April 19, 2009
SAN FRANCISCO - Junior Jon Karcich went 2-for-2 with two runs Sunday afternoon, but the Santa Clara baseball team faced another hard-fought loss to San Francisco, 7-3, at Benedetti Diamond. With the win, the Dons took the West Coast Conference series, 2-1, and improved to 19-21 overall and 6-6 in league play. The Broncos dropped to 15-20 on the season and 4-8 in WCC action.
Karcich doubled and had a base-hit, while being hit by a pitch twice and walked once. Freshman Andrew Biancardi scored one run for the Broncos, while sophomore Curtis Wagner posted two RBIs.
For the Dons, Zach Kim was 3-for-3 with three runs, while Derek Poppert and Stephen Yarrow drove in three runs each.
The win was earned by Matt Hiserman (2-4), while the loss went to junior Alex Rivers (3-2). He went 4.2 innings and gave up three of USF's runs. He also struck out a game-high three.
USF earned a 2-0 lead early on by scoring runs in the first and second inning; but SCU made it a one run game in the fourth. Karcich singled to right field and then advanced to second on a wild pitch. He scored on a Brady Fuerst single down the left field line. The Broncos nearly knotted the score as Geoff Klein advanced to third on a Biancardi fly but back-to-back outs left Klein stranded on base.
Despite keeping the Dons scoreless in the bottom of the fourth, the Broncos could not rally in the fifth. However, San Francisco scored one run in the fifth and three runs in the sixth to make it a 6-1 game. USF reached its final tally of seven runs in the eighth inning, but couldn't keep SCU from having the final say.
Santa Clara opened the ninth inning with a walk dealt to Karcich. Then in a two-out rally Biancardi posted an infield single and the duo scored on a Wagner double to centerfield. Kevin Madden joined Wagner with a base hit, but David Abraham was struck out to bring the game to a close.
The Broncos return to nonconference action with a Monday, April 20 contest against the Cardinal of Stanford. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Sunken Diamond.
