Posted: Apr 30, 2018
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara baseball (19-22, 6-12 WCC) is in the midst of playing eight straight road games and 12 of 13 games away from Schott Stadium.
The Broncos travel and play Cal Poly again on Tuesday in the back end of the home-and-home series against the Mustangs. Santa Clara will then play a weekend series at Pacific before wrapping up the road trip at Stanford on May 8.
The Broncos are 7-10 on the road this season while Cal Poly is 13-8 at home.
Cal Poly (19-23, 6-6 Big West) was swept at home by Nos. 4/9 UCLA last weekend and now sit in fifth place in the conference standings, three games behind first place Cal State Fullerton.
The Mustangs are hitting .290 as a team with four hitters batting over .300 led by Colby Barrick (.352). Tate Samuelson (.307 BA) leads the team in home runs (5) and RBIs (29). Its pitching staff posts a 5.10 ERA. Tuesday's starter right-hander Dylan Villalobos has appeared in only three games this season as the freshman will be making his first collegiate start against the Broncos.
Last Week in Bronco Baseball
• Santa Clara (19-22, 6-12 WCC) won three of four games last week including the midweek game against Cal Poly 10-7 at home and taking two out of three against San Francisco on the road in a WCC matchup.
• Against the Mustangs, the Bronco bats came for 14 hits and 10 runs to win 10-7. Reliever Penn Murfee pitched the final 5 2/3 innings to pick up the win for Santa Clara.
• The two wins against the Dons came in extra innings (4-3 win in 12 innings on Friday & 12-5 win in 11 innings on Saturday).
• On Friday, Jake MacNichols hit the go ahead RBI double in the 12th inning as Luke Martin-Resnick (2-1) pitched the final three innings, allowing three hits and no runs to pick up the win for the Broncos.
• On Saturday, Jake Brodt hit a three-run home run in the top of the 11th inning to break a 5-5 tie to propel Santa Clara to a 12-5 win and a series win.
• In the series finale on Sunday, the Dons collected season-high 18 hits and 12 runs including scoring six runs in the second inning to take a 6-1 lead that it would not relinquish.
Game Information vs Cal Poly
Game #42
San Luis Obispo, Calif. | Baggett Stadium
All-Time Series: Santa Clara trails 43-44. The teams first played in 1956 and last played on April 24, 2018.
Probable Starters
Tuesday, May 1 • 6 p.m. PT
SCU Michael Praszker (1-2, 4.45 ERA) vs. Cal Poly RHP Dylan Villalobos (0-0, 33.75 ERA)
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ABOUT SANTA CLARA
Marked Improvement
•Forty-one games into the 52 game season, the Broncos have improved by six games in the overall win column (four games in the home win column and two games in the road win column) thus far.
Schedule
•At this time there is no make-up game scheduled for the UC Davis game which was postponed back on March 13.
•The game against Cal Poly will be the 42nd game of the season. Of the 11 remaining games, including the midweek game against Cal Poly, only three games will be played at home (home finale vs Loyola Marymount from May 11-13) as the Broncos played a schedule front loaded with home games. The Broncos are in the midst of playing eight consecutive games on the road.
Among League Leaders
•Santa Clara leads the WCC in: home runs (40), HBP (70).
•Broncos are second in the WCC in: base on balls with 156 (behind San Diego 160), runs with 227 (behind San Diego 239), scoring with 5.5 runs (behind BYU 5.7), slugging percentage with .384 (behind BYU .400).
•Jake Brodt leads the WCC in home runs with 11 and John Cresto is second with eight.
•Brodt is second in the WCC in RBIs with 43 (behind Jordan Qsar, Pepperdine, 46).
•Jason Dicochea is second in the conference in doubles with 14 (behind Michael Perri, USF, 18).
New for 2018 - Pre & Postgame Interviews At Home Contests
•Listen to pregame interviews of Bronco coaches and players before every home game this year on TheW.tv live stream with Bronco play-by-play announcer David Gentile. Interviewees are announced on Bronco Baseball social media platforms (see footer) and on the series preview on SantaClaraBroncos.com Tune in approximately 10 minutes prior to the first pitch.
•After each home win, postgame player interviews are live streamed also on TheW.tv with Gentile.
Solid Start
•Santa Clara got off to a 14-5 start, its best start since the 2012 season when it went 13-3.
•The Broncos won four consecutive series (2-1 series win over Wake Forest Feb.23-25; 3-0 sweep over Utah March 2-4; 3-1 series win over Sacramento State March 8-11; and 2-1 series win over San Diego March 16-18) before losing the last series against Saint Mary's (March 23-25).
Extra Inning Magic
•The Broncos are 6-1 in extra inning games this season with three of them coming off in walk-off fashion (Feb. 24 vs Wake Forest in 14 innings; March 4 vs Utah in 12 innings; March 8 vs Sacramento State in 10 innings, March 10 at Sacramento State in 10 innings). It won its first four extra-inning games before losing to BYU on game one of the double header on April 6.
