Santa Clara Routs Nevada in Series Finale, 15-4

Posted: Feb 21, 2010

Feb. 21, 2010

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara University's baseball team rebounded in a big way, soundly beating the University of Nevada 15-4 Sunday at Stephen Schott Stadium. The Broncos had dropped the first two games of the weekend series 4-2 and 15-9.

"Sunday is attitude day for us," said Santa Clara head coach Mark O'Brien. "It's always good to get a win on Sunday, no matter if your trying for the sweep, trying not to get swept or trying to win a series."

Nine Santa Clara (1-2) batters combined for 19 hits - more than SCU had in any single game last season. All-Americans Tommy Medica and Geoff Klein led the onslaught with Medica hitting his first career grand slam and Klein adding three RBI.

"You're not going to consistently shut down those guys in the number three and number four spots in our lineup," predicted O'Brien when asked about his star players' slow start following Saturday's loss.

Klein hit a 3-RBI double as part of a six-run second inning Sunday, in which the Broncos generated seven hits. The early offense led to a 7-0 SCU advantage after two innings.

"I only had one hit but everything was hit hard and those are going to start falling," said Klein, who shared the West Coast Conference batting title in 2009, hitting .379 with 21 doubles.

Nevada (1-2) immediately fought to get back into the game, scoring four runs in the top of the third. Wolf Pack designated hitter Brock Stassi had a two RBI single in the inning, which cut the lead to 7-4.

However, the four runs were all Nevada would get off SCU pitching. Santa Clara starter Jon Hughes - a high school 2008 All-American as a prep senior, at nearby Valley Christian High School - got the win in his highly anticipated collegiate debut. Hughes pitched six strong innings; striking out seven, throwing 119 pitches.

Medica, who went 4-for-5 on the day, broke the game open in the bottom of the fifth with a towering slam, easily clearing the leftfield fence. It gave the Broncos an insurmountable 12-4 lead heading into the sixth.

"It's nice to have a good day. There were some nerves going into the first two days since I hadn't played in a while," said Medica who had season-ending surgery after just nine games in 2009. "I'm definitely starting to feel comfortable at the plate again."

Santa Clara's next game will be at the University of Houston (0-3) on Friday, February 26 when the team opens a three-game series against the Cougars. Houston was swept by Texas State at home this weekend by scores of 6-0, 6-3 and 9-7.

GAME NOTES: The game's start time was delayed 40 minutes due to overnight and morning rain in the Santa Clara area ... Lucas Herbst went 4-4 Sunday and finished the series 8-for-10 (.800) with six runs ... Wolf Pack freshman pitcher and Reno native Tom Jameson took the loss Sunday in his first college start ... Nevada committed two errors Sunday after playing error-free on Friday and Saturday ... Curtis Wagner - who led the team in walks last season - drew 4 bases on balls during the three-game set ... Patrick Terry hit a pinch-hit home run on the first pitch of the bottom of the eighth inning.

WEST COAST CONFERENCE (WCC) SCORES THIS WEEKEND

#7 UC Irvine 5, LMU 1 - FRI
#7 UC Irvine 9, LMU 6 - SAT
#7 UC Irvine 19, LMU 9 - SUN

#24 SAN DIEGO 9, Indiana 2 - FRI
#24 SAN DIEGO 9, Indiana 4 - SAT
#24 SAN DIEGO 16, Indiana 10 - SAT
Indiana 7, #24 SAN DIEGO 5 - SUN

PORTLAND 5, Concordia (OR) 3 - FRI
PORTLAND 11, George Fox 7 - SAT
PORTLAND 8, Concordia (OR) 5 - FRI

Gonzaga 10, Missouri 6 (Cactus Classic, Tucson, AZ) - FRI
Gonzaga vs Washington PPD, rain (Cactus Classic, Tucson, AZ) - SAT
Gonzaga 9, New Mexico State 3 (Cactus Classic, Tucson, AZ) - SAT
Gonzaga vs Missouri - Canceled, rain (Cactus Classic, Tucson, AZ) - SUN
Washington 10, Gonzaga 9 (Cactus Classic, Tucson, AZ) - SUN

Nevada 4, SANTA CLARA 2 - FRI
Nevada 15, SANTA CLARA 9 - SAT
SANTA CLARA 15, Nevada 4 - SUN

LONG BEACH ST. 2, Pepperdine 1 - FRI
Pepperdine 6, #4 CAL STATE FULLERTON 0 - SAT
PEPPERDINE 11, Oregon 7 - SUN

PACIFIC 3, San Francisco 1 - FRI
San Francisco 6, PACIFIC 5 - SAT
PACIFIC 10, San Francisco 3 - SAT

San Jose State 7, ST. MARY's 6 - FRI
St. Mary's 12, SAN JOSE ST. 4 - SAT
San Jose St. @ ST. MARY'S PPD, rain - SUN