Baseball Drops Season Opener To Boston College, 5-1

Baseball Drops Season Opener To Boston College, 5-1
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara baseball lost its 2018 home opener to Boston College, 5-1, on Friday night at Stephen Schott Stadium.  Four Eagles pitchers combined to hold Santa Clara to just six hits and struck out 13 Broncos.  
 
Boston College (1-0) jumped on Santa Clara starter Alex Barden early, scoring four runs in the first three innings aided by Jake Palomaki's two-run homer in the top of the second inning.    
 
Barden settled down in the fourth, pitching a scoreless inning before head coach Rusty Filter turned to his bullpen.  Five Broncos pitched an inning apiece to allow just two hits and one run in the last five innings while striking out six.  
 
Among the relievers that came in were senior Steven Wilson and redshirt sophomore Travis Howard who returned to action after missing last season due to injuries.  Wilson made just his second career appearance out of the bullpen pitching a shutout fifth.  
 
Freshman right hander Cade Negley made his Bronco debut allowing a hit and striking out a batter in the eighth.
 
Offensively, the Santa Clara bats were quieted by Boston College pitching going 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.  Eagles starter Jacob Stevens (1-0) went five strong innings striking out eight batters while allowing four hits and a walk to pick up the win.  Barden (0-1) took the loss for the Broncos.  
 
Santa Clara's best scoring chances came in the fifth and sixth innings.
 
In the fifth, the Broncos put two runners on base on singles by Jason Dicochea and Austin Reyes but Stevens struck out Joe Becht to end the inning in what would turn out to be the last batter he faced.
 
In the sixth, Santa Clara loaded the bases on two hit batsmen and a single but Eagles reliever Sean Hughes got Matt Smithwick to ground out to the catcher to thwart the Santa Clara threat.
 
Senior Jake Brodt and junior Austin Reyes each had two singles for the Broncos.
 
Game two of the season opening series is set for Saturday at 1 p.m. PT. 
 
Tickets: Season or single-game tickets are available. Click here to purchase online or contact the ticket office in Leavey Center weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. at (408) 554-4660 or BroncoTickets@scu.edu. Group discounts are also available through our ticket office sales and service consultants. Gates to Stephen Schott Stadium, as well as its ticket booth, are open one hour prior to the start of the game.
 
Parking: 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. All SCU 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. Click here for a campus parking map.
 
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