SANTA CLARA, Calif. – After two weeks on the road, Santa Clara softball returns home for the final two weekends of the regular season. The Broncos welcome Pacific for a three game series beginning Sat., April 25 at 12 and 2 p.m. The series concludes Sun., April 26 at 12 p.m. with a Pink game. Santa Clara is 14-29 on the season and 4-5 in WCC play.
"We're in a good place and took some momentum from the Sunday game at San Diego," said Santa Clara head coach Lisa Mize. "We're going to use that to carry us into this weekend. We've been playing tough and it was nice to come back on Sunday and play like we know we can. It's the end of the season so you have to grind it out and focus on one pitch at a time."
Santa Clara is hitting .263 (297-1128) as a team with 48 doubles, four triples, and 19 home runs. They post a 4.38 ERA with 99 strikeouts and 99 walks in 281.0 innings.
Ellie Fisher leads Santa Clara in hitting with a .362 (47-130) batting average and a .471 OBP thanks to a team-best 25 walks. She also leads the Broncos with 21 steals in 25 attempts and 25 runs scored. Fisher has added a double, a triple, and nine RBI. Jordan Newell is hitting .306 (37-121) with five home runs and 20 RBI. Newell has added seven doubles to go with 16 runs scored. Breezy Bernard is leading the team with 23 RBI and 12 doubles. She is batting .303 (40-132) with a home run and six runs scored. Gianetta France leads the team with six home runs and has added four doubles to go with 18 RBI and 12 runs scored while hitting .255 (24-94).
Ciara Gonzales leads Santa Clara in wins (11), ERA (3.21), appearances (32), games started (23), complete games (11), shutouts (2), innings pitched (135.1), and strikeouts (45). McCall James has picked up two wins in 23 games including nine starts and two complete games. She has tossed one shutout and picked up a save in 65.1 innings pitched with 30 strikeouts. Briana Rios has pitched in 20 games and made eight starts to go with two complete games and one shutout. In 61.1 inning she has fanned 11 batters.
Pacific is 13-33 on the season and 2-7 in conference play. The Tigers are hitting .234 (264-1130) as a team with 42 doubles, four triples, and 23 home runs. They post a 4.89 ERA with 147 strikeouts and 124 walks in 289.0 innings. They are being outscored on the season 248-137.
"Pacific hasn't had a great start to the conference season," said Mize. "It's not one of their best years but they're well-coached and not a team to take lightly. We're going in expecting to win but knowing that they're going to give us a tough series."
Molly Bourne leads Pacific in hitting with a .324 (47-145) mark and is tied for the team lead with 30 RBI. She has hit four home runs and 10 doubles to go with 20 runs scored. Nicole Zapotoczny leads the way with seven home runs and is tied with Bourne with 30 RBI. She has a team-best 11 doubles to go with two triples and 24 runs scored while hitting .292 (40-137). Sara Anderson leads the team with 25 runs scored and has a .281 (39-139) batting average. She has three RBI and a team-best nine steals in nine tries.
Dani Bonnet leads the team with 120.2 innings pitched and 70 strikeouts against 38 walks. Bonnet is 6-17 with a 4.70 ERA in 26 games and 21 starts. She has thrown 11 complete games and one shutout. Cassidy Gustafson leads the Tigers with a 3.84 ERA in 14 games and 12 starts. She has six complete games and two shutouts to go with 25 strikeouts and 16 walks in 58.1 innings but just a 2-8 record. Marissa Young is 5-4 with a 4.50 ERA in 60.2 innings. She has appeared in 18 games and made seven starts with four complete games and one shutout. Young has struck out 26 with 32 walks.
