Baseball Loses Series Opener To Washington State On Friday

Baseball Loses Series Opener To Washington State On Friday
PULLMAN, Wash. – Santa Clara baseball came out on the short end of a wild game that saw all 22 runs scored in the first five frames, losing 12-10 to Washington State in a non-conference game on Friday night.  
 
Every time a team went ahead, the other team had an answer and it was the Cougars (11-20) who answered last with a three run fifth inning to pull ahead 12-10.  Each team had its lead off batter reach on base in six of the innings.  
 
After Washington State scored three runs in the bottom of the first against Santa Clara starter Travis Howard, the Broncos came back to tie it up in the top of the second on Ryan McCarthy's three-run homer.  The home run drove in Jason Dicochea (4-for-5, 3 R, 3 RBIs) and Niko Holm (2-for-5, 2 R) who reached base on a double and a single. 
 
The Broncos added five more runs to extend its lead to 8-3 in the third on three hits and three errors by the Cougars.  Joe Becht (R, 2 BB) led off the inning with a walk to extend his consecutive bases reached streak to 35 games.  Dicochea had the big hit of the inning, driving home a pair of runs on a double. 
 
The Cougars answered back with five runs of its own in the home half of the third on five hits and an error to tie the game up 8-8.  One of the hits was a double by Blake Clanton, who tied a Pac-12 record with four doubles in the game.  
 
In the fourth, Washington State went up by one, 9-8, when Clanton led off the inning with a double and scored on a Robert Teel sacrifice fly. 
 
Santa Clara (16-19) took the lead for the final time in the fifth when Jake MacNichols (2-for-5, 2 R) led off the inning with a double, knocking out Cougars starter Isaac Mullins.  Dicochea followed with another double, his third of the game, to bring home MacNichols to tie the game.  Dicochea advanced third on a grounder before scoring on McCarthy's (1-for-3, R, 4 RBIs) RBI grounder to put the Broncos up 10-9.
 
In the fifth, Bronco reliever Penn Murfee looked like it would limit the Cougars to only a run but an error gave an opportunity for Clanton to come to at-bat with two on and two outs.  Clanton took advantage of the Bronco miscue and hit his fourth double of the game to left center scoring both runners to put the Cougars up for good, 12-10.  
 
A.J. Block and Ryan Walker pitched the last four frames for the Cougars, keeping the Broncos off the scoring column to earn the win and the save.  
 
Murfee, who gave up five runs, three earned in his 2 2/3 innings of work and took the loss for the Broncos.  
 
Luke Martin-Resnick pitched effectively out of the bullpen for the Broncos inheriting a bases loaded no out situation in the sixth, before getting Mason De La Cruz to strike out and inducing Andres Alvarez to an inning ending double play.  Martin-Resnick pitched three scoreless innings allowing just one hit to keep the Broncos in the game.  
 
Game two of the series is at 2 p.m. PT on Saturday with the Broncos sending right-hander Steven Wilson (3-1, 3.55 ERA) against left-hander Scotty Sunitsch (3-1, 2.83 ERA).  Wilson, who normally is the Friday starter, had his start pushed out since he came in relief in the Tuesday game against Cal to close out the ninth in the 6-4 win over the Bears. 
 

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