MORAGA, Calif. — Santa Clara baseball overcame a ninth-inning deficit for the second straight day to defeat Saint Mary's 8-6 Sunday afternoon at Guisto Field. The Broncos won Saturday and Sunday to claim their second straight West Coast Conference series victory.
Santa Clara and Saint Mary's combined for 75 hits in the three-game set, and each team recorded at least 11 hits in all three contests. The Broncos scored three runs in the ninth of each of the last two games and held the Gaels scoreless in the bottom half of both ninth innings to clinch the series.
"These last two days were awesome," Jose Vizcaino, Jr. said. "Both teams battled, put together great at-bats and hit the ball hard on the ground. … I had a lot of confidence in my teammates. Luckily, I came up in a big situation today and was able to get a knock. It was a heck of a weekend and a good series win."
Trailing 6-5 heading into the ninth, the Broncos (20-26, 8-13 WCC) got a leadoff single from Grant Meylan on the first pitch of the inning. Saint Mary's called for Nathan Simmons (L, 1-1) to relieve Drew Strotman, and after a four-pitch walk by Kyle Cortopassi, Vizcaino, Jr. hit an RBI single through the left side to tie the game at 6-6. Stevie Berman followed with the game-winning RBI single and TC Florentine added an RBI single — both against Trevor Abrams — to give Santa Clara an 8-6 lead.
Mitchell White entered the game to start the bottom of the eighth inning and retired three of four batters he faced to keep the Bronco deficit at one run. Joey Fiske led off the ninth inning with a groundout to shortstop, which featured a nice pick from Bronco first baseman Ryan Budnick on a short throw that hopped in front of the Santa Clara junior.
The Gaels (23-24, 9-15 WCC) had three straight batters reach with one out to load the bases after Fiske's groundout. With the potential game-tying run at second and game-winning run at first, Zach Kirtley grounded into a 5-2-3 game-ending double play. White (W, 1-2) earned the first win of his collegiate career in 2.0 shutout innings, allowing two hits and a walk alongside two strikeouts.
"I think it's just timely hitting," Vizcaino, Jr. said about the difference in the series. "At the end, in the ninth, we just shut them down. Mitch shut them down. He's filthy and throws a lot of strikes. We made plays all weekend."
After two scoreless innings to start the game, the Broncos plated three runs on four hits in the top of the third. Vizcaino, Jr. hit a two-run double to right center field to drive in Kyle Cortopassi and Grant Meylan to make the score 2-0 Santa Clara. Following an intentional walk of Stevie Berman, TC Florentine hit an RBI single to left field to score Vizcaino, Jr. and extend the lead to 3-0.
Saint Mary's loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the third and Collin Ferguson put the hosts on the board with an RBI sacrifice fly to center field to make the score 3-1 Broncos. Bronco starting pitcher Steven Wilson struck out the next batter, Connor Hornsby, to end the inning.
The Gaels loaded the bases once more, this time with no outs in the fourth, and Austin Piscotty hit an RBI sacrifice fly that cut the lead to one run. Wilson struck out the next two batters to keep the Broncos in front. He pitched 5.2 innings and allowed three earned runs on seven hits with four walks and six strikeouts.
Gael starting pitcher Anthony Gonsolin also served as the team's leadoff hitter; he tied the game at 3-3 on an RBI single through the left side with two outs in the sixth. Gonsolin allowed four earned runs on nine hits with three walks and three strikeouts in 6.0+ innings, and was taken out of the game after a leadoff double by Cortopassi in the seventh. Vizcaino, Jr. hit an RBI triple down the right field line and Berman followed with an RBI single to give the Broncos a 5-3 lead.
Evan Brisentine took the hill for Josh Inouye to start the seventh inning, and the Gales bookended a strikeout with a single and a walk to put runners on first and second with one out. Nick Medeiros relieved Brisentine and allowed an RBI single to Davis Strong before issuing a bases-loaded walk to Nate Nolan to tie the game. With one out and the bases loaded, Max Kuhns came in to pitch and limited Saint Mary's to one additional run; Gonsolin recorded an RBI walk to put the Gaels in front 6-5 with two outs.
"The games when we make mistakes on defense, most of the time we end up losing them," Vizcaino, Jr. said. "I think the biggest thing we've done these last few weekends is focusing on wanting the ball and being fearless. Everyone has put in the work and we trust eachother to do what we need to do. When we make plays, the pitchers feel like they can throw strikes."
Vizcaino, Jr. finished a home run shy of the cycle and went 4-for-5 with four RBIs and three runs scored in the win — he had nine total hits in the three-game series. Florentine went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and Stevie Berman went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a walk. Gonsolin led the Gael offense with a 3-for-5 day, including two RBIs and a run scored. Villa went 3-for-5 with a run scored and Strong came across to score three runs for the Gaels.
Santa Clara continues its road trip with a 5:30 p.m. first pitch Tuesday against the Stanford Cardinal at Sunken Diamond. The Broncos play their next WCC series at Portland Friday-Sunday.
GAME NOTES: First pitch was at 1:03 p.m. … time of the game was 3:31 … attendance was 229.