SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Santa Clara baseball faces Cal Poly for the second time this season Tuesday night for a 6 p.m. first pitch at Schott Stadium. The Broncos have won six consecutive midweek games dating back to a 3-0 victory over the Mustangs at Baggett Stadium on March 3, and are 6-1 in midweek contests this season.
Santa Clara started last week with a 6-5 walkoff victory over Stanford in the 10th inning Tuesday night at Schott Stadium. Joe Becht hit an RBI single through the left side to score pinch runner Kyle Czaplak.
LEADING OFF
Over the weekend, Santa Clara traveled to Fort Worth for a matchup with the No. 6 TCU Horned Frogs. Friday's matchup was postponed to Saturday due to heavy rainfall, and the Horned Frogs won the opener 1-0. In the second game of the Saturday doubleheader, TCU led 6-1 with two outs in the top of the ninth inning, when the lightning detector went off at Lupton Stadium and forced the game into a delay. The Broncos and Horned Frogs finished the second game of the series Sunday, which TCU won 6-1. The hosts completed their weekend sweep with a 9-2 win in Sunday's series finale.
Cal Poly has won six of its last eight contests, including a five-game winning streak April 8-14 which featured midweek victories over Pepperdine and Fresno State as well as a three-game sweep of Hawai'i. Last weekend, the Mustangs lost two of three games against No. 11 UC Santa Barbara (Collegiate Baseball).
On March 3, Santa Clara dealt a three-hit shutout to Cal Poly for a 3-0 victory. Bronco starter Kevin George set career-high marks with 7.0 innings and seven strikeouts in the victory and Reece Karalus pitched the final two innings to earn his fourth save of the season. It snapped a four game losing streak against the Mustangs.
STARTING PITCHERS (SCU - CP)
RHP Peter Hendron (2-1, 5.01 ERA) - RHP Jarred Zill (1-1, 3.07 ERA)
QUICK PITCHES
Game 39: Tuesday, April 24, 2015 — 6 p.m. PDT
Venue: Stephen Schott Stadium — Santa Clara, Calif.
Video: portal.stretchinternet.com/santaclara (David Gentile/Xavier Rentz)
Live Stats: www.santaclara.statbroadcast.com
Series Record: 41-40 SCU
First Meeting: 1956
3/3/15: SCU 3 - CP 0 (Baggett Stadium)
2/18/14: CP 8 - SCU 0 (Schott Stadium)
3/4/14: CP 6 - SCU 0 (Baggett Stadium)
Peter Hendron makes his eighth appearance and seventh start of the season for the Broncos Tuesday night. Hendron last started for the Broncos March 25 at Grand Canyon, and pitched 4.0 shutout innings while allowing two hits and two walks alongside a strikeout to earn the victory. He made his first relief appearance of the season April 19 at TCU and retired all three batters he faced with one strikeout.
Reece Karalus is one of 39 pitchers named to the 11th Annual NCBWA Midseason Stopper of the Year Watch list, announced Tuesday. Karalus was also named to the list during his sophomore campaign with the Broncos.
This season, Karalus picked up five saves in an 11-game span March 22 against San Diego, March 24 at Grand Canyon, March 29 against Pacific, March 30 against Nevada and April 7 against San Jose State. He ranks 3rd in program history with 21 career saves and has earned nine of those saves in 2015. Anthony Rea (2001-05) and Mike McDonald (1994-97) share the program record with 25 career saves. Karalus recorded the second-most saves in Bronco single-season history with 11 as a sophomore last year, earning First-Team All-WCC Honors and being named to the NCBWA Midseason Stopper of the Year Watch List.
Joe Becht led all Broncos with six hits in the team's four games last weekend, while T.J. Braff topped the Broncos with five hits and Evan Haberle led the team with four walks. Stevie Berman posted multiple hits in all three games of the Pepperdine series; he was the only batter for either the Broncos or Waves to accomplish the feat. Grant Meylan and T.J. Braff each produced four hits over the four-game stretch April 7-12 and Meylan drew three walks to extend his WCC-leading total to 31 on the season.
Meylan's 31 walks have eclipsed Santa Clara's leader from last year, the then-freshman Berman who posted 30 for the season. Meylan has already recorded the most walks in a single season since 2009, when Curtis Wagner drew 32. Matt Long drew 36 walks for the Broncos in 2008. Ed Giovanola's single-season record of 55 walks has stood since 1989.
Jose Vizcaino, Jr. (.312/.392/.568) leads the Broncos in most major offensive categories, including home runs (6), RBIs (25) and stolen bases (8). He has amassed 18 extra-base hits this season (10 doubles, two triples, six home runs); Jake Brodt ranks second on the team with 10 extra-base hits. Vizcaino, Jr. doubled in his first at-bat of the Pepperdine series to reach a career-best 17-game hitting streak.
MUSTANGS
Jarred Zill makes his eighth appearance and fourth start of the season Tuesday night. He has pitched in each of Cal Poly's last two midweek contests and earned his first collegiate win by throwing 5.1 innings April 8 vs. Pepperdine.
Mark Mathias leads the Mustangs with a .347 batting average and 36-game starter Peter Van Gansen ranks second at .342. Zach Zehner has a team-high 29 RBIs and is tied for the Mustang lead with five home runs alongside Brian Mundell.
