Baseball trails by six games, but has not been eliminated

By Jenna Hudson

BASEBALL

Santa Clara 17, University of San Francisco 5

Friday at Bendetti Diamond, the Bronco hitters dominated offensively on their way to victory in the first game of a three-game series against the University of San Francisco, a WCC rival. Every member of the Santa Clara starting lineup had at least one RBI for the Broncos. Freshman center fielder Robert Perry went yard twice, on his way to knocking in three RBI. Sophomore second baseman Dustin Realini also registered three RBI during the game. Bronco sluggers combined for four home runs on the day. Junior starting pitcher Kellan McConnell earned the win for the Broncos, improving his record to 5-6 on the season. He struck out five, allowing only six hits and two earned runs in seven innings pitched.

University of San Francisco 4, Santa Clara 2

Dons starting pitcher Derek Tate (4-7) stifled the Broncos' offense, limiting the team to only six hits during their Saturday loss to the University of San Francisco. Though only allowing seven hits and tying his career-high with nine strikeouts while throwing a complete game, senior hurler Chad Fillinger took the loss for Santa Clara, dropping his record to 4-9. The Bronco offense stranded seven base runners in their loss. Junior outfielder Nic Crosta highlighted the Bronco offense with a solo home run to lead off the sixth inning, but could not prevent the Dons from regaining a tie for second place in the WCC West Division.

Santa Clara 7, University of San Francisco 3

The Broncos scored five runs in the top of the ninth inning on Sunday for a come-from-behind victory over the Dons to end the series. With the win, Santa Clara improved their record to 22-27 on the season and 11-13 in the WCC. The Broncos currently hold a one-game lead over the University of San Francisco and are in sole possession of second place in their division behind Pepperdine. Junior closer Anthony Rea (3-1) earned the win after pitching two-and-one-third innings, limiting the Dons to two hits. Senior hurler John Redmond started the game for the Broncos and threw five innings, allowing eight hits and three runs while striking out four. Crosta assured the Broncos a victory by hitting a two-run home run.

Stanford 3, Santa Clara 1

Tuesday at Sunken Diamond Stadium, the Broncos held No. 2 Stanford scoreless for eight innings after the Cardinal scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning. The Cardinal used seven pitchers during the game and held Santa Clara to four hits. Freshman Bryan Fleming started the game for the Broncos, but was replaced in the bottom of the fifth by sophomore Jason Matteucci, who made his first career relief appearance. Junior Thomas Van Buskirk came in to relieve Matteucci in the bottom of the seventh inning in his team-high 28th appearance of the season. The Broncos fell to 22-28 in their final non-league game of the season. The Broncos will begin a vital, three-game series against WCC West Division leading Pepperdine this Friday at Buck Shaw Stadium. The Broncos need to sweep their final home series of the year in order to keep hope alive of catching the Waves, who have already clinched a tie for the WCC West title and are currently six games ahead of the Broncos.

CREW

Dad Vail Regatta

Both men's and women's crews competed in the prestigious Dad Vail Regatta Friday on the Schuylkill River in Fairmont Park, Pa. The Dad Vail Regatta is the largest collegiate regatta in the United States, with over 100 universities from the United States and Canada participating. Both advanced past the first heat to the repechage round, but failed to get to the semifinals. The men's novice eight finished second in their heat with a time of 6:01.7 to advance to the semifinal round and earned fourth place in the championship final. The men's varsity eight finished sixth in the second final repechage with a time of 6:24.99, building momentum into next season.

û Contact Jenna Hudson at (408) 554-4852 or jhudson@scu.edu.