Road Woes Continue For Broncos

Santa Clara salvages series finale during their trip to Pacific

Brent HanowerTHE SANTA CLARAMay 12, 2016[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Broncos’ WCC struggles continued last weekend as the baseball team dropped two of three in Pacific.

Starter Steven Wilson took the hill in the series opener and lasted only 4.2 innings, allowing 12 runs, eight of which were earned.

At the end of the fifth inning, Santa Clara found itself in a 12-1 hole.

The Broncos fought back and made it a game, but ultimately fell short, losing 12-8. Kyle Cortopassi went 3-4 with a home run and four runs, and Ryan Budnick added three hits of his own.

Both teams struggled defensively, with the Broncos accumulating three errors, while the Tigers countered with five of their own.

Saturday’s game followed a similar tune, with the Broncos dropping the contest 6-3. Santa Clara  jumped out to a first inning lead, but did nothing with it.

Broncos ace Mitchell White delivered a solid game, allowing three runs over six innings of work. White struck out nine Tigers as well.

“Mitch is going to be a high-round draft pick for a reason,” said Associate Head Coach Gabe Ribas. “He’s got swing-and-miss stuff and I thought he did a great job of really competing.”

Santa Clara got production throughout the lineup, as John Cresto, Stevie Berman, TC Florentine and Tyler Meditz all had two hits. Meditz drove in all three runs for the Broncos.

The Broncos were able to salvage the series on Sunday, in large part due to the dominance of southpaw Jason Seever. Seever pitched seven innings, allowing two earned runs, with three strikeouts.

“Jason really dominated the inner-third of the plate,” said Coach Ribas. “He did an exceptional job of being able to run the ball in on their hands and he kept them off balance all day.”

Max Kuhns added two innings of shutout relief, en route to his thirteenth save of the season.

Stevie Berman had a perfect day at the plate, going 2-2 with two walks. “It was really good to see Stevie get back to form,” said Coach Ribas. “When Stevie’s doing well, we have some consistency offensively.”

Senior Ryan Budnick continued his hot weekend, adding two hits and a RBI.

The first two runs of the game came in the second inning off the bat of Budnick. Budnick singled to left centerfield, scoring Jake Brodt and Austin Fisher, with the latter scoring on an error. The Broncos added one more in the third, as Tyler Meditz picked up his fourth RBI of the weekend, driving in Florentine.

The Tigers added two runs in the bottom of the fourth, but Santa Clara held them scoreless after that to secure a 3-2 win.

The Broncos will host the Portland Pilots this upcoming weekend at Stephen Schott Stadium for their final home series of the season.

Contact Brent Hanower at bhanower@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.