SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Jason Seever pitched a career-high 7.0 innings and Santa Clara baseball shut down San Diego rallies in each of the last three innings to win the series finale 7-5 Sunday afternoon at Fowler Park. Santa Clara trailed in the first four innings, and took its first lead by plating five runs in the fifth of the West Coast Conference matchup.
The Broncos (16-18, 4-8 WCC) improved to 4-2 all-time at Fowler Park with their victory over the Toreros (20-19, 7-8 WCC).
Seever (W, 4-1) struck out five batters and allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits with a walk. He held San Diego to 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position; both those hits came in the first inning and neither scored a run. The lefty picked Riley Adams off of second base to end the first and capped the second through fourth frames with a strikeout.
"It's no secret that Friday and Saturday were the worst games of the year for us," Bronco head coach Dan O'Brien said. "You need a veteran to step up when that happens and Seever did just that. Talk about a gutsy performance — he was especially good when we continued to kick the ball around today. He stayed composed and picked this ballclub up in a big way."
After Austin Reyes hit an RBI single to make the score 7-3 Santa Clara in the eighth, San Diego's Roman Garcia led off the home half of the inning with a homer off Jacob Steffens and Brhet Bewley followed with a double. The Broncos called on Max Kuhns, who gave up a one-out, RBI double to Daniel Gardner and retired three of the four batters he faced to keep the lead at two runs.
In the ninth, San Diego put two aboard with no outs to bring the potential game-winning run to the plate. Kuhns (SV, 11) issued a 6-4-3 double play off the bat of Adams and Garcia grounded out to Fisher at shortstop to end the contest. The Bronco closer has tied Reece Karalus' 11-save mark in 2014, which ranks second in program history for a single season.
"This time of year, every team competes hard late in the game and makes you earn it," O'Brien said. "That's why you have to give the ball to your mentally toughest competitor. Max is that guy. He wants the ball and he doesn't give in when it gets tough out there. The kid's a winner."
Jake Brodt put Santa Clara on the scoreboard with a leadoff homer in the second off of San Diego starter Nick Sprengel (L, 2-6). The freshman gave up two earned runs on two hits with four walks and four strikeouts in 4.0 innings.
The Broncos scored five runs in the fifth to pull ahead 6-3; Grant Meylan hit an RBI single, TC Florentine drove in a pair of runs in a double, and Kert Woods added another on a sacrifice fly. Meylan, Florentine and Brodt each tallied two hits in the win. Florentine finished 2-for-4 with two doubles, a walk, two RBIs and two runs scored.
"TC continues to step up and give us quality at-bats in big-time situations," O'Brien said. "I love when veterans step up like that. It says so much about their maturation and character. He's a special young man."
Garcia went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored for the Toreros. Bryson Brigman also went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored as part of a five extra-base hit day for the home team. The Broncos totaled three doubles and a homer.
Santa Clara heads to Spokane to begin a three-game series with Gonzaga on Friday, April 22 at 6 p.m. The Bulldogs are in a three-way tie for first place in the conference with a 10-5 WCC mark.
GAME NOTES: First pitch was at 1:07 p.m. … time of the game was 3:25 … attendance was 716 … Seever's previous career-best mark was 6.1 innings in a 5-4 win over Hawaii on March 27, 2016.
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