Bronco Baseball Visits Cal Poly, Hosts San Diego

Bronco Baseball Visits Cal Poly, Hosts San Diego

Weekly game notes

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Coming off a week of three extra inning games, Santa Clara baseball travels to Cal Poly on Tues., April 16 for a 6 p.m. game before welcome San Diego to Schott Stadium. The Broncos and Toreros will play Fri., April 19 at 6 p.m., Sat., April 20 at 3 p.m. and Sun., April 21 at 1 p.m.

Last week Santa Clara topped Pacific on the road and went to extra innings in all three games vs. San Francisco but couldn't come away with a win. The Broncos are now 9-24 overall with a 0-12 mark in West Coast Conference play.

"Three extra inning losses at home is as tough as it gets," said Santa Clara head coach Dan O'Brien. "I'm willing to bet, however, that those who saw all three games left very proud of the Bronco team. I would hope that they excited for our future as we continue to grow as a team."

Santa Clara is 40-37 all-time vs. Cal Poly. Early this year, the Mustangs came to Schott Stadium and escaped with a 5-4 victory. Tommy Nance was brilliant for Santa Clara, tossing 4.0 innings in his first start of the season on a limited pitch count. Greg Harisis added three hits and scored a run.

The Broncos are 52-56 all-time vs. San Diego. Last season the Toreros swept Santa Clara in San Diego in the Broncos' first WCC series of the year.

The Mustangs are 24-9 in 2013 and 14-4 at home. They opened the season 7-0 and didn't lose back-to-back games until a trip to Notre Dame starting March 14. Cal Poly has taken down Washington State and Kansas State twice each on the road.

The Toreros are 20-15 overall and 6-6 in conference play. They opened the season by dropping three straight to San Diego State before bouncing back by taking three of four from Kent State. Last week USD dropped two of three to Pepperdine at home.

Santa Clara has a team ERA of 5.24 in 300.2 innings. The pitching staff has allowed 353 hits and 114 walks while striking out 188. Opponents are hitting .299 off of Bronco pitchers.

Tommy Nance (2-2, 3.24) leads the team in ERA. Nance has thrown 25.0 innings and allowed 19 hits. He has 18 strikeouts against nine walks with an opponents' batting average of .213. At San Jose State on March 10 he tossed 8.0-plus innings of one-hit, one-run ball with seven strikeouts.

Mike Couch (3-5, 3.65) has been the Friday night starter for Santa Clara and had his best outing vs. San Jose State on March 8. Couch threw a complete game shutout with five strikeouts. Couch leads the team with 69.0 innings pitched and has struck out a team-high 39 batters with 26 walks while allowing 63 hits.

Max Deering (1-3, 4.19) has been the first choice coming in from the bullpen. Deering has thrown 43.0 innings over 23 appearances, including one start, and struck out 33 batters against just 10 walks. His 3.3 strikeout to walk ratio is tops on the team. He is tied with D.J. Zapata for the team lead with two saves.

Reece Karalus (0-6, 6.92) has shown improvement as the season has progressed. Karalus has made 14 appearances and seven starts, covering 39.0 innings. He has struck out 36 batters while walking just 12. Karalus has also picked up one save.

Chris Mendoza (2-2, 5.17) stepped up out of the bullpen in the first game of the double header vs. Michigan State on March 16. Mendoza threw 5.0 innings of one-run ball to save the bullpen. Mendoza has thrown 31.1 innings over 14 appearances and five starts.

Santa Clara is hitting .254 as a team with a .339 on-base percentage and a .334 slugging percentage. The Broncos have hit 43 doubles, seven triples and 11 home runs while scoring 156 runs and stealing 46 bags in 65 attempts.

Greg Harisis leads Santa Clara in hitting with a .318 (34-107) batting average. He has added seven doubles, one triple, two homers, 16 runs scored, 22 RBI and eight stole bases. His 15 walks and five hit-by-pitch put his on-base percentage at a terrific .422.

Newcomer Casey Munoz has started all 33 games for Santa Clara and is hitting .286 (38-133) with a team-high eight doubles, one triple, 17 RBI and 10 runs scored. Matt Ozanne is second on the Broncos with 19 RBI while hitting .250 (29-116) and scoring 18 runs. Justin Viele leads the Broncos with 21 walks, while hitting .290 (38-131) and posting a .405 OBP. He has scored 25 runs and driven in 12 while hitting five doubles and two triples with a team-high eight stolen bases in nine attempts.

Quinton Perry, who will miss the rest of the season due to injury, leads the team with five home runs. Perry hit .291 (25-86) with a .364 on-base percentage. He clubbed six doubles to put his slugging percentage at a team-best .535.

Denver Chavez leads the Mustangs with a .400 (54-135) batting average and a .468 OBP. Chavez has scored 30 runs and driven in 14 while hitting 10 doubles and two triples. He also leads the team with 11 stolen bases while being caught just once.

Nick Torres is second on the team with six home runs and a .328 (44-134) batting average. Torres has a team-high 29 RBI with 10 doubles and a triple to put his slugging percentage at .552.

Brian Mundell leads the Mustangs with seven home runs and is hitting .287 (31-108) with a .352 OBP and a .528 slugging percentage. Mundell has hit three doubles and a triple while scoring 19 runs and driving in 23.

Matt Imhof (4-1, 1.51) leads the team in ERA while throwing 59.2 innings over nine starts. Imhof has struck out 57 batters against 17 walks.

Joey Wagman (7-2, 2.95) leads the team in wins and innings pitched with 61.0. Wagman has 72 strikeouts and 17 walks while holding opponents to a .234 batting average.

Reed Reilly (2-1, 1.83) is second on Cal Poly in ERA while picking up a team-best nine saves. His nine saves are also tied for seventh nationally. In 39.1 innings Reilly has 50 strikeouts and 11 walks.

Kris Bryant of USD, a projected top-10 pick in the upcoming MLB Draft, has been a monster on offense this season. Bryant leads the WCC in runs scored (43), RBI (36), home runs (15), total bases (99), walks (43), slugging percentage (.811) and on-base percentage (.515). He also leads the country in home runs while placing third in walks and slugging percentage.

Connor Joe is hitting .313 (40-128) with four home runs and five doubles. Joe has 23 RBI and has scored 18 runs while posting a .327 OBP.

Dillon Haupt is second on the team with five home runs and is hitting .285 (37-130). Haupt has scored 18 runs and driven in 32 while clubbing 14 doubles and one triple. He has a .523 slugging percentage and a .391 OBP thanks to 16 walks.

P.J. Conlon (4-0, 1.73) leads the Toreros in ERA and wins while appearing in 17 games and making four starts. Conlon has tossed 41.2 innings while striking out 33 against 15 walks.

Max Homick (4-1, 2.65) is tied for the team lead with three saves. Homick has appeared in 15 games and thrown 37.1 innings. He has fanned 32 and walked 13.

Michael Wagner (1-4, 4.47) leads the team with 52.1 innings pitched over 10 appearances, including nine starts. Wagner has struck out 53 batters to lead the Toreros and walked just 14.