May 3, 2007
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SANTA CLARA, Calif. - After scoring 27 runs and picking up a pair of victories in it's past two games, the Santa Clara baseball team steams into Moraga this weekend for a three-game series against arch-rival Saint Mary's College. Friday's opener is set for a 3 p.m. start, while Saturday's and Sunday's contests are each set for a 1 p.m. first pitch.
About the Broncos
Santa Clara (23-23, 7-8 WCC) continued it's run-scoring binge for the second game in a row Tuesday night, pounding out 16 runs on 17 hits to defeat Stanford 16-8. The win was SCU's third win in a row over the Cardinal, and sixth in the last eight meetings with it's South Bay rival. Nathan Faulkner went 5-for-5 with two RBIs, while three more Broncos had three hits apiece. Last weekend, SCU dropped two of three to Loyola Marymount in a WCC series, with the two losses each coming by a single run before the Broncos rebounded with an 11-1 win to avert the sweep. Tommy Medica batted 7-for-16 (.438) with nine RBIs and Ryan Conan batted .500 (7-for-14) with three doubles, a homer, and five RBIs last week.
About Saint Mary's
Saint Mary's (19-25-1, 1-14) heads into this weekend having lost 17 of their past 20 decisions, including their first 14 WCC contests up until Sunday's 5-2 win over Portland. The Gaels, though, won their second straight game Tuesday night, defeating Patten, 11-3. Joel Staples leads Saint Mary's in the power categories, complementing his .311 average with 10 doubles, six home runs, and 35 RBIs.
Conan the Destroyer
Junior first baseman Ryan Conan has stepped up this season as the Broncos' power bat at the ready. This past weekend, Conan crushed a towering home run out of Schott Stadium for his team-leading eighth of the season, a total that is also tied for second in the WCC. Conan put together a strong week in which he batted .500 (7-for-14) with three doubles, a home run, and five RBIs.
Nate the Great
After missing the entire 2006 season due to an elbow injury, senior right fielder Nathan Faulkner has put together a productive 2007 campaign at the plate. His efforts are highlighted by his career-best performance May 1 at Stanford, in which Faulkner went 5-for-5 with a double and a pair of RBIs, raising his season average to an even .300. Faulkner also has five doubles and 10 RBIs offensively, and has been a solid presence for the Bronco defense in right field.
Bringing the Top-Brandt Stuff
With the Broncos facing a potential sweep Sunday afternoon against Loyola Marymount, redshirt sophomore Donald Brandt took the hill and shutdown the Lions over six and two-thirds strong innings. As the SCU offense put up 10 quick runs, Brandt handled the rest, striking out six batters while allowing only five hits and one run to earn his fourth win of the season.
Going For Two In A Row
On the heels of Santa Clara's Daniel Nava winning the WCC batting title in 2006, the Broncos are zeroing in on producing their second straight batting champ, as freshman catcher Tommy Medica leads the loop with a .403 average. The San Jose native's 7-for-16 (.438) showing last week kept him atop the WCC batting leaders, while Medica also improved his already stellar case for WCC Freshman of the Year honors by driving in nine runs and hitting his WCC-leading fourth triple. His week was highlighted by a 3-for-4, six-RBI effort in the 9-1 win over WAC-leading Fresno State, and a 3-for-4, two-RBI performance against Stanford this past Tuesday.
Lightin' Up the Scoreboard
Santa Clara's 16-run output Tuesday against Stanford marked the sixth time this season, and second in as many games, that the Broncos posted a double-digit runs figure. With SCU being 6-0 in those six games in which the team has scored 10+ runs, it shows not only the importance of scoring early and often, but also the contribution of the SCU defense, which has given up only 220 runs this year, fourth in the WCC.
Leading Off In Style
Sophomore outfielder Matt Long got the Broncos started off the best way one could, driving a pitch high and deep over the right-field fence for a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first. The quick homer propelled the Bronco offense to three runs in the first, and seven in the second en route to a fast 10-0 lead over LMU.
SCU Offers Live Web Coverage of Home Games
When the Santa Clara baseball program moved into Stephen Schott Stadium, the multimedia coverage on www.santaclarabroncos.com increased. Bronco fans can listen to the WCC action live on Broncos All-Access, and as always, all Bronco baseball games will also be covered on Gametracker.
2007 Freshman Class Noted Among the Nation's Best
The Santa Clara University baseball program received an accolade from the Collegiate Baseball newspaper as the Broncos' 2006 recruiting class was named on of the Top-40 classes in the nation, coming in at No. 28, tops among West Coast Conference schools. The members of this class, who are currently in their first year on the Mission Campus, will look this spring to help lead the squad to its first WCC title since 1997.
Of the freshman class in 2007, Nathan Garcia (Bellarmine College Prep), Patrick Glenn (Amador Valley HS), Matthew Hiserman (Capistrano Valley HS), Steven Kalush (Aragon HS), Jon Karcich (Serra HS), Geoffrey Klein (Ocean View HS), Tommy Medica (Bellarmine College Prep), Alex Rivers (Tokay HS) and Dylan Slocum (Paloma Valley HS) make up the California contingent. Tayler Thomas (Salpointe Catholic HS) hails from Arizona and Jeremy Zink (Garfield HS) will come to the Mission Campus from the state of Washington.
Four Broncos Named to All-WCC 40th Anniversary Team
The West Coast Conference announced its 40th Anniversary Baseball Team in early January, and four Broncos were named to the 40-man squad. LHP Rich Troedson (1969-72), catcher Troy Buckley (1987-89), RHP Bob Pailthorpe (1992-95), and outfielder Mike Frank (1994-97) were all honored for their achievements on the diamond.
SCU Baseball Picked to Finish Sixth in WCC Preseason Poll
The Santa Clara baseball team was selected to finished sixth in the West Coast Conference in the 2007 WCC preseason poll, as selected by the conference coaches. The Broncos were picked to finished behind Pepperdine, San Diego, San Francisco, LMU and Gonzaga. Santa Clara claimed the sixth position with 18 total points.
