Santa Clara Drops Series to San Diego

Broncos avoid sweep with offensive explosion in series finaleEduardo RuanoThe Santa ClaraApril 26, 2017After losing the first two games against the University of San Diego, Santa Clara’s softball team bounced back in the series finale, scoring seven unanswered runs in a 7-3 victory. At the start of the day, it seemed like the Broncos were poised to get swept. Starting pitcher Aubree Kim had a rough outing as she gave up three earned runs on one hit before being pulled in the first inning and replaced with pitcher Ciara Gonzales. Gonzales went the full seven innings, giving up no runs on three hits to earn the win. Gonzales is now 3-6 for the season. “That third game our hitters were final able to make some adjustments at the plate which allowed us to come up with the big hits and score the runs we needed,” said Head Coach Lisa Mize.Third baseman Morgan Modesto carried the offense, going 3-4 and racking in four RBIs. Catcher Kelsie Bernard went 1-4 and tallied 2 RBIs.“Our team showed character to be able to bounce back from two upsetting games and come out and score seven runs and leave the field with zero errors,” Modesto said. “The team came together and was determined to make the adjustments offensively and shut them down defensively.” The response from Santa Clara’s was certainly encouraging after they struggled in the first two games. In the series opener, Santa Clara suffered a 3-1 defeat. Pitcher Micaela Vierra went the full six innings, giving up three runs on seven hits to take the losing decision. Vierra is now 5-11 for the season. Center fielder Ellie Fisher did her part at the plate with three hits and designated hitter Taylor Burns brought in Santa Clara’s sole run.The next game for the Broncos was even tougher as they suffered a heartbreaking 2-1 loss. Pitcher McCall James pitched 6 ⅔ innings, giving up one earned runs and two runs overall. Left fielder Kimberly Goulart had a good game at the plate as she went 3-3 on the day while second baseman Geenamarie Bonilla scored Santa Clara’s sole RBI. Santa Clara will host the University of the Pacific and Brigham Young University to conclude their season.“UOP and BYU will both be tough series,” Coach Mize said. “We will need to continue to have our pitchers keep the game close, throw strikes, work ahead in counts. Defense needs to be solid throughout the game and we need to be able to score runs - especially in the late innings.” Modesto echoes this sentiment, stressing the importance of finishing the season strong for a Broncos team that’s struggled through most of the year.“Our conference is turning out to be a close race to the finish line,” Modesto said. “We have all worked really hard all season long and It would be great to leave it out on the field and beat (Portland) and BYU. It is very important to stampede together and finish these last two weekends with wins to be able to come out on top.”Catch Santa Clara Softball on Apr. 29 and Apr. 30 for the series against Pacific and then on May 5 and 6 for the series against Brigham Young. Contact Eduardo Ruano at eruano@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.