Santa Clara has won the last two extra inning games coming on back-to-back games at San Francisco (April 27 & 28).
Streaks
•Jason Dicochea has safely reached base in 20 consecutive games (since March 27 vs Nevada).
•Joe Becht's 36 consecutive games bases reached streak came to an end against Washington State on April 22, having safely reached base in the first 36 games of the season. (Got a hit in 25 games, drew a walk in 10 games he did not get a hit in and was hit by a pitch in the other game he did not get a hit or walk).
•Grant Meylan's 20 consecutive games bases reached streak came to an end against Pepperdine on April 13.
•Santa Clara had won six consecutive one-run games before losing to Saint Mary's, 6-5, on March 24. The Broncos are now 8-5 in one-run games.
•John Cresto hit a home run in four consecutive games, all solo shots, from Feb. 23 - 27. He hit one in each game of the Wake Forest series as well as in the midweek game against Nevada.
•Closer Eric Lex recorded a save in three consecutive games from Feb. 27 - March 4.
•The Broncos had a season-high seven game win streak from Feb. 27 - March 10 and a nine game losing streak from March 31 - April 15.
Captains
•Sixth-year senior right-handed pitcher Steven Wilson and senior first baseman Jake Brodt were named captains for the 2018 Santa Clara squad.
Preseason Accolades
•Senior first baseman Jake Brodt and junior third baseman John Cresto were named preseason All-West Coast Conference. Last season, Brodt was named first team All-WCC with Cresto being named honorable mention All-WCC.
Brodt's Two Grand Slams In One Inning
•Brodt hit two grand slams in the seventh inning on Feb. 17 against Boston College, becoming just the seventh Division I player to accomplish the feat since the NCAA began keeping records in 1957. He is the first to do so since 2000 when T.J. Soto of Louisiana Tech did it against Western
Kentucky.
•Brodt's first grand slam came with the Broncos trailing 9-7 in the seventh inning and put them up for good. His second grand slam came with the Broncos up 16-9. In the first inning, Brodt hit a sacrifice fly for the first RBI of the game and in the sixth, Brodt hit a solo home run to finish the game 3-for-5 with three home runs and 10 RBIs.
•The Huntington Beach, California native's two grand slams in an inning was featured on ESPN's SportsCenter and was named NCBWA National Hitter of the Week and Rawlings West Coast Conference Player of the Week.
In Season Accolades
•Jake Brodt has twice been named the WCC Player of the Week this season on Feb. 19 after his two grand slam in an inning game and a month later on March 19 after going 5-for-14 with three doubles, two home runs and drove in seven runs against San Diego while playing first and third base.
Hit By Pitch
•On Feb. 17, Boston College hit 10 Bronco players, tying an NCAA Division I record along with Baylor vs. TCU, March 6, 2012; Saint Joseph's vs. Fordham, April 5, 2009; Washington vs. Rice, May 22, 1998.
•Seven Broncos were hit in an inning (in the seventh) of the Feb. 17 game, breaking the NCAA Division I record (Previous record: 6—Hawaii vs. Hawaii Hilo, Feb. 8, 1998 (eighth inn.)
•Santa Clara is 17th in the nation (out of 297) in being hit by a pitch with 70. New Mexico State is first with 91.
•Niko Holm and Jason Dicochea lead the team in HBP with nine and three Broncos - Matt Smithwick, Grant Meylan, and Joe Becht - are second on the team in HBPs with eight each.
Coaching Staff
•Head coach Rusty Filter is in his first season with Santa Clara. Filter picked up his first career head coaching win on Feb. 17 against Boston College.
oEach member of his coaching staff is in their first season with Santa Clara and was selected in the MLB draft.
oFilter himself was selected in the 35th round of the 1990 MLB draft by the Toronto Blue Jays as a pitcher.
oFilter will make the mound visits and signal pitching changes. Filter coached third for two games this season (vs Pepperdine on April 13 & 14)
•Assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Jon Karcich coached alongside Filter at Stanford from 2015 – 17.
oKarcich returns to his alma mater where he played for the Broncos from 2007 – 09 where he was a two-time All-West Coast Conference honoree.
oKarcich was selected in the seventh round of the 2009 MLB draft by the California Angels as an infielder.
oKarcich coaches the infielders and serves as the bench coach but will occasionally coach first.
•Assistant coach BK Santy, a former catcher at Washington, coaches the catchers and outfielders as well as serving as the third base coach.
oSanty was selected in the 30th round of the 2012 MLB draft by the Minnesota Twins as a catcher.
•Assistant coach Greg Gonzalez, a former pitcher at Fresno State, serves as the first base coach and an occasional bench coach.
oGonzalez was selected in the 15th round of the 2011 MLB draft by the San Diego Padres as a pitcher.
