SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Santa Clara baseball lost the last of a three-game West Coast Conference series 6-0 to San Francisco Saturday at Schott Stadium. The Broncos put at least one runner in scoring position during each of the game's first four innings, and could not bring in a run against Dons starter Sam Granoff, who threw a complete game shutout.
Eric Lex allowed five earned runs on six hits with four walks and a strikeout in 4.2 innings as the starting pitcher for the Broncos (14-16, 4-8 WCC). Dominic Miroglio and Nico Giarratano posted two-out RBIs in the first and second innings, respectively, for the Dons (14-18, 8-4 WCC) to give the visitors a 2-0 advantage.
Lex (L, 2-2) recorded two quick outs in the top of the fifth, before the Dons loaded the bases with a hit by pitch, single and a walk. Santa Clara called on Evan Brisentine, who allowed a two-run single to Zack McCoy followed by an RBI single to Michael Eaton, which put San Francisco ahead 5-0. McCoy led San Francisco with two RBIs while Eaton and Connor Hofmann each went 2-for-5
San Francisco added its sixth and final run on an RBI double to right by Brendan Hendriks with no outs in the eighth. After the double, Nick Medeiros entered the game with runners on second and third and issued a strikeout alongside two groundouts to end the inning. Medeiros and Max Kuhns each pitched a shutout inning for the Broncos.
Granoff (W, 2-2) allowed five hits and three walks with six strikeouts Saturday. The Broncos hit 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position, and were 0-for-8 in that category through the first four innings. Jose Vizcaino, Jr. went 2-for-4 with a double and a triple and Jake Brodt hit a pair of singles for the Broncos in the loss.
Santa Clara returns to the diamond Tuesday against cross-town rival San Jose State at Schott Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. The Broncos head to Malibu next weekend for a Friday-Sunday series with the WCC's Pepperdine Waves.
GAME NOTES: First pitch was at 1:02 p.m. … time of game was 2:52 … attendance was 287.