March 5, 2009
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara baseball takes to the road for a four-game series against the University of Oregon on March 6-9. First pitch of the series is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Friday, Mar. 6 at PK Park in Eugene, Ore.
Last Time Out
The Broncos enter the weekend with a 2-4 overall record after facing four straight setbacks. Santa Clara lost the series to San Jose State 0-2 over the weekend, with the third game being postponed due to rain. The teams will make up the game on April 29 at Municipal Stadium. SCU losses to SJSU were very close as they were edge 5-4 on Friday and 10-7 on Saturday. For the series, Tommy Medica had four runs on six hits, while Jon Karcich had three doubles, two runs and two RBIs. Geoff Klein hit his first home run of the season in game two of the series and tallied six RBIs on the weekend. On the mound, both Nate Garcia and Thain Simon faced their first losses of the year.
Follow The Broncos Online!
Fans can watch and listen to all of Santa Clara's home games this season via Bronco All-Access on www.SantaClaraBroncos.com. All four games against the Ducks will offer Live Video and Audio streaming through www.GoDucks.com. A fee is associated with the service. Free live stats will also be available.
Bronco Watch
Despite the rough weekend, Jon Karcich's batting averaged improved to a .526, which leads the team. He also leads the squad with five doubles. Tommy Medica owns a .462 batting average and leads the Broncos with 12 hits and eight runs. He also has four doubles and a home run. On the mound, Thain Simon is 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA, while Nate Garcia is also 1-1 with a 3.46 ERA and 13 strike outs.
Scouting Oregon
The Ducks enter the weekend with a 3-5 overall record. Oregon will also look to snap a three-game slide in which it lost the final game of the series to then-No. 15 Fresno State and two midweek games at Washington. In their last outing, the Ducks fell 10-2 to the Huskies. Key players for the Ducks include: Curt Raulinaitis (.310), Eddy Rodriquez (.300, 6 runs) and Jett Hart (5 RBIs). On the mound, Ryan Fleckenstein has a 1.12 ERA and a 1-0 record. Tyler Anderson is 1-0 as well with a 1.32 ERA and 10 strikeouts.
Last Time vs. Oregon
The teams last met in 1979 on the Mission Campus when the Broncos posted a 9-4 victory.
All-Time vs. Oregon
Friday's meeting marks the sixth overall meeting of the two programs. Oregon leads the all-time series 3-2.
On Deck
SCU remains on the road for one more contest before return to Schott Stadium to host two Ivy League weekend series. The Broncos battle the Aggies of UC Davis on Wednesday, March 11 at 2:30 p.m. in Davis.
SCU Record Books Watch List
Did You Know...?
Bronco assistant coach Chad Baum played for and worked as an assistant coach with current Oregon head coach George Horton while at CSU Fullerton. There Baum captained the 1998 and 99 Titan squads helping led the team to the College World Series in 1999. As an assistant, the Titans had three CWS appearances, including the National Championship in 2004.
Karcich Dominates In WCC
After the first two weekends of play, junior shortstop Jon Karcich leads the West Coast Conference in batting average and on base percentage. He is also tied for second in doubles, is No. 4 in slugging percentage and is tied for sixth in stolen bases.
Lights! Camera! Action!
Santa Clara will return to the bright lights of national television this season. The Broncos' final game against the Toreros of San Diego on April 5 will be aired on ESPNU. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. from Stephen Schott Stadium. Last season, Santa Clara played Bay Area rival Stanford in two games televised on CBS College Sports. The Broncos are 1-1 in TV games.
