid-week games before hosting the Broncos. The Waves play UCLA on Tues., May 3, then travel to UC Irvine On Wed., May 4. Entering the week, the Waves are led by Brian Humphries. As of Monday, Humphries leads the team in at bats (142), runs (20), hits (45) and triples (2). He is tied for a team-high 21 RBI, while holding a .430 slugging percentage. In their last WCC series, took two of three from Loyola Marymount. Aaron Gates (3-3; 3.39) is the Waves' top pitcher. He has started 10 games, pitching a team-high 63.2 innings. He is tied for first on the team with 48 strikeouts. Matt Maurer has started nine games for Pepperdine, allowing 28 earned runs in 56.2 innings.
You Should Have Seen
--- 3B/2B Kyle DeMerritt made two great plays in the series against Gonzaga, one while playing second and one while playing third. On Sat., DeMerritt started the game by diving toward the bag to snag a hard-hit groundball and gunned it to first for the first out of the game In the top of the eighth inning of Sun., Kyle DeMerritt tracked down a ball hit to his left, dove and threw from his knees to down the batter.
---OF Matt Ozanne hit a towering solo homer in the series-finale against Gonzaga on Sun., May 1.
Band of Brothers
The Broncos boast two tandems of brothers on the 2011 roster… Redshirt junior RHP Thain Simon and sophomore RHP Brock Simon are two years apart and both are on the roster. Thain, a 2008 Freshman All-American, has yet to pitch this season as he recovers from offseason surgery. Brock (3-5; 5.70 ERA) is a versatile pitcher who has started games and come out of the bullpen this season….Twin brothers Matt Ozanne and Drew Ozanne both continue to produce offensively for the Broncos. Matt has started 30 games this season. He leads the team with eight stolen bases and has knocked in 18 runners this season. Drew has started 14 games, appearing in 22. He has 13 RBI on the season, including a walk-off RBI single against Bakersfield. The brothers have batted back-to-back in the lineup twice this season (Apr. 15 and May 1).
Rookie Success
Freshman 3B Kyle DeMerritt is having a stellar rookie campaign, leading the team in seven offensive categories. He leads the Broncos in batting average (.327), at-bats (150), runs (27), hits (49), RBI (25), on-base percentage (.407) and total bases (57). He has six multi-RBI games, including a 4 RBI game against Pacific on Apr. 26. With 12 games left, his 25 RBI tops former Santa Clara Freshmen All-Americans Matt Long and Tommy Medica, who both knocked in 23 runners during their rookie campaign. DeMerritt made an immediate impact, picking up his first collegiate RBI in the Broncos first game of the season against No. 2 South Carolina. He currently sits in the top ten in the West Coast Conference in batting average, in on-base percentage, runs scored (27) and hits. Defensively, he is a key piece to the Santa Clara infield. He has started every game the Broncos have played, starting 39 games at third base and one at second. He ranks in the top 20 in the WCC with 93 assists on the season.
