April 26, 2005

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -

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Santa Clara (18-22) vs. Stanford (24-14)

Game #41 • Tues., April 26 • Sunken Diamond - Stanford, Calif. • 6 p.m.

Probable Pitching Matchup
4/26 - Santa Clara - RHP Anthony Rea - Sr. (3-5, 3.84 ERA)
Stanford - RHP Erik Davis - Fr. (2-0, 3.49 ERA)

Santa Clara (18-22, 4-13 WCC) vs. Gonzaga (25-15, 12-5 WCC)

Game #41 • Fri., April 29 • Buck Shaw Stadium - Santa Clara, Calif. • 6 p.m.
Game #42 • Sat., April 30 • Stephen Schott Stadium - Santa Clara, Calif. • 1 p.m.
Game #43 • Sun., May 1 • Stephen Schott Stadium - Santa Clara, Calif. • 1 p.m.

Probable Pitching Matchups
4/29 - Santa Clara - LHP Adam Sanabria - Sr. (1-0, 3.09 ERA)
Gonzaga - RHP Josh Monroe - Jr. (7-2, 1.96 ERA)
4/30 - Santa Clara - RHP Anthony Rea - Sr. (3-5, 3.84 ERA)
Gonzaga - LHP Patrick Donovan - Jr. (5-5, 2.97 ERA)
5/1 - Santa Clara - RHP Kellan McConnell - Sr. (2-6, 6.12 ERA)
Gonzaga - TBA

This Week
Santa Clara will head to Stanford's Sunken Diamond on Tuesday night to wrap-up a seven-game road swing with a 6 p.m. contest against the Cardinal. Stanford is currently ranked in each major national poll after a three-game sweep over Pac-10 foe Washington last weekend. On April 5, Stanford posted a 7-6 come-from-behind win over the Broncos. Santa Clara led 6-0 at one point before the Cardinal mounted the comeback.

The weekend will see the Broncos return home for the first time since April 10 when they host Gonzaga for a three-game WCC series. The Bulldogs currently lead the WCC's Coast Division after posting a series win over Pepperdine last weekend. Friday night's game will mark the last Bronco baseball contest in Buck Shaw Stadium. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. The series will move to Stephen Schott Stadium on Saturday as SCU plays its first game in its new home. Saturday and Sunday's contests will both begin at 1 p.m.

Schott Stadium Opening Day Sold Out
The long-awaited opening day of Santa Clara University's Stephen Schott Baseball Stadium, which is scheduled for Saturday, April 30 at 1 p.m., has sold out. The Broncos will host Gonzaga University in the second game of a three-game West Coast Conference series in the first game at Santa Clara's baseball dedicated facility.

Although tickets are gone for Saturday's contest, SCU will recognize members of its local community with Santa Clara Community Day on Sunday. All residents of the city will be able to purchase tickets for half price off an adult admission with a valid proof of residency, including a driver's license or utility bill.

Another special day at Stephen Schott Stadium will come on May 7th when the SCU baseball program honors the Bronco baseball team of 1962. Members of the team that advanced to the College World Series will return to Santa Clara for the 1 p.m. game against San Francisco.

O'Brien Reaches 100 Wins
Bronco skipper Mark O'Brien earned his 100th win at Santa Clara in the Bronco's 18-6 win at Loyola Marymount on April 16. His career record now stands at 101-107 as he enters the week. O'Brien becomes only the fifth coach in Santa Clara baseball history to reach the 100-win milestone. He joins former Bronco coaches John Oldham, Jerry McClain, Sal Taormina and John Cottrell in the esteemed group.

Broncos in the NCAA Stats
After the first week the NCAA compiled statistics for the 2005 season, two Broncos rank among the country's best. As of April 17, Jason Matteucci was the second toughest hitter in the nation to strikeout. His five strikeouts in 137 at-bats was the second best ratio in the NCAA. Matteucci averaged one strikeout in every 27.4 at-bats. Senior Shawn Epidendio also appears in the national rankings as he had been hit by a pitch 16 times this season. That total also ranks second in Division I.

