by Brandon Rebboah
SANTA CLARA, Calif.- After taking two of three from West Coast Conference rival Saint Mary's, including a 10-inning victory, Santa Clara returns home for a mid-week showdown with Stanford on Tues.,Apr. 19. The Broncos then travel to San Francisco to continue WCC play against USF.
Fans should keep an eye on SantaClaraBroncos.com, @SCUBroncos on Twitter or the athletics Facebook fan page for in-game updates.
Game Notes Week # 10
Stanford @ Santa Clara
Tues., Apr. 19, 2011 6 p.m. Stephen Schott Stadium
Probable Starters: TBD vs. Joe Supple (0-2; 7.64 ERA)
Santa Clara @ San Francisco
Thur., Apr. 21, 2011 6 p.m. Benedetti Diamond (San Francisco, Calif.)
Probable Starters: RHP Cory Hall (4-4; 3.43 ERA) vs. LHP Matt Lujan (4-3; 3.41 ERA) *
Fri., Apr. 22, 2011 1 p.m. Benedetti Diamond (San Francisco, Calif.)
Probable Starters: TBD vs. RHP Kyle Zimmer (2-3; 4.28 ERA) *
Sat., Apr. 23, 2011 1 p.m. Benedetti Diamond (San Francisco, Calif.)
Probable Starters: TBD vs. RHP Matt Hiserman (4-3; 3.41 ERA) *
*As of Mon., Apr. 18
Santa Clara Pitching
Santa Clara senior RHP Cory Hall (4-4; 3.43 ERA) continued his solid season, tossing his second complete game at St. Mary's, Apr. 15. Hall pitched nine innings, allowing just two runs on five hits. Through nine appearances, Hall leads the team in innings pitched (63.0), strikeouts (49) and is allowing hitters a .271 batting average. He tallied a season-high 11 strikeouts in his Mar. 26 complete game against Brown… Senior RHP J.R. Graham (2-1; 3.09 ERA) has proven his value by starting his two games of the season against LMU and Saint Mary's. The team's typical closer, Graham hurled 5.1 innings in a start against LMU. In his second start, he tossed seven innings of scoreless baseball, scattering three hits. Before moving into the rotation, Graham posted a 1.59 ERA in 22 innings of work.. From Mar. 1 to Apr. 3 Graham posted a 0.60 ERA. He currently leads the team in saves (3) and has the lowest ERA of any Bronco pitcher (3.09)… LHP Powell Fansler (3-2; 3.90 ERA) continues to have a strong rookie season, and has moved into the weekend rotation. Through 32.1 innings, he has fanned 17 batters… Look for RHP Brock Simon (3-4; 5.40 ERA) to provide strong mid-inning relief for the Broncos. After moving to the bullpen, Simon has become an asset for Santa Clara. In his last outing, Simon picked up the win pitching three scoreless innings, while allowing just four hits at Saint Mary's on Apr. 16.
Santa Clara Offense
Senior C/DH Patrick Terry continues to post solid numbers for the Broncos, hitting .304 on the year. He has tallied 15 RBI on the season… Freshman 3B Kyle DeMerritt is having a stellar rookie campaign, leading the team in batting average (.328), runs (23), hits (40), slugging percentage (.393), doubles (8), total bases (48) and RBI (20). DeMerritt takes advantage of his opportunities, hitting .475 with runners in scoring position. In Santa Clara's 10-inning win against Saint Mary's, DeMerritt drove in the only run of the game… All-WCC preseason selection, senior 1B Curtis Wagner is second on the team with seven doubles and is second in total bases (41)… OF Lucas Herbst continues to be a versatile offensive player for the Broncos. He has the second highest batting average on the team (.307) and is tied for second with 19 RBI… Sophomore OF Matt Ozanne leads the team in stolen bases (8) and has knocked in 15 runners… His twin brother, 3B/DH Drew Ozanne has found seen more playing time lately. He has served as the team's designated-hitter since his walkoff single against Bakersfield on Apr. 1. He is hitting .262 on the year.
Stanford
Stanford (16-12) comes in after being swept by Oregon State in PAC-10 play. Offensively, the Cardinal boast seven batters who are currently hitting at least .300. They are led by Kenny Diekroeger who leads the team in batting average (.351), at-bats (114), hits (40), and total bases ( 47). Slugger Brian Ragira is batting .303 with 25 RBI, including three homeruns and three triples. On the mound, Stanford's Jordan Pries (4-3; 3.26 ERA) has started seven games, while leading the Cardinal in innings pitched (47.0) and strikeouts (38). Danny Sandbrink boasts the lowest ERA on the staff (2.49) and has made seven appearances on the year.
USF
The Dons swept Portland in their second WCC series and travel to Oregon on Mon., Mar. 18. Going into their game with Oregon, Adam Clear leads the team with a .356 batting average and has amassed 37 hits this season. Travis Higgs is the reigning WCC player of the week, hitting .429 with seven RBI and two homeruns against Portland. The starting pitching for USF has been productive. Pitchers Matt Lujan , Matt Hiserman and Kyle Zimmer have all started nine gamese for the Dons. Hiserman leads the team in innings pitched (60.2), while Zimmer has struck out a team-high 53 batters.
