May 4, 2005
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara University baseball team will put its five-game win streak on the line this weekend when it hosts the University of San Francisco in a three-game West Coast Conference series beginning Friday at Stephen Schott Stadium.
Friday's series opener is scheduled for a 6 p.m. first pitch, while Saturday and Sunday's games are each slated to begin at 1 p.m. All three games will feature a live video and Gametracker feed via SantaClaraBroncos.com.
Reserved seat and general admission tickets to the seven remaining Bronco baseball games in the new stadium are available by calling 408/554-4660 or online by clicking here. Friday's game will serve as Little Leaguers Day with special advance ticket discounts for area youth teams. For more information, call Daniel Galvin at 408/554-4066 or click here. On Saturday, the Bank of Santa Clara will be sponsoring a reunion of the 1962 SCU team that advanced to the College World Series and a tribute to the late head coach John J. "Paddy" Cottrell.
The Broncos enter Friday's game with a 23-22 overall record and a 5-17 and third-place standing in the WCC's West Division. SCU is currently riding a five-game win streak following Tuesday's 5-3 victory at Sacramento State. Last weekend, the Broncos swept WCC Coast Division leader Gonzaga in a three-game league series. Friday's game served as the final baseball game at venerable Buck Shaw Stadium, while Saturday's game was the inaugural game at Schott Stadium.
Senior pitcher Anthony Rea brings a 4-5 record and 3.49 ERA as SCU's starter in the series opener for Santa Clara. The school record-holder in career saves, the Palo Alto, Calif. native has only walked 21 of the 260 batters he has faced and has a team-high five saves on the season. Seniors Adam Sanabria (2-0, 2.84 ERA) and Kellen McConnell (3-6, 5.65 ERA) are slated to start for SCU on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Sophomore shortstop Kevin Drever leads six Broncos that hit over .300 on the season. The Salinas, Calif. native has started 30 of his 37 appearances this season and is hitting .354 with a .411 on base percentage. Second baseman Eric Newton is second on the team with a .329 batting average and is tied with junior first baseman/DH Dustin Realini with five home runs.
San Francisco enters the weekend with a sparkling 32-14 record and a 15-6 mark and first-place standing in the WCC's West Division. Although the Dons have lost two of their last three games, they are coming off a 9-0 victory over Cal on Tuesday. USF was riding an eight-game win streak into last weekend's conference series at San Diego, but dropped two of three to the Toreros.
The Dons swept Santa Clara in the three-game series at Benedetti Diamond earlier this season by scores of 1-0, 6-4 and 4-1.
Following this weekend's series, Santa Clara remains at its new home for a single game against South Bay rival Stanford on Tuesday night. The 6 p.m. first pitch will serve as the final non-league game of the season for Santa Clara.
