April 5, 2009
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - In yet another slugfest that consisted of 27 total runs and 35 combined hits, the Santa Clara baseball team fell, 22-5, to No. 23 San Diego in the West Coast Conference series finale. The Toreros won all three games of the series to improved to 6-0 in league play and 22-11 overall. The Broncos dropped to 0-6 in WCC action and 10-16 on the season.
The win was earned by USD's A.J. Griffin (5-1). He went five innings, gave up one run on three hits and struck out six batters. The loss went to junior Alex Rivers (2-1). He went 3.1 innings and gave up nine runs on nine hits.
At the plate, designated hitter Mike Lugo went 4-for-5 for San Diego with four runs and four RBIs, while Sean Nicol led the game with five RBIs and two home runs. For Santa Clara, Matt Long had two RBIs and Kevin Madden scored two runs.
San Diego scored runs in all innings except for the first and ninth. The Toreros exploded for eight runs in the fourth inning to put the game officially out of reach for the Broncos.
Yet, Santa Clara continued to fight. In the second inning, right fielder Madden was brought home on a Kyle Van Dusen ground out. Madden got on base with a leadoff double to left centerfield.
San Diego skyrocketed to a 19-1 lead by the end of the top of the sixth inning. Santa Clara broke through the silence with a single run in sixth. Madden scored again for SCU. He got on base with a single through the right side and scored on a double to left centerfield. In the seventh, Curtis Wagner scored on a Geoff Klein base hit. Wagner walked to get on base and advanced to second on an Ian O'Connor base hit.
The Broncos tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to make it a 22-5 game. David Abraham opened the half with a single up the middle and Juan Parra followed with a single. The pair advanced an extra base on an error by USD centerfielder Zach Walters. Abraham and Parra were then driven home on a single up the middle from senior outfielder Long.
SCU will host Hawaii in a midweek game before traveling north to battle the Portland Pilots. The game against Hawaii is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start on Tuesday, Apr. 7. The Broncos will take on the Pilots with a single game on Thursday, Apr. 9 at 3 p.m. and then a doubleheader on Saturday, Apr. 11 beginning at 9 a.m.
