The (Bronco) Boys are back in town
Santa Clara Baseball returns to the renovated Schott Stadium for their 2022-2023 season
After the conclusion of the 2021-2022 season, the Santa Clara baseball team lost their home field advantage to renovations. Due to the installation of new artificial turf at Stephen Schott Stadium, the Broncos had to roam around the Bay Area, at times commuting as far as 40 minutes to Atherton just for practice.
If that wasn’t enough, Schott Stadium’s renovations were repeatedly delayed, bleeding into the start of the 2022-2023 season and preventing the Broncos from playing their home games….well, at home. Early series matchups against the University of Washington and Villanova University were played at Mission College and St. Francis High School, respectively. The season has been utter chaos for the Bronco boys as they got back to the diamond.
Despite all of the instability surrounding them, Santa Clara baseball has had a solid start to their season. Out of the eight total series they’ve played, the team has only lost one, signaling an ability to bounce back from adversity during a series.
Santa Clara returned to the friendly confines of Schott Stadium on February 24th against the University of San Diego.
The Broncos made up for last year’s spotty pitching with senior Cole Kitchen and sophomore Brandon Gomez leading the starters with sub-four earned run averages (ERAs) of 3.75 and 3.27, respectively. The bullpen has also made tremendous strides, as junior Skylar Hales, sophomore Blake Hammond and senior August Souza have been stellar in relief pitching, all sporting ERAs of 2.66 or below.
On offense, the bats have remained steady, with both new and familiar faces making their presence known on the field with contact and power. It’s been a breakout season for junior Efrain Manzo, who is second on the Broncos with a batting average of .327, tied for the team lead with 36 total hits, leads Santa Clara with 29 runs batted in (RBI) and is tied with Robert Hipwell with 10 home runs as of April 13th. Manzo has been hitting the ball all over the yard and has three multi-home run games already this season, an astounding improvement from his total of two home runs last season. Talk about making a name for yourself from out of left field!
In addition to Manzo’s breakout year, some of the usual suspects have also continued to consistently get on base. Whether it’s the Brigman brothers (seniors Coleman and Dawson) or contact-driven hitters like senior Michael O’Hara and junior JonJon Berring, there’s a lot to like about this Santa Clara lineup. And that’s before you get to underdogs like Hipwell and Malcolm Williams.
In the preseason poll, the Broncos were picked to finish seventh in the West Coast Conference (WCC), but have so far defied expectations, standing at fifth. As the season continues, it’s imperative that their pitching stays consistent if they want a postseason run, which was their ultimate undoing last season. This year’s team looks more poised, has brought the same energy and are winning the close games they would have succumbed to last year, sitting at a record of 18-11 on April 13th.
And with Schott Stadium up and running again, the Bronco Boys are back in town! Their schedule can be found here.