Baseball Sweeps Pilots in Portland

Santa Clara extends streak after Portland sweep.

Nick RefieldTHE SANTA CLARAMay 14, 2015 [dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Santa Clara baseball team kept their now seven game winning streak alive with a sweep of West Coast Conference opponent University of Portland this past weekend.

“Our team has really focused on just playing our game,” said sophomore Stevie Berman. “The past couple of weeks we have been so relaxed and just gone out and played baseball.”

Relaxed was certainly how the Broncos looked in game one, taking an early 2-0 lead courtesy of junior T.J. Braff’s solo home run in the second inning and junior Jose Vizcaino Jr.’s RBI single in the third.

“Jose has really grown into a big time player because of his willingness to learn from the game,” said Head Coach Dan O’Brien.

The team never looked back. Despite giving up a run in the sixth inning, sophomore pitcher Reece Karalus threw a gem, completing seven innings with only one earned run to seal the win by a final score of 5-1.

Game two followed a similar narrative, as freshman Eric Lex pitched seven innings on only two earned runs.

Unfortunately, he did not earn the win as the bats didn’t click until late in the game for the Broncos. Down 2-0 heading into the sixth inning, Santa Clara began chipping away at the deficit, tying the game in the seventh and adding five more in the final two innings to win 7-2.

In the third game, the Pilots came out strong and held a 5-3 lead in the ninth inning.

Yet the Broncos fought back. Freshman Grant Meylan drove in a run off a double to begin the scoring.

“Throughout the year, we’ve had at least three-to-four freshmen on the field playing solid baseball,” O’Brien said. “That’s rare, and very impressive.”

Then, after a hit by pitch, Vizcaino hit an RBI single to tie the game and in the next at bat Berman drove in the go-ahead run off a single.

A two RBI single from freshman Jake Brodt extended the lead to 8-5 later in the inning. Santa Clara held on to win the game 8-6.

The Broncos host their final  conference series of the season this weekend versus Brigham Young. First pitch is tonight at 6 PM.

Contact Nick Redfield at nredfield@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.