Bronco Briefs: Women's water polo upsets No. 20 CS Northridge
By Brian Betz
Women's Water Polo
SCU 7, No. 20 CS Northridge 5
The Bronco women opened participation at the Sun Devil Invitational with a two-goal upset over the nationally ranked Matadors.
Senior utility Kelley Mays posted three goals, while junior goalkeeper Anna Ginotti recorded eight blocks and two saves defensively. The win marks the first against CS Northridge in three matches this season.
No. 19 Arizona St. 5, SCU 2
Santa Clara failed to capitalize on their momentum of their upset victory of CS Northridge by losing to the host Arizon State Sun Devils. Sophomore driver Katy Shumm scored both goals for the Broncos in the loss, while Ginotti tallied seven blocks in goal.
Cal Baptist 8, SCU 3
Santa Clara concluded its tournament play with a loss and now drops to 15-19 on the season. Freshman driver Alanna Simpkins, senior utility Becky Hong and senior utility Elizabeth Glotzbach all scored for the Broncos, who will return to action this weekend for the Women's Western Water Polo Association (WWWPA) Championships at host school CS Bakersfield.
Baseball
SCU 8, Portland 2
Senior leftfielder Scott Dierks and senior centerfielder Jack Headley each hit a home run in the top of the first inning to lead the Broncos to the win in the series opener last Thursday.
Senior pitcher Joe Diefenderfer hit his first home run of the season as well in support of fellow senior starter Matt Travis, who threw a complete game with eight strikeouts to improve to 4-6 on the season.
SCU 18, Portland 0
The first game of Saturday's double-header was cut short after seven innings due to mutual agreement between both coaches. Dierks hit a home run again while going a staggering 3-for-5 with five RBIs.
Not to be outdone, freshman thirdbaseman Michael Thompson went 2-for-3 with five RBIs. All in all, nine different Broncos scored runs in the victory, while Diefenderfer picked up his seventh win in six innings of work.
SCU 5, Portland 4
Saturday's nightcap proved much closer, but a series of singles in the seventh proved to be the difference as Santa Clara went on to sweep the series. Headley's single in the seventh inning was bobbled in the outfield, allowing freshman shortstop Michael Lange to come across, breaking the 4-4 tie.
Thompson went 2-for-4 with one home run, three RBIs and two runs scored as the Broncos improved to an even 21-21 on the season. Their conference record stands at 13-5.
Cal 11, SCU 6
Santa Clara's five game winning streak came to an end at the hands of the Bears of California on Tuesday night at Evans Diamond in Berkeley, Calif. Junior starting pitcher John Redmond gave up eight runs in the first two innings, and the Bronco offense was unable to muster a comeback.
Leading the way offensively for Santa Clara was Dierks and freshman rightfielder Jason Matteucci, who went 3-for-5 and 2-for-5 respectively. Santa Clara will take on Loyola Marymount in a pivotal three game series starting this Friday at 6 p.m. at Buck Shaw Stadium.
Men's Golf
16th Place at U.S. Intercollegiate Golf Tournament
The Broncos concluded their 2002-2003 season with a combined final round score of 307 this past Sunday to finish in 16th place. As a team, the Broncos finished with a 54-hole total of 902, just eight strokes back of 15th place San Diego.
Juniors Justin Ahasic and Chris DeMartini were the top finishers for Santa Clara, each finishing in a tie for 52nd at 10-over-par. UCLA won the tournament with a 12-under-par 840, followed by Oklahoma St. at 850.
Softball
SCU 3, San Diego 0>
Redshirt junior Jaime-Forman Lau led the Broncos from the hill, pitching a complete game one-hitter while striking out eight. Freshman Jessica Clee hit her fifth home run of the season in the first inning, a two-run blast that proved to be the difference.
Clee not only accounted for the other RBI, but that home run ties her with teammates senior first baseman Tracie Hall and junior catcher Rachel Sherman for most home runs in a single season.
SCU 3, San Diego 1
The Toreros jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first, but the Broncos answered back with two runs in the second as Santa Clara went on to sweep day one's games this past Friday. Freshman pitcher Liz Courtier improved to 8-6 on the year, pitching seven innings while striking out five.
SCU 6, San Diego 0
Forman-Lau threw the first perfect game in Santa Clara softball history on Saturday, striking out 14 of 21 batters she faced to improve to 15-10 on the season. Her support came in the form of the long-ball, as sophomore Kelley Johnson, Sherman and freshman Jenny Brown all hit home runs in the contest.
SCU 3, San Diego 0
The Broncos completed the series sweep Saturday afternoon behind Courtier's complete game, four-hit performance. Brown went 2-for-3 from the plate, notching two RBIs and one run scored. Santa Clara now stands at 24-19 (6-2 PCSC).
Stanford 2, SCU 1
In the first game of a doubleheader on Tuesday, Santa Clara came up just short against No. 13 Stanford at Smith Family Stadium in Stanford, Calif. Forman-Lau continued her stellar pitching, allowing just two runs in six innings against her former teammates.
Stanford 9, SCU 0
In the second game of the double-header, freshman pitcher Liz Courtier struggled, allowing nine runs in 2 1/3 innings. Offensively, Santa Clara got one hit each from Hall and Sherman. Santa Clara continues play this afternoon with a doubleheader against Saint Mary's in Moraga, Calif.