Baseball takes two of three from divisional rival Portland
By Blake Twisselman
BASEBALL
Santa Clara 4, Portland 1
The Broncos opened up the weekend series at Buck Shaw with a victory against the Pilots of Portland. Sophomore infielder Michael Thompson was 3-for-4 at the plate with a run scored two RBIs, and fellow sophomore David Hoffmire boosted his batting average by going 4-for-4 with one RBI. Senior pitcher Chad Fillinger got the win by striking out nine batters over eight innings.
Santa Clara 13, Portland 11
Santa Clara picked up the victory on Saturday with a torrent of hitting combined with four Pilot errors. Freshman centerfielder Robert Perry was 3-for-6 with one run scored and one RBI, while junior outfielder Ryan Chiarelli went 4-for-5 from the plate with two runs scored and two RBIs. Sophomore shortstop Eric Newton drove in three runs and Hoffmire scored three times. Junior reliever Thomas Van Buskirk picked up the win by throwing one and one-third innings.
Portland 5, Santa Clara 4
The Broncos (16-16 overall, 5-4 WCC) dropped the final game of the weekend series to end Portland's 13-game losing streak. Portland broke a 4-4 tie in the top of the ninth inning and the Broncos were unable to answer in the bottom half. Perry went 2-for-5 with a home run and Hoffmire was 3-for-4 with one RBI. The team returns to action Thursday for an away series against San Diego.
SOFTBALL
Portland State 2, Santa Clara 1
The Broncos opened up conference play in game one of Saturday's doubleheader in a close one at Marsalli Park. Santa Clara took a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning when freshman Angela Kabanuck scored on a Shannon Linerud single and a Viking fielding error. Portland State scored game-winning runs on a two-run home run the following inning.
Portland State 2, Santa Clara 1
The second game of the doubleheader had the same result as the first, as the Broncos dropped another close contest. The Broncos took a 1-0 lead in the first when Linerud drove in Kabanuck on a sacrifice fly, but Portland State scored two runs in the fourth inning to take the lead for good.
Santa Clara 2, Portland State 0
The Broncos kicked off their second straight day of doubleheaders with a conference victory at Marsalli Park. Santa Clara scored both of their runs in the first inning, after Kabanuck reached on an error and sophomore infielder Jenny Brown drove her home with a double. Brown came around to score on another Viking throwing error. Senior pitcher Jaime Forman-Lau earned her 12th win of the season.
Santa Clara 1, Portland State 0
In the second game, both teams combined to strand 21 baserunners as the Broncos (14-20 overall, 2-2 PCSC) won a close game to earn the conference win. Santa Clara scored the game's only run in the seventh inning when sophomore Jessica Clee singled home Brown. Forman-Lau earned her second win of the day, striking out eight batters.
WOMEN'S WATER POLO
Brown 8, Santa Clara 4
The Broncos dropped last Thursday's home contest at the Leavey Pool. Junior Katy Shumm scored in the first minute of the game to give Santa Clara an early lead, but Brown surged back later in the contest. Senior Anne Ginotti made seven saves in goal, and junior Catherine Flynn scored three goals for Santa Clara.
Santa Clara 10, Sonoma State 2
Flynn scored four goals in the second quarter to spark the Broncos to the victory last Saturday at Rohnert Park. Sophomore Kathleen Hamm registered two goals during the contest and freshman goalkeeper Kristin Barnes had 13 blocks to lead the defensive effort.
Santa Clara 15, UC Santa Cruz 5
Flynn had another four goal performance this weekend as the Broncos (16-15 overall) upended the Banana Slugs at Leavey Pool on Sunday. Sophomore Alanna Simpkins netted three goals, while Shumm and freshman Kellie Dunn each scored two. Freshmen Andrea Evans and Katie Radvanyi led the defensive effort with four and three steals, respectively.
MEN'S TENNIS
Santa Clara 5, Portland 2
The Broncos picked up a conference victory in the first half of the doubleheader last Sunday at Degheri Tennis Center. After sweeping all three doubles matches, Santa Clara won four of the six singles matches to claim the victory. Freshman Kevin McQuaid had an impressive 6-3, 6-0 win at the No. 4 singles position, while junior Francisco Zepponi won his No. 5 singles match 6-2, 6-3.
Santa Clara 6, Sacramento State 1
Santa Clara swept the doubles matches once again to claim the doubles point and then went on to win five of the six singles matches. Senior Erich Chen had a 6-4, 6-4 victory at the No. 2 singles position and junior Eric Kochanski pulled off a three-set, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory at No. 6 doubles.
WOMEN'S TENNIS
Santa Clara 6, UC Davis 1
The Broncos dropped the doubles point, but rallied to sweep all six singles matches to take down UC Davis last Saturday at the Degheri Tennis Center. Junior Janalle Kaloi highlighted the match with a 6-4, 6-4 victory at the No. 1 singles position. Sophomore Casey Knutson won her No. 3 singles match 6-3, 6-1. The team improved its record to 9-8 with the victory.