April 13, 2010
By, Brandon Rebboah '13
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Stanford overpowered Santa Clara at Stephen Schott Stadium, jumping out to a quick lead and cruising to a lopsided 14-0 victory. Stanford led by nine runs after the first four innings.
Santa Clara (14-16; 1-4 WCC) - coming off a shutout win against Pepperdine Saturday - was unable to slow down their Pac-10 opponent Tuesday night. The Broncos didn't help their cause, committing four errors behind five different pitchers.
Stanford (15-13; 4-5 Pac-10), one of the most storied baseball programs in the nation (16 College World Series and 28 postseason appearances), is trying to stay in the race for the Pac-10 Conference title. The league currently has five teams in Baseball America's Top 25.
All but one Cardinal starter registered a hit. Stephen Piscotty and Jonathan Kaskow hit back-to-back homeruns in the seventh.
The Cardinal got started early when Kaskow hit a 2-RBI single in the first inning off SCU freshman starter Chris Mendoza. Mendoza was able to pitch his way out of a bases loaded situation, after walking two straight batters but was touched up for three more runs in the third as the Cardinal took 5-0 lead.
Mendoza (2-2) pitched three innings, struck out two batters, gave up six hits, and four earned runs. Steve Kalush replaced Mendoza in the fourth but Stanford kept hitting. After five innings the Cardinal lead had grown to 9-0.
Stanford starting pitcher Brian Busick (3-1) was credited with the win, pitching two scoreless innings of one-hit ball. Four other Cardinal pitchers combined to limit SCU to two hits.
The Broncos went four innings without a hit after Curtis Wagner's single in the second inning. All-American Geoff Klein finally provided the second hit for Santa Clara with a single in the seventh.
GAME NOTES: Santa Clara's "Professor of the Game" Karyn Connell threw out the ceremonial first pitch... Stanford was ranked No. 22 nationally last week by Baseball America, but dropped out of the top 25 in this week's poll... The Cardinal's 18 hits was a season-high... UT Tommy Medica (.383 BA) made his first appearance behind the plate this season, catching the final two innings... it marked the third time this year SCU has been shutout... the Bronco's two hits equaled a season-low.