Heating Up in Conference Action
Sophomore infielder Kevin Drever has posted impressive numbers during West Coast Conference play this season. The Salinas, Calif. native currently paces the team with a .535 batting average in WCC games. His on-base percentage of .596 is also a team-best, while he also leads the team with five stolen bases in conference play. In the series at LMU, Drever boasted back-to-back perfect days at the plate with a 5-for-5 performance on Saturday and a 3-for-3 day in the series finale. At Saint Mary's he posted a 3-for-5 performance with two runs scored on Sunday.

Overall, Drever leads the team with a .402 batting average in all games. He is tied for the team lead with seven stolen bases. His .457 on base percentage is also a Bronco best.

Multimedia Coverage Increases on www.santaclarabroncos.com
As the Santa Clara baseball program moves into Stephen Schott Stadium on April 30, the multimedia coverage on www.santaclarabroncos.com will be greatly increased. Live video streaming of each of the nine games to be played in Schott Stadium will be available on the website. Also, for the April 30th game only, an audio broadcast will also be available as Anthony Passarelli will bring you all of the action from the opening day. As always, all Bronco baseball games will also be covered on Gametracker.

Realini Named WCC Player of the Week
Dustin Realini was named the Rawlings/WCC Player of the Week on April 18 after leading the Broncos to three wins and its first WCC series win of the season at Loyola Marymount. The junior infielder hit .533 (8-for-15) over the four games and paced SCU with eight RBI and six runs scored. He also hit his team-leading fifth home run of the season and two doubles in the Bronco's series win at LMU . The award was the fourth conference honor for Santa Clara this season as Michael Thompson, Kris Watts and Kellan McConnell have all received weekly recognition from the WCC in 2005.

Up Next
Santa Clara will travel to Sacramento, Calif, for a Tuesday game at Sacramento State before returning home for a three-game West Coast Conference series with San Francisco. The Broncos and Hornets will meet for the second time this season on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. after SCU posted a 7-4 win over Sacramento State on February 16. SCU will also look to get even with the Dons over the weekend as USF swept Santa Clara in a conference series earlier this season. The three-game set will be the first full series to be played in Stephen Schott Stadium.

Bronco Rotation Notes

Anthony Rea
Senior Right-handed Pitcher (Palo Alto, Calif. - Gunn HS)
Will be making his seventh and eighth starts of the season this week... strong in first start of the season, pitching 7.2 innings against Washington... allowed only five hits and struck out six Huskies... third on the team in apperances with 16... 3.84 ERA is tops among Bronco hurlers with more than 35 innings of work... tied for SCU career saves record with 25... set a single-season record a year ago with 13... currently has five saves on the season... posted new career-highs with nine strikeouts in eight innings at San Francisco in his second start of the season... allowed only one run against the Dons in the Bronco's first complete game this season... threw his second complete game at Loyola Marymount... allowed only five hits, no walks and faced only four batters over the minimum in the 3-1 victory.

Adam Sanabria
Senior Left-handed Pitcher (Longwood, Fla. - University of Florida)
Will be making his fourth start of the season after joining the weekend rotation at Loyola Marymount... had been the top left-handed Bronco reliever this season... 3.09 ERA is the lowest on the team... ranks second on the squad with 18 appearances... threw 4.1 innings with a season-best four strikeouts against the Cardinal... recorded a career-high seven inning performance on Saturday at Saint Mary's... picked up his first Bronco win against the Gaels as he allowed three runs on eight hits with a strikeout in the contest.

Kellan McConnell
Senior Right-handed Pitcher (San Juan Capistrano, Calif. - Capistrano Valley HS)
Has made 13 starts in 2005, which is tops on the team... leads the team with 55 strikeouts in a team-high 72 innings of work... recorded a season-high 10 strikeouts in 7.2 innings of work against Washington on February 20 to earn his first win of the season... second win came against San Jose State after allowing only one run in seven innings of action... named WCC Pitcher of the Week after Washington series.