April 14, 2009
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Senior Brady Fuerst was perfect on the night going 3-for-3 with three RBIs to lead the Santa Clara baseball team to an 8-5 upset of No. 18 Cal Poly in non-conference action at Stephen Schott Stadium.
The Mustangs (24-9) out-hit the Broncos (14-17) 11-9, but SCU struck out nine compared to Cal Poly's six. The win extends Santa Clara's streak to four games and is the team's first victory over a nationally ranked opponent this season.
Redshirt freshman Jason Westerberg (1-1) earned his first collegiate win as he tossed 4.2 no-run relief innings. He gave up four hits, walked one and tied his season-high six strikeouts. The loss went to Mark Laugenor (1-1). He threw 2.0 innings in relief and gave up three runs on three hits.
Along with Fuerst's game-high three hits and three RBIs, he had one run and tallied double No. 17 on the season. He is now three doubles away from entering the single-season list. Junior Geoff Klein also had a solid outing for the Broncos. He went 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs. Klein now has 38 RBIs in 31 games this season. Fellow junior Jon Karcich also tallied two runs, while senior Kevin Madden posted two RBIs.
Santa Clara started off strong posting two runs in the first inning with two outs on the board. Karcich walked after two fly outs. He then scored on a Klein double to centerfield. With a Fuerst single through the left side, Klein scored.
Starter Steve Kalush and the Broncos defense kept the Mustangs scoreless through the first three innings as the Broncos tacked on three more runs in the third inning.
Juan Parra had a leadoff single and advanced to third on a base hit from Long. Long then stole second and Karcich received his second walk of the game to load the bases. With no outs and Klein single, the Broncos took a 3-0 lead as Parra was driven home. A sacrifice fly to left field by Fuerst brought home Long to lead 4-0. The Broncos then loaded the bases once again as Andrew Biancardi was dealt a walk. With another sacrifice fly, from Curtis Wagner, Karcich was plated.
The Broncos tried to hold onto their 5-0 advantage but the Mustangs strong hitting fought back to knot the score, 5-5. Cal Poly posted two runs in the fourth inning and three runs in the fifth inning. The Mustangs started off the fifth inning with back-to-back home runs to left field. The gusty winds that blew directly out to left field helped Cal Poly's cause. The third run of the inning was scored on an error by right-fielder Madden.
Yet, Madden more than made up for his error in the home half of the fifth as he helped Santa Clara claim its eight runs.
Klein was handed a leadoff walk and was then driven home for the game-winning run on a Fuerst double. Biancardi was then walked again and the pair advanced to third and second, respectively, on a sacrifice bunt from Wagner. With a Madden single up the middle, Fuerst and Biancardi scored for runs No. 7 and No. 8.
The Broncos return to action with a midweek non-conference game against the Cardinal of Stanford on Wednesday, April 15. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Stephen Schott Stadium.
