April 13, 2009
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara baseball team will look to continue its winning ways this week with two midweek non-conference contests at Stephen Schott Stadium. The Broncos will host the No. 18 Mustangs of Cal Poly on Tuesday, April 14 at 6 p.m. SCU will then take on Stanford on Wednesday, April 15 at 6 p.m.
Follow Your Broncos Online
This week'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.
Last Time Out
The Broncos improved to 13-17 on the season and 3-6 in West Coast Conference play with a three-game sweep of the Pilots of Portland. Pitchers Nate Garcia, Thain Simon and Alex Rivers each earned wins, while Rivers and Steve Kalush registered saves. Jon Karcich hit home run No. 1 of the season in the opening game against the Pilots and scored three runs to help the Broncos to a 6-4 victory. Matt Long notched triple No. 4 on the season in game two against Portland. The Broncos edged the Pilots, 6-5. In game three, Rivers gave up no runs and seven hits to aid the Broncos in their 1-0 win.
SCU Record Books Watch List
> Long is now tied for No. 4 all-time in triples (13)
> Long is now No. 6 all-time in at bats (777)
> Long is now tied for No. 8 all-time in runs (141)
> Long is now No. 4 all-time in hits (246)
> Long is now No. 6 all-time in total bases (359)
> Long is tied for 10th all-time in walks (93)
> Long is 2 extra base hits away from entering the all-time list.
> Long 8 home runs away from entering the all-time list.
> Karcich is 7 doubles away from entering the all-time list
> Karcich is 8 home runs away from entering the all-time list.
> Brady Fuerst is 9 doubles away from entering the all-time list.
> Garcia is 10 strikeouts away from entering the all-time list.
> Garcia is 8 starts away from entering the all-time list.
> Kalush is 1 save away from entering the all-time list.
Did You Know?
Assistant coach Mike Zirelli played for the Mustangs from 1996-99, establishing himself as one of the best collegiate pitchers ever to put on a Cal Poly uniform. He was an All-Big West performer and a freshman All-American. He also earned Player of the Decade honors from the University in 1999. Zirelli ranks second all-time in wins, second in innings pitched, second in strikeouts, fourth in total appearances and sixth in complete games. He also holds the record for most strikeouts in a single game since the Mustangs moved over to DI play in 1995.
Scouting Cal Poly
The Mustangs enter the midweek game with a No. 18 ranking from Baseball America and a 24-8 overall record. Cal Poly has won its last seven of eight games. Last weekend, the Mustangs went 2-1 against Pacific. In its last outing, Cal Poly won 13-8 with Luke Yoder going 3-for-5 with two runs and three RBIs. On the season, Matt Jensen has 42 RBIs, 12 doubles and nine home runs. It has not been announced who will start for Cal Poly, but as a team the Mustangs have a 5.52 ERA with Eric Massingham posting a perfect 4-0 record in 12 appearances.
Last Time Out vs. Cal Poly
The Broncos and Mustangs last met in a doubleheader on March 22, 2008 in San Luis Obispo. The Broncos split the doubleheader with SCU winning the first game, 11-8, and Cal Poly taking the second game, 13-8. The Broncos won the series, 2-1, with a single-game victory earlier that month.
All-Time vs. Cal Poly
Tuesday's game marks the 72nd meeting of the two programs in a series Santa Clara leads 37-34-0.
Scouting Stanford
The Cardinal hosts the Golden Bears of Cal on Monday before traveling down the 101 to take on the Broncos. Stanford enters the week with a 13-13 overall record and a 5-6 road record. Kellen Kiilsgaard continues to lead the team with 22 RBIs, seven doubles and seven home runs. Joey August and Jake Schlander each have 17 runs, while August has 17 RBIs. The Cardinal's starter has yet to be announced, but as a team Stanford has a 4.52 ERA. Drew Storen, who earned the win last time against the Broncos, owns a 3-0 record in 13 appearances. Jordan Pries is also 3-0.
Last Time Out vs. Stanford
Santa Clara and Stanford last met on April 1 at Sunken Diamond. The Cardinal edged the Broncos, 6-5.
All-Time vs. Stanford
Wednesday's game marks the 348th meeting of the two teams in a series Stanford leads 181-160-7.
On Deck
The Broncos returns to WCC action with a three-game road series against the Dons of San Francisco. SCU and USF open the series on Friday, April 17 at 3 p.m. and continue play on Saturday, April 18 at 1 p.m. The series concludes on Sunday, April 19 at 1 p.m. All three games will be played at Benedetti Diamond.
