Aug. 5, 2004
SANTA CLARA, Calif. -
The Santa Clara University baseball team will play four of its first five series at home, including a three-game set against 2004 NCAA Tournament participant Washington to start the 2005 season, head coach Mark O'Brien announced today. Along with the Huskies, the Broncos will face-off with Stanford and West Coast Conference foe Pepperdine, which both reached the postseason a year ago.
"We have a very competitive non-conference schedule this season," said O'Brien. "We use it to prepare for the conference schedule later in the year. In the past, we have been on the road a great deal, so I am looking forward to being home a lot this year. It can turn into a great benefit for the team."
As they did in 2004, the Broncos will start their season against UC Riverside. The Highlanders, who finished third in the Big West last season, will head into Buck Shaw Stadium on January 28. The following weekend, Santa Clara will host Utah, which the Broncos have not faced since 1968.
The first road trip of the season will come February 11 as the Broncos face off with San Diego State. Last season, Santa Clara won the series with the Tony Gwynn-led Aztecs, taking two of three games at home.
The Broncos will return home to take on Washington for a three-game series, which will begin February 18. The Huskies finished second in the Pac-10 last season and advanced to a NCAA regional after posting a 39-20-1 mark. Finishing up the month, Santa Clara will host Cal Poly on February 25. In 2004, the Broncos and Mustangs faced each other four times with each team claiming two wins.
March begins with a cross-town showdown against San Jose State in the annual Rivalry Series. Friday and Sunday's contests will take place at Municipal Stadium, with Saturday's competition hosted by the Broncos. Before breaking for finals, Santa Clara will host Brown University for the first time in program history.
Due to final exams, the Bronco's WCC opening series against Pepperdine will start on Saturday, March 18 and continue to Monday, March 20. After claiming the conference title and advancing to the NCAA Tournament a year ago, the Waves will travel north for the first of two three-game series with the Broncos this season.
Santa Clara will travel to San Francisco for the first of back-to-back road series before heading to Portland. The Dons and Broncos will close out March with the series from the 25-28, while SCU will take on the Pilots on April 1-3.
The Broncos will return home to host 2004 Pac-10 champion and Bay Area rival Stanford in the first mid-week game of the 2005 slate on April 5. The game marks the first of three Tuesday games between the teams during the season.
San Diego will come to Santa Clara on April 8 as the Broncos return to WCC play over the weekend. Following the series, SCU will host Sacramento State in a midweek match-up on April 12.
A seven-game road trip, the longest for the Broncos in 2005, begins April 25 at Loyola Marymount, the Coast Division champions from a year ago. SCU will head back north April 22 as it kicks off a three-game set at Saint Mary's. The road swing will wrap-up at Stanford on April 26. SCU will return home on April 29 as it hosts WCC foe Gonzaga.
A mid-week trip to Sacramento State on May 3 will follow the series with the Bulldogs before San Francisco comes to town on May 6. On May 10, the Broncos will finish their three games against the Cardinal with a match-up at Sunken Diamond.
The final road series of the regular season will take the Broncos back to Los Angeles on May 13, as Santa Clara will face Pepperdine for the second time. The Broncos will then close out the regular season with a three-game series against Portland, starting May 20.
The winners of the Coast and West Divisions will face-off in the WCC Championship series on May 27, which will be held at the home field of the league team with the best record.
