SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara baseball fell to the No. 19 Arizona Wildcats on Monday afternoon by a score of 16-10 at Stephen Schott Stadium. A 12-run inning for the Wildcats in the top of the second was too much for the Broncos to overcome.
Santa Clara (11-32, 7-11 WCC) starting pitcher Alex Barden was handed the loss for SCU as he lasted just 1.2 innings. Arizona (28-15, 9-12 Pac-12) recorded 16 hits on the day and went 11-for-26 (.423) at the plate with runners in scoring position. The Wildcats still left 14 runners on base. Tylor Megill earned the win, throwing 3.0 innings in relief and allowing two hits and one earned run while striking out three batters.
Arizona jumped out to a 12-0 lead after a big second inning. Arizona had 15 players stand in at the plate and five were walked while seven others recorded hits. Cal Stevenson drove in four runs with an RBI single in his first at-bat and a three-RBI double in his second at-bat.
The Broncos pulled a run back in the bottom of the second inning off an RBI single by sophomore third baseman John Cresto to score sophomore right fielder Matt Smithwick.
Arizona added a run in the third on a solo home run. The Broncos responded with a three-run home run in the bottom of the third by senior left fielder Tyler Meditz. It was his fifth home run of the season and cut the lead to 13-4.
Junior designated hitter Niko Holm hit a two-out solo home run to left field in the bottom of the fourth inning to make the score 13-5 Arizona.
The Wildcats tacked on two runs in the top of the fifth inning and a run in the ninth to lead 16-5.
Freshman Jason DiCochea doubled to lead off the bottom of the ninth for his first-career hit. After a walk, junior Anthony Geremia hit a sacrifice fly to score DiCochea. Freshman second baseman Zach Walsh doubled to score junior pitcher Grant Meylan. Junior Joe Becht then hit his first home run of the season, a three-run shot to end the game's scoring at 16-10.
Up Next: Santa Clara hosts BYU for a three-game series beginning on Thursday at 6 p.m. PT.
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