Bronco briefs
baseball
Saint Mary's 6, Santa Clara 4
The Broncos left 10 runners on base as they fell to the Gaels in last Friday's contest at Stephen Schott Stadium. Senior Daniel Nava hit a three-run home run, while Kevin Drever and Matt Long each went two for five. Starter Justin Kuehn ran into trouble early as the Gaels scored four runs in the first three innings. The Broncos battled back from the rough start in the third. Freshman Brady Fuerst reached on a single and advanced on a single by Long. Nava then hit the first pitch he saw over the right field fence to bring the Broncos within one run of the Gaels. Santa Clara rallied in the seventh as Drever led off with a double followed by another Long single. The Gaels went to their bullpen, and the move came through as the next two batters struck out. The Broncos managed to tie the score at four when Kris Watts reached on an error. The Gaels responded with two runs in the next half inning off of reliever Daniel DeMarco, who took the loss.
Santa Clara 10, Saint Mary's 6
The Broncos rebounded from their Friday night defeat by pounding out 15 hits against Gaels pitcher Corey Madden. After falling behind by four runs in the fourth inning, the Broncos rallied behind the clutch hitting of Donald Brandt, Kevin Drever and Eric Newton. Brandt hit a solo shot in the fourth, and, in the following inning, Drever singled to right and was followed by Newton's home run, his 13th of the season. The Bronco assault continued in the top of the seventh. With the bases loaded, Brandt singled, advancing everybody one base. Jason Matteucci followed with a 2-RBI base hit. Drever continued the rally, singling home another run, and the Broncos found themselves on top of a 10-4 lead that they would not relinquish.
Santa Clara 3, Saint Mary's 2
In the closest game of the series, the Broncos prevailed on the one year anniversary of Schott Stadium. Dustin Realini led the offensive attack, hitting his third home run of the season in the third inning. Realini also scored twice. Brady Fuerst, the talented freshman from St. Francis high school in Mountain View, singled home Realini in the sixth to put the Broncos ahead 3-2. The Gaels applied late-inning pressure, but to no avail. Freshman Mark Willinsky entered the game in the eighth inning and breezed through the first three batters he faced. He ran into trouble in the ninth, though, when he found himself in a jam, with the bases loaded and one out. Gaels catcher Cody Guymon hit a soft fly to right that caused Matt Long to come in hard. The runner on third tried to tag up and score, but Long used his momentum and gunned the runner out at the plate to end the game. Chris Stansbury picked up the win, after striking out five in seven innings, and Willinsky picked up the save. Realini and Daniel Nava each had two hits apiece. The Broncos visit San Diego this weekend to play the Toreros.