May 7, 2008
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara baseball remains on the road for a midweek contest against Pacific on Wednesday, May 7. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Klein Family Field in Stockton. The Broncos then return to Stephen Schott Stadium to host the Gaels of Saint Mary's in West Coast Conference action. The three game series begins on Friday, May 9 at 7 p.m.
SCU and Stanford finish their 2008 Monday Meetings series with a 6 p.m. start at Sunken Diamond on Monday, May 12. The Cardinal lead this year's series, 2-1.
On The Season
The Broncos have produced their best stretch thus far this season, winning eight of their last 10 contests. Santa Clara is now 29-17 on the season and 9-6 in WCC play.
Offensively, junior Evan LeBlanc and sophomore Jon Karcich switched spots once again this week. LeBlanc leads the Broncos batting .373 with 44 runs, 14 doubles, 1 triple, five home runs and 35 RBIs. Karcich is second on the squad, hitting .356 and leads the team with 10 home runs and 42 RBIs. He also has 37 runs and 13 doubles.
Thain Simon continues to own a team-best 2.36 ERA and 9-2 record. Sophomore Nate Garcia is second on the team, with a 3.42 ERA and a 5-3overall record, while Mark Willinsky leads the Broncos with five saves.
SCU Take Series Over LMU
The Broncos won their fourth straight weekend series after taking two of three games against the Lions of Loyola Marymount in West Coast Conference action. SCU lost the first game, 9-6, but rebounded Saturday to post a 7-2 triumph and then held LMU at bay, 5-4, on Sunday.
For the weekend, Simon and Steve Kalush posted wins, while Willinsky picked up his fifth save of the season Sunday afternoon. Tommy Medica batted .455 for the weekend with four runs, two triples, a home run and two RBIs, while Brady Fuerst hit .444 with five RBIs, a home run and two runs.
Simon Added To Wallace Award Watch List
Freshman phenom Simon earned a place on the Wallace Award Mid-Season Watch List. The El Dorado Hills native has been clutch for the Broncos after starting off in the bullpen and then moving to a starting position in April. He now owns a 9-2 record and a 2.36 ERA.
Record Books Update
Five To Go
Seventh year head coach Mark O'Brien is now five wins away from his career 200th (195-185). The Broncos have 9 more games in the regular season to help their skipper reach the milestone. When O'Brien reaches the mark, he will join John Oldham and Sal Taormina as the only Bronco baseball head coaches earn 200 wins. Both Oldham and Taormina reached the feat in the seventh season.
Two Broncos To Be Inducted Into Santa Clara's Athletic Hall Of Fame
The celebrated athletic tradition of Santa Clara University will come alive on Thursday, May 15 with the induction of seven deserving members into the institution's Athletic Hall of Fame. Two of those inductees are former Bronco baseball stars Mike Frank '97 and Mike Macfarlane '85.
On The National Stage
The national rankings have been released for May 4 and the Broncos remain mentioned in all 25 categories. The Broncos top 50 rankings as of May 4 are:
Individually, eight different batters and four different pitchers are ranked in the top 500. The Broncos highest rankings come to LeBlanc who moved up to No. 54 in hits and Long who moved up to No. 26 in triples and No. 42 in triples per game. Medica is the 75th toughest batter in the nation to strike out, while Fuerst is No. 72 in sac bunts and Conan is No. 27 in sac flies. On the mound, Willinsky ranks No. 90 in saves.
Gone Streaking
Sophomore Medica owns a career-high and team-best 20 game hitting streak. He passed junior LeBlanc's team-high streak of 14 games over the weekend. It began on April 5 against Portland and includes 16 runs, two home run, four doubles, two triples and 16 RBIs.
Scouting Pacific
The Tigers enter the midweek contest with a 9-34 overall record. Pacific has gone 4-14 since last playing SCU. Most recently, the Tigers were swept by UC Riverside. Prior to that, Pacific defeated USF 10-6. Nick Longmire leads the team batting .340 with 20 runs, two home runs, three triples and 21 RBIs. It has not been announced who the Broncos will face on the mound, but Pacific has a team ERA of 6.77.
Last Time Out vs. Pacific
The Broncos and Tigers last met on April 2 for game two of this year's three single game series. SCU was victorious defeating Pacific 11-3 at Schott Stadium. Alcantar registered a Grand Slam in the contest.
All-Time vs. Pacific
Wednesday's game marks the 111th meeting between the two teams. Santa Clara leads the all-time series 73-37-0.
Scouting Saint Mary's
SMC will face San Jose State and USF in midweek games before traveling to Santa Clara for the weekend. As of May 5, the Gaels are 22-22-1 on the season and 5-10 in WCC action. Last weekend, SMC was swept by No. 1 Miami in non-league play. Kyle Jensen leads the squad hitting .403 with 36 runs, 11 doubles, 12 home runs and 42 RBIs. It has not been announced who the Broncos will face on the mound, but the Gaels have a team ERA of 6.05.
Last Time Out vs. SMC
Last season, SMC won the series over SCU. The Broncos won game one, 5-3, but were edged in the next two.
All-Time vs. SMC
Friday's game marks the 151st meeting between the two teams. Santa Clara leads the all-time series 148-102-0.
Scouting Stanford
The Cardinal will take on USF and Cal before hosting the Broncos for the final game of the four single contest series. Stanford is 27-15-2 on the season as of May 4. Jason Castro remains on top of Stanford's overall stats, hitting .385 with 48 runs, 11 doubles, 10 home runs and 48 RBIs. It has not been announced who the Broncos will face on the mound, but the Cardinal has a team ERA of 4.26.
Last Time Out vs. Stanford
The Broncos and Cardinal last met on Monday, April 21 on live television at Schott Stadium. Santa Clara rallied to a 10-9 victory over Stanford. Conan homered for the final run and Willinsky earned the win after a successful two innings of work.
All-Time vs. Stanford
Monday's contest marks the 348th meeting between Santa Clara and Stanford. The Cardinal leads the all-time series 178-161-8.
On Deck
The Broncos return to Schott Stadium to bring the 2008 WCC season to a close on Friday, May 16 against Pepperdine. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. The series continues on Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. in Santa Clara.
