SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Santa Clara baseball capped a stretch of nine games in 11 days with a 3-0 shutout victory over No. 26 Nevada Monday night at Schott Stadium. Three Bronco pitchers held the Wolf Pack to four hits and Stevie Berman went a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with two RBIs in the victory.
The Broncos have won a game against all three ranked opponents they have faced this season; they also defeated No. 1 Vanderbilt Feb. 14 and No. 30 San Diego March 22.
Grant Meylan led off the third inning with a drag bunt single to the right side of the infield and Berman hit a deep home run to left — his first long ball of the season — to put the Broncos (14-13) in front 2-0. Three batters later, Kyle Cortopassi hit an RBI infield single to shortstop to drive in Jose Vizcaino, Jr. and give the hosts a 3-0 edge.
"I've worked really hard with Coach Beauregard and watched a lot of video with him," Berman said. "He'll analyze it and compare it to big leaguers, and he really gets us going where we need to be. What he's done for the team and me has been exceptional."
Monday night marked Berman's second four-hit outing in Santa Clara's last seven contests. He was the only batter in the game to reach base safely multiple times. The Saratoga, Calif. native is hitting .357 with a .471 on-base percentage and .524 slugging percentage since making his first start of the season March 13.
"Stevie was one of our top recruits for a reason," head coach Dan O'Brien said. "He's talented, but it's all the intangibles that make Stevie really good. He has a great feel for the game, so for him to come in hitting balls hard right away is not a surprise at all. He's pretty special.
Santa Clara starting pitcher Eric Lex threw 4.0 shutout innings and allowed a hit and a walk alongside three strikeouts. Lex (W, 2-1) retired the first seven batters he faced against a Nevada team which hit .303 on the season entering the game.
"I think it starts with our pitching coach Gabe Ribas; he's one of the best in the country and he's recruited a great group," O'Brien said.
The Wolf Pack (23-6) was held to four hits or less for just the third time this season, and shut out for just the second time. Santa Clara pitching limited the visitors to 1-for-15 with runners on base and 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position. After Lex's exit, Jason Seever pitched 4.0 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and a walk alongside three strikeouts.
"To have Jason Seever — who was a staple out of our bullpen last year — have such a great outing against such a good offensive team after a bad start to the season this year is huge for us," O'Brien said.
In the ninth, Reece Karalus allowed a leadoff single before retiring three batters in a row to close out the victory. Nevada's Jordan Devencenzi battled Karalus (SV, 8) in an 11-pitch at-bat, including seven foul balls, before flying out to center field for the final out the game. The Bronco closer has recorded a save in four of his last five outings over an eight-day span March 22-30.
"You're mentally and physically tired, but so is the other team," Berman said of the busy stretch. "Coach O'Brien always talks about never taking a day for granted. [The game] could get taken away from you whenever, and we just come out and play every game like it's our last."
The Broncos host the San Francisco Dons for a Thursday-Saturday series this week at Schott Stadium. First pitch times are Thursday at 6 p.m., Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m.
GAME NOTES: First pitch was at 6:01 p.m. … time of game was 2:41 … attendance was 297.
