STANFORD, Calif. — Ryan Budnick broke a scoreless tie with a leadoff home run in the 10th inning for Santa Clara baseball in a 1-0 victory over Stanford at Sunken Diamond Tuesday night. With the win, the Broncos have swept the season series against the Cardinal for the first time since the 1974 season.
Tuesday's victory also marked the first time since 2007 that the Broncos have won multiple games against the Cardinal in a single season. Santa Clara won 6-5 in the 10th inning on Joe Becht's RBI walkoff single on April 14, 2015 at Schott Stadium — the team's only other matchup with Stanford this year.
"We were playing so well the whole game, I knew something was going to give," Budnick said. "Personally, I knew I was due for something — at least a base hit. That was just a bonus."
The Cardinal (20-26) loaded the bases with one out in the ninth inning, putting two runners aboard against Max Kuhns and one more against Josh Inouye, before the Broncos (21-26) called on Mitchell White out of the bullpen. White (W, 2-2) struck out Quinn Brodey and Jack Klein in consecutive at-bats to end the ninth and keep the Broncos in the game.
"When Mitch Ks two guys with bases loaded, that's huge for everything," Budnick said. "The energy in here was just different. I was a little more relaxed at the plate. I knew the guys had my back … that was awesome."
Budnick led off the 10th for Santa Clara, and drove a 2-1 fastball from Colton Hock (L, 1-1) deep over the left field wall. The Bronco first baseman's third home run of the season was the only extra-base hit for either team Tuesday night.
"Ryan hasn't had the year he hoped, but has handled it like a champ," head coach Dan O'Brien said. "He deserves tonight for a lot of reasons. I'm really happy for him."
"It was a fastball," Budnick said of the home run pitch. "All the pitches [Hock] threw me were fastballs … 2-1 is a great count to hit in so I was sitting on another fastball."
After getting the Broncos out of a jam in the ninth, White returned to the mound for the bottom of the 10th. He got ahead in the count against all four Stanford hitters, allowing only a two-out single to Tommy Edman before striking out Zach Hoffpauir to end the game and earn his second win in as many contests.
"Mitch has turned into a big-time closer in less than two weeks," O'Brien said. "We needed him to step up in that role and he's answered the call and then some. That's what great competitors do; they step up for their teammates and their team. Mitch is exactly that — a real competitor and a winner."
Evan Brisentine started for the Broncos and matched a career high with 7.0 innings. He held the Cardinal scoreless while allowing two hits and five walks alongside three strikeouts. The senior posted three 1-2-3 innings and allowed only one baserunner to reach third. Reece Karalus retired all three batters he faced in a scoreless eighth inning.
Stanford starter Chris Castellanos threw 6.0 shutout innings and allowed two runs and a walk alongside three strikeouts. He retired 15 straight batters from the final out of the first inning to the second out of the sixth. Tyler Thorne threw 3.0 shutout innings with three strikeouts out of the Stanford bullpen.
"You could tell early it was going to be a low-scoring night. The weather didn't help, but both offenses were also showing some fatigue from the weekend," Dan O'Brien said. "On top of that, both lefties were effective. It had all the makings of a one-run ballgame early."
Neither team sent more than five batters to the plate in a single inning through the middle of the ninth. Santa Clara's posed its biggest threat in the top of the ninth, when reigning Rawlings West Coast Conference player of the week Jose Vizcaino, Jr. walked with one out and advanced to second base on a balk by Thorne. Stevie Berman struck out swinging, TJ Braff walked with two outs and TC Florentine grounded out to shortstop to end the inning.
Kyle Cortopassi went 2-for-4 with a walk to lead the Broncos and the Palo Alto native Braff drew a pair of walks in the victory. Alex Dunlap led the Stanford offense by going 2-for-3 with a walk while Edman went 1-for-3 with two walks.
For the third straight game, the Broncos scored the game's decisive run in the final inning. They plated three runs in consecutive ninth innings Saturday and Sunday to win the last two games against Saint Mary's over the weekend.
"We've changed everything so much over the year," Budnick said. "It just shows how much we've come together. We're playing better baseball, staying in the game late and competing the whole time."
Santa Clara begins a three-game WCC series with the Portland Pilots Friday at 2 p.m. from Etzel Field.
GAME NOTES: First pitch was at 5:35 p.m. … time of game was 3:01 … attendance was 1,140.