SANTA CLARA, Calif. – After some early scoring by both teams, Portland scored in the late innings to beat Santa Clara baseball 9-3 Saturday afternoon.
A three-run seventh by the Pilots (25-17, 12-8 WCC) proved to be the difference in the game. Evan Scavotto broke a 3-all tie with a double and later in the inning Tony Boetto, a grad transfer from Santa Clara, added some insurance with a two-run single.
The first two runs in the inning were charged to Jared Feikes who ended up with the loss. In all, Feikes (5-4) went 2 1/3 innings out of the bullpen and allowed three hits and two walks while punching out one.
Scavotto had a monster day at the plate, finishing a perfect 5-for-5. He had two doubles, three RBIs, and scored three runs. Boetto also had a big game going 4-for-5 with three RBIs. Trace Tammaro chipped in two hits, including a triple, and scored twice.
The Broncos (23-21, 11-12 WCC) scored once in each of the first three innings. They did it without a hit in the first when Portland starter Brock Gillis struggled with his command and then Michael Diaz and Matt Jew tacked on solo shots off Gillis in the next two innings.
Gillis got a no-decision in 5 1/3 innings and allowed the three runs on three hits with three walks and two strikeouts while also hitting a batter. Joey Gartrell (3-1) picked up the win in 2/3 on an inning of relief and Caleb Franzen went the final 3 innings for his first save of the year.
It was a bit of a strange start for Nick Sando. The good was the first eight outs he recorded came via the strikeout and ended up with 10 punchouts in his 4 innings of work. The bad was four walks and seven hits that led to three runs. The end result was a no-decision.
NOTES
- Bronco pitching now has 19 games with double-digit strikeouts.
- Matt Jew extended his on-base streak to 15 games with two hits.
- This is the first home series Santa Clara will lose this year. They will finish 5-1 in home series.
NEXT UP
The series wraps up tomorrow at noon. There will be a Senior Day ceremony prior to first pitch.
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