SANTA CLARA, Calif. – In a game for offense, Santa Clara baseball made a big second inning stand up and beat Saint Mary's 8-7 to take the three-game series.
All of the eight Broncos (19-15, 8-7 WCC) runs came in the second inning. After the first out was recorded, five straight singles, a walk, and back-to-back doubles followed before the next out. When it was all said and done, Santa Clara had an 8-2 lead.
The Gaels (21-15, 5-10 WCC) would continue to chip away with two in the third and three more in the fifth but that was all the scoring for the day as Alex Reelfs picked up his first save of the year with 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief.
Cade Pilchard (1-0) ended up with the win. He took over for starter Skylar Hales with two outs in the fourth and tossed 2 no hit innings before Reelfs came on.
Eight of the nine Bronco starters had at least one hit with five collecting two each. Eamonn Lance and John Hanley both added two RBIs while four others knocked in a run apiece and eight different players crossed home plate.
Saint Mary's got all of their damage from the three through six spots in the lineup. Chris Santiago led the way with a 4-for-5 day with a home run, a triple, three runs scored, and four RBIs. Blake McDonald added a pair of RBIs and Christian Almanza scored three times.
Ryan Wiltse (3-1) started and took the loss after not escaping the second. In all, he went 1 2/3 innings, surrendering eight runs on nine hits with a walk.
NOTES
- Santa Clara now has 13 games with double-figure hits.
- Eamonn Lance extended his on-base streak to 19 games.
NEXT UP
Santa Clara heads to San Jose State Tuesday for a 6 p.m. first pitch.
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