Bronco briefs
BASEBALL
Pepperdine 9, Santa Clara 4
The offenses dominated in the first inning of play at Schott Stadium last Thursday as each team put two runs on the board. Senior Jason Matteucci hit a triple in his first at-bat, while fellow senior Eric Newton homered to center for his 10th of the season. The Waves scored four in the top of the fourth inning and three in the seventh to pull away from the Broncos for the win. Pepperdine center fielder Adrian Ortiz went 2-for-5 and drove in three runs. The Waves hit a total of five doubles in the game. Freshman starter Sean O'Neill gave up seven hits and six runs, dropping his record to 2-5 on the season.
Pepperdine 3, Santa Clara 0
Pepperdine earned the shutout against the Broncos on Friday night at Schott Stadium. Waves starter Barry Enright won his seventh decision of the year, allowing no runs on six hits. Waves first baseman Nick Kliebert went 3-for-4 and had a pair of RBIs. For Santa Clara, freshman starter Justin Kuehn gave up nine hits and three runs in six innings of work. Pepperdine scored two of their three runs in the fifth inning, and when it looked like Santa Clara might also score three a half inning later, the Waves turned a 6-4-3 double play to end the Broncos' chances. With the loss, the Broncos dropped their second West Coast Conference series of the year.
Pepperdine 6, Santa Clara 2
Following their loss Friday, Santa Clara endured its second sweep of the season on Saturday. At the end of the fourth, Pepperdine was up 2-1 after junior Daniel Nava was picked off with two outs and the tying run on third. The Waves scored three more in the seventh to widen the lead. Pepperdine second baseman David Uribes led his team offensively, going 3-for-5 with an RBI. The Broncos attempted to stage a comeback in the eighth with the bases loaded, but only junior Kevin Drever found his way home on a base hit by senior Dustin Realini. Santa Clara stranded two to end the inning and freshman Matt Wickswat suffered his second loss of the year. With 12 games remaining in conference play, the Broncos (3-6 WCC) are three games off the pace for a spot in the WCC Championship Series.
Santa Clara 16, SF State 3
The Broncos scored 16 runs on 17 hits en route to a non-conference win over the Gators. At the end of the third inning, Santa Clara was up 6-1 behind a pair of RBIs in the first and a two-run double by Newton in the third. In the very next inning, with the bases loaded, Newton hit a grand slam to pull his team ahead for good. In the same inning, sophomore starting pitcher Donald Brandt hit a two-run jack of his own to cement his third win of the season. Senior Kris Watts also homered and had three hits in Tuesday's game. Baseball's current record is 21-17, and the team will return to conference play Friday in a three-game series at LMU.
--From staff reports
MEN'S GOLF
WCC Championships
Santa Clara men's golf, ranked No. 56 in the nation, finished third on Tuesday in the final round of the West Coast Conference Championships at Saddle Creek Golf Course in Copperopolis. Loyola Marymount maintained the lead they secured on Monday in the first round and rode it all the way to the finish for the conference title and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA West Regionals. It was the Lions' first men's golf title, and they finished with a final score of 872, five strokes ahead of San Francisco. Loyola Marymount's Brian Locke won the individual competition with a score of 210 (-6). Only three strokes off the lead going into the second round, Santa Clara labored to stay on pace with the Lions and the Dons.
The Broncos finished with a final score of 886, 14 back of Loyola Marymount. Senior Mike Nicoletti shot a 75 in the final round, finishing with a 218 (+2) and third place individually. Nicoletti was also named to the All-WCC team with three Broncos receiving honorable mentions (seniors Eric Lillibridge and John Colyar, and sophomore Tim Lynch). After competition ended, Santa Clara head coach Rob Miller, in his first year, was named WCC co-Coach of the Year along with Loyola's Alex Galvan. An NCAA selection committee will decide whether to offer Santa Clara an at-large bid to the postseason regionals in Tucson, Ariz.
WOMEN'S GOLF
WCC Championships
The Santa Clara women's golf team finished third for the second consecutive year at Saddle Creek on Tuesday. Pepperdine won its fifth-straight title with a final score of 899, beating second-place San Francisco by 25 strokes. The Waves' Jayvie Agojo took home the individual title with a final score of 221. The Broncos came into the second round in third place and held on to their spot in the final two rounds. Junior Megan Stoddart shot a 230 for the tournament, which earned her seventh place overall and a place on the All-WCC team. Santa Clara's Candice Palmer and Samantha Trask also won All-WCC honorable mentions for their Top 15 finishes.
WOMEN'S WATER POLO
Santa Clara 17, Sonoma State 8
Santa Clara earned its 22nd win of the season last Thursday as four seniors played their last home game at the Leavey Pool. Bryn Asher, Lindsey Bacolini, Kathleen Hamm and Alanna Simpkins all contributed to the Broncos' victory over the Seawolves. Junior Andrea Evans scored four goals and fellow junior Katie Radvanyi added three, while Bacolini had a goal, an assist and two steals in her final game on the Mission Campus. On Saturday, Santa Clara will attempt to sweep the Banana Slugs of UC Santa Cruz, a team the Broncos have already beaten twice this year.
TRACK
Springco Long Beach Invitational
Freshman Anna Wheatley won the 3,000-meter steeplechase in her first NCAA Division I competition. Wheatley fought at the front of the pack the entire race and earned a final time of 11:43.40. Sophomore Michael Delaurenti finished third in the men's steeplechase with a final time of 9:41.27. Sophomore Michael Hannon topped his personal best in the metric-mile run, crossing the finish line at 4:07.23. Freshman Veronica Vazquez ran her metric mile in a time of 4:50.61, an improvement over her performance a week earlier at the Johnny Mathis Invite. It was good enough for eighth place overall.
--From staff reports