April 2, 2009
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara baseball continues West Coast Conference action this weekend against the 23rd-ranked Toreros of San Diego at Stephen Schott Stadium. The Broncos are looking for their first win in league play as they begin the series on Friday, Apr. 3 at 7 p.m. The series continues on Saturday, Apr. 4 at 6 p.m. and concludes with a 3:30 p.m. start in a nationally-televised game on ESPNU.
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.
Last Time Out
The Broncos dropped to their longest losing streak of the season (6) as they were edged 6-5 by the Cardinal of Stanford. Matt Long led the Broncos with two runs, while Geoff Klein added two more RBIs to his team-leading tally. Brady Fuerst hit double No. 15 of the season, while Long and Jon Karcich also had doubles in the game. SCU took a 2-0 lead and the Stanford knotted the score and claimed a three-run lead, 5-2. The Broncos tied the score, 5-5, in the seventh but the Cardinals had the final say in the eighth with the winning run.
Follow The Broncos Online!
Friday and Saturday's games will feature live video and audio streaming via Bronco All-Access on www.SantaClaraBroncos.com. Chetan Chaudhari and Stephen Hobbs will be calling the play-by-play action from Schott Stadium. Live in-game stats will also be available via Game Tracker. Sunday's game will be aired live nationally on ESPNU.
Bronco Watch<
Junior catcher Klein continues to lead the Broncos with a .379 batting average and 30 RBIs. Senior outfielder Long owns a team-best 20 runs and three triples. Klein and Long are tied with three home runs. Senior infielder Fuerst has hit a team-high 15 doubles. On the mound, junior Nate Garcia leads with a 2.91 ERA, 4-2 record and 47 strikeouts. Fellow junior Alex Rivers is second on the squad with a 2-0 record and a 3.16 ERA. He has 32 Ks to his record.
Battle on the Mound
Friday • Nate Garcia (4-2, 2.91 ERA, 47 K) vs. Kyle Blair (2-1, 2.98 ERA, 51 K)
Saturday • Thain Simon (2-2, 3.31 ERA, 25 K) vs. Matt Thomson (4-0, 3.40 ERA, 54 K)
Sunday • Alex Rivers (2-0, 3.16 ERA, 32 Ks) vs. TBA
Scouting San Diego
The Toreros enter the weekend with a No. 23 national ranking from the NCWBA. USD is also the No. 2 team in the nation in sacrifice flies and No. 24 in hits. Individually, pitchers Matt Thompson and Kyle Blair are No. 8 and No. 12, respectively in strikeouts. San Diego owns a 19-11 overall record and went 3-0 in the WCC opening series against Pepperdine. USD did drop a midweek game against No. 22 UC Riverside, 8-7, on Tuesday. Overall, James Meador has 24 RBIs, Sean Nicol leads with 29 runs, nine doubles and a .376 batting average, and Victory Sanchez has five home runs.
Last Time vs. San Diego
Santa Clara battled USD four times last year. In a non-conference game at the Aztec Invitational, the Broncos defeated the then-No. 11 Toreros, 7-6. In the opening of WCC play, Santa Clara took the series, 2-1. Thain Simon earned his first two collegiate saves in games two and three.
All-Time vs. San Diego
Friday's game marks the 97th meeting of the two teams in a series Santa Clara leads 52-44.
On Deck
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
In the WCC
As of games through the opening weekend of WCC action, the Broncos remain second in the league in doubles and are tied for fourth in team batting average and slugging percentage. Individually, Klein is third in batting average and RBIs, while Fuerst is tied for second in doubles and Long is tied for second in triples. Garcia continues to lead the WCC in innings pitched and is third in batters struck out. See page 5 of the notes for the complete list.
On the National Stage
As a team, Santa Clara is ranked in the top 100 in doubles (No. 36), doubles per game (No. 12), sac bunts (No. 81), hit by pitch (No. 88), strikeouts per nine innings (No. 56) and fielding percentage (No. 48). Individually, the Broncos have eight different players ranked in 24 categories. Long leads the way with a No. 5 ranking sacrifice flies, while Fuerst is No. 10 in doubles per game and No. 17 in doubles. See page 5 of the notes for the complete list.
Broncos, Cardinal To Play At AT&T Park
Santa Clara and Stanford will bring their four single-game series to a close this year in style. The series finale, which is scheduled for Wednesday, May 6 at 6 p.m., will now be played at AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants. For ticket information, please contact the Bronco Ticket office at 408-554-4660.
Karcich Enters Record Books
Junior Karcich entered his first career category last weekend as he is now tied for 10th in hit-by-pitch. The shortstop has been hit 22 times.
Long Climbs in SCU Record Books
Outfielder Long entered the Santa Clara all-time record books after the game against UC Davis and is now ranked in four career categories. He is fifth in triples (11), tied for sixth in hits (234), seventh in total bases (341), and eighth in at bats (749). The Los Altos, Calif., native is not far out of entering two more categories - extra base hits and runs.
Family Ties
