PORTLAND, Ore. — Santa Clara baseball set its offense to the tune of 13 hits, including a pair of home runs, in a 5-1 victory over Portland Friday at Joe Etzel Field. Reece Karalus set the tone on the mound by allowing one unearned run in 7.0 innings as part of the series-opening victory.
Santa Clara is on a four-game winning streak and has won its last three West Coast Conference games. The Broncos have recorded 10 or more hits in six straight WCC games and is 5-1 in conference play over that stretch.
"That was a great team win," head coach Dan O'Brien said. "The guys know that this is their team now. They know what they need to do, and they're playing for one another while doing it.
"It's my favorite part of every season when the players take charge of their own team and play for one another. Great things start to happen, and you can feel that happening now with this ballclub."
Karalus (W, 2-6) earned his first career win as a starter in his 17th career start for Santa Clara Friday afternoon, allowing the unearned run on seven hits with a walk and five strikeouts. He recorded a 1-2-3 frame to start the outing in the first and to end it in the seventh. The North Bend, Wash. native faced more than four batters in a single inning just once as part of the victory.
After seven straight outs to start the game, T.J. Braff hit his fifth home run of the season to straightaway center field to put the Broncos (22-26, 9-13 WCC) up 1-0 with one out in the second inning. Joe Becht led off the Santa Clara third with a single, and came in to score on Jose Vizcaino, Jr.'s two-out, RBI single to make the lead 2-0 against Portland starter Brandon Snyder (L, 0-4). The lefty allowed five runs (four earned) on 12 hits with no walks and four strikeouts in 7.2 innings for the Pilots (10-37, 5-17 WCC).
Braff hit a one-out double in the sixth — his second extra-base hit of the ballgame — and advanced to third base on a fielding error by Portland right fielder Ryan Barr. Jake Brodt, who led the team with three hits, drove in Braff with an RBI sacrifice fly to right field that gave the Broncos a three-run edge.
"Our offense has a lot of guys consistently competing throughout the game," O'Brien said. "Regardless of the outcome, they're competing and having quality at-bats up and down the lineup. That's all we care about because that will always pay off."
In the bottom of the sixth, Portland had three straight batters reach with one out: Turner Gill on an error by Bronco second baseman Joe Becht, Kevin Wade on a single and Cody Lenahan on an RBI double that made the score 3-1. With runners on second and third, including the tying run at second, Karalus retired the next two batters to limit Portland to a one-run inning.
"I've said it over and over again, but Reece is a true competitor," O'Brien said. "He's at his best when he really needs to bear down and get a big out. I love guys who love the big moment, and Reece has always been that guy for us. He's a winner."
Vizcaino, Jr. led off the Bronco eighth with a home run — his team best eighth of the season — to give Santa Clara a 4-1 lead. With two outs, Kody Kuhlman made a pickoff move to catch TC Florentine in a rundown between first and second base. Florentine stayed hung up long enough for pinch runner Evan Haberle to score from third and extend the Bronco advantage to 5-1. In the bottom of the eighth, Braff made a diving catch in left center field on a line drive off the bat of Lenahan to end the inning with a runner on second base.
Max Kuhns dealt a scoreless eighth inning for the Broncos, and the Pilots loaded the bases against the Bronco sophomore with two outs in the ninth. Santa Clara called on Mitchell White out of the bullpen to face Devin Kopas, who batted for the first time after entering the game as a defensive replacement in the top half of the inning. White (SV, 4) struck out Kopas on three pitches to end the ballgame. Santa Clara's closer has either earned a win or a save in six of his last seven outings.
Brodt led the Broncos by going 3-for-3, and was one of five Santa Clara batters to record multiple hits in the win. Vizcaino, Jr. went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored, Braff went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, Becht hit safely twice and scored once and Florentine added two hits in the win. Lenahan doubled twice for the Pilots and drove in the team's only run while Kevin Farley and Ryan Barr each hit safely twice.
Santa Clara RHP Eric Lex (3-4, 5.49 ERA) makes the start Saturday against Portland RHP Kurt Yinger (2-8, 5.70 ERA) for a 1 p.m. first pitch.
GAME NOTES: First pitch was at 2:03 p.m. … time of the game was 2:50 … attendance was 311 … Becht's error in the sixth broke a 51-inning span of error-free baseball in WCC play going back to the April 24 game against Gonzaga.