SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Coming off a season-high 13 runs scored in Sunday's West Coast Conference victory over Saint Mary's, Santa Clara baseball continues a nine-game homestand Tuesday against Cal Poly. The Broncos and Mustangs begin first of their two meetings this season with a 6 p.m. first pitch at Schott Stadium.
Santa Clara is in a stretch of three straight Tuesday games at home; the Broncos defeated San José State 8-5 on March 30 and will host New Mexico on April 12.
Santa Clara (12-14) vs. Cal Poly (17-9)
Tuesday, April 5, 2016 | 6 p.m. PDT | Game #26 | Home Game #18
Santa Clara, Calif. | Stephen Schott Stadium
Live Stats: santaclara.statbroadcast.com | Video: TheW.tv
Probable Starters
SCU RHP Mitchell White (2-3, 2.62 ERA) vs. CP RHP Craig Colen (0-0, 3.38 ERA)
Series History
All-Time Series: Tied 41-41-0
First Meeting: 1956
Last Season: April 21, 2015 — Cal Poly won 10-6 at Schott Stadium
March 3, 2015 — Santa Clara won 3-0 at Baggett Stadium
Tickets: Single-game options and season tickets are available. Click here to purchase tickets (link to single-game) For information, call (408) 554-4660 weekdays between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. or email BroncoTickets@scu.edu. Schott Stadium opens one hour prior to first pitch. The ticket office is also open one hour prior to the start of the game.
Game Day Promotions
• Hot Chocolate Hitter: If Santa Clara's leadoff batter reaches base in any inning, hot chocolate is $1 at Bronco Concessions for the rest of the half inning
Parking
Baseball parking has changed for the 2016 season. Parking is now available in the Guadalupe lot, adjacent to 455 El Camino Real. The Guadalupe lot is reserved beginning 60 minutes before game time through the end of the event for free parking. Baseball parking is no longer allowed in the lot behind Schott Stadium's left field wall. Overflow parking is available in the Leavey Center lot. Spectators that plan to arrive more than an hour prior to game time on weekdays are encouraged to purchase a parking permit for the Leavey lot. Leavey lot parking is free on weekends. ADA parking is available in the lot directly in front of the main gates; there is no general public parking in this lot. Follow signs for parking instructions.
Last Week
Tuesday — SCU 8 SJSU 5: Santa Clara scored all eight runs in the fifth through eighth innings and overcame a 4-2 deficit in the seventh to defeat the Spartans for the fifth time in a row.
Friday — SMC 7 SCU 5: The Broncos scored five runs in the seventh to tie the game up, and Anthony Villa hit a two-run homer for Saint Mary's in the ninth.
Saturday — SMC 1 SCU 0: Saint Mary's starter Johnny York tossed a complete game shutout as the Gaels clinched the series. They scored the only run of the game on a wild pitch in the third.
Sunday — SCU 13 SMC 9: Santa Clara opened the scoring with a seven-run fourth and Saint Mary's answered with seven runs in the fifth to tie the game. The Broncos kept their offensive momentum going and scored five runs in the fifth.
Broncos in the Field
Grant Meylan is hitting .452 (14-31) in his last 10 games with six RBIs and four runs scored over that span. The sophomore has hit safely in five straight games and has multiple hits in three of his last four games and five of his last eight games. Meylan has increased his season batting average from .211 on March 19 to .324 (113 points) after Sunday's victory.
Meylan is one of five Broncos hitting .300 or better at Schott Stadium this season; He has a home batting average of .366. The others are TC Florentine (.346), Stevie Berman (.339), John Cresto (.311) and Kyle Cortopassi (.305).
Santa Clara has played error-free baseball three times in the last five games and has committed only two errors during that stretch. The Broncos are 3-0 in those error-free contests.
Broncos on the Mound
Mitchell White makes the first midweek start of his collegiate career Tuesday night. He ranks second in the WCC with 59 strikeouts on the season. He allowed three earned runs on 10 hits with two walks and four strikeouts to finish with a no decision in Friday's loss to Saint Mary's.
Max Kuhns tallied two saves last week in Santa Clara victories over San Jose State and Saint Mary's. The Bronco closer has nine saves on the season — which matches Reece Karalus' team-leading nine saves from 2015. The single-season save record is 13, held by Anthony Rea since 2004.
Cal Poly
The Mustangs started off the season at 10-2, including eight wins over West Coast Conference opposition in their first 12 games. Cal Poly swept a four-game series against Pacific opening weekend, defeated Pepperdine in a midweek contest in early March and followed that with a three-game sweep of San Francisco. The team lost two of three games at home against San Jose State last weekend.
Brett Barbier is hitting .402 on the season to lead a team that has six everyday players over the .300 mark for batting average. John Schuknecht tops the team with 27 RBIs. San Francisco native Craig Colen makes his seventh career appearance and first career start for the Mustangs; he recorded two outs in each of Cal Poly's last two games.
Schedule Notes
- Santa Clara beat a ranked opponent on opening weekend for the second straight season by defeating No. 24 Notre Dame 2-0 on Saturday, Feb. 20 and 4-2 on Sunday, Feb. 21. The Broncos won a Saturday contest at defending national champion and unanimous preseason No. 1 Vanderbilt last year.
- The Broncos played seven of their first eight games at home; the only road game in that stretch was a Tuesday win at San José State on Feb. 23.
- Santa Clara played 13 games in 17 days to start the season.
- The Broncos were slated to play four-game weekends four times during a five-weekend span from the end of February through the end of March; rainouts against Washington and UMass Lowell turned each of those sets into three-game matchups.
- Santa Clara faces 2015 WCC postseason champion Pepperdine at home and 2015 WCC regular season champion San Diego on the road during consecutive weekends in April.
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