March 3, 2008
Santa Clara (6-1) vs. Fresno State (3-5)
Tuesday, March 4, 2008 at 6 p.m.
Stephen Schott Stadium
Matt Wickswat (LHP) vs. Holden Sprague (RHP)
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara baseball team will host the Fresno State Bulldogs Tuesday evening at Stephen Schott Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
►On Air
Every live moment of Santa Clara baseball games will be covered live via the official athletic website at www.SantaClaraBroncos.com. Along with live audio broadcasts featuring play-by-play from Will Peregrine, a live GameTracker with statistical and play-by-play coverage will be available to fans.
►Last Time Out For The Broncos
SCU improved its overall record to 6-1 this week with a midweek victory over Pacific and a 2-1 series triumph over San Jose State.
Four Broncos registered home runs this week, with Jon Karcich and Matt Long belting out two each. Evan LeBlanc posted a Grand Slam in game two of the Rivalry Series against San Jose State and Brady Fuerst provided a two-run homer in the final game of the series. Also having a stellar weekend was catcher Tommy Medica, who went 9-for-18 with four doubles and two RBIs.
Sophomore Nate Garcia and redshirt junior Donald Brandt earned their second wins of the season last weekend. Freshman Thain Simon also earned his first collegiate win against Pacific in the midweek battle. Sophomore Alex Rivers also earned his first two saves of the season against the Spartans.
►On The Season
The Broncos are off to 6-1 start to the 2008 season. Junior LeBlanc continues to lead the team offensively. Starting in all seven games thus far for SCU, he has batted .500 with seven runs, four doubles, two home runs and 11 RBIs. Medica is second on the squad batting .419 with seven runs, four doubles and seven RBIs, while Karcich rounds out the top three hitting .346 with seven runs, three doubles, two home runs and nine RBIs.
As a whole the Broncos pitching staff has a 3.16 ERA. Rivers (0.00 ERA), Simon (0.00 ERA), Brandt (1.42 ERA) and Garcia (2.63 ERA) have all registered wins for Santa Clara.
The 2008 campaign begins three weeks later and will last for just 13 weeks (instead of 16 weeks as in years past). The Broncos will play their typical 56 game schedule during that time with 32 of those games being held in the friendly and comfortable confines of Stephen Schott Stadium.
►RIVALRY SERIES
The Broncos made their overall record in the Rivalry Series 4-2 this weekend, while the all-time record in the series that dates back to the 1936 season is not 117-79-1 in SCU's favor.
►Scouting Fresno State
The Bulldogs enter Tuesday's contest with a 3-5 overall record. Erik Wetzel leads Fresno State batting .389 with 8 runs, three doubles and three RBIs. On the mound, the Broncos will face Holden Sprague who has made two appearances for the Bulldogs, pitching 3.0 innings with three batters struck out and allowing only one hit.
Fresno State's three-game losing streak ended on Saturday as the Bulldogs posted a 9-2 win on the road over then-No. 22 San Diego State. Wetzel went 4-for-6 for Fresno State, with three runs and two RBIs.
► All-Time vs. Fresno State
Tuesday's game is the 113th meeting of the Broncos and Bulldogs. Fresno State owns a 70-42-0 all-time series record over Santa Clara. Last season, these two teams meet five times with the Broncos winning the series 4-1. Medica had a season-high six RBIs in game five of the series, while Matt Wickswat pitch his first collegiate complete game against the Bulldogs to earn a 4-1 win on March 10.
►On Deck
The Broncos return to action on Thursday, March 6 in the first game of the 2008 San Diego State Tournament. Santa Clara will battled USD in non-conference action with a first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m., and will then face San Diego State, Oklahoma State and defending National Champions Oregon State in the remainder of the weekend.
