Softball Ends Season On High Note

Broncos’ pitching leads way to series win over St. Mary’s

Jack PriceTHE SANTA CLARAMay 19, 2016

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]n the last series of the season, Santa Clara came up big against Saint Mary’s, giving the seniors one last hurrah before graduation. 

In the series opener on Friday night, Santa Clara battled hard throughout the game and put up two runs in the fifth inning to come away with the win.

“It was great to see us take advantage in a big spot tonight,” said Head Coach Lisa Mize. “We were able to score with good situational at-bats and get the clutch hit we needed. We’ve been missing that at times this year so it was great to see the offense come through in that situation.”

On the defense side, sophomore McCall James pitched an astounding 21 innings this weekend to help the Broncos take the series. On Friday night, James kept Saint Mary’s to only five hits.

“McCall was great tonight,” said Coach Mize. “She hit her spots and threw strikes. When they got runners on base she was able to buckle down and get the big outs.”

On Saturday, Santa Clara won the first matchup despite only scoring one run. The Broncos defense kept the Gaels in check, fielding all six hits in the shutout. Pitching was again on point with McCall James throwing fire throughout the game.

“McCall was great again today. She continued to throw strikes and make good pitches,” said Coach Mize. “She was able to keep Saint Mary’s from getting the big hit and locked it down in tight situations.”

Santa Clara slipped up during the second game on Saturday late in the fifth inning. Two Gaels players, Bailey Lotz and Monika Reichhardt, hit hard into the Broncos and sent in two runs–the only runs of the game.

“We just couldn’t come up with the timely hit,” said Coach Mize. “We played well and had some good at-bats but just couldn’t string them together. Overall I’m really proud of the team this weekend.”

The weekend was a happy end to a tough season—the Broncos ended 10-41 overall and 5-10 in conference. But the team is young and is returning all but three players.

“This weekend we played the kind of softball we’re capable of,” said Coach Mize. “We’re a young team and everything came together this weekend for us. Hopefully we’ll be able to use that as a jumping off point for next year.”

Contact Jack Price at jhprice@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.