Surging Broncos

By Jack Ferdon

A sweep of Loyola Marymount last weekend stretched Santa Clara's winning streak in conference play to eight games and moved the Broncos to within one game of division leader Pepperdine. Tack on Tuesday's victory at No. 4 Stanford and Santa Clara looks like a genuine postseason contender.

Santa Clara's play during the streak has been a far cry from the shoddy performances it turned in during non-conference competition earlier in the season. On the eve of West Coast Conference action, the Broncos record was 8-15, with four of the victories at the expense of a very weak Hawaii-Hilo team. (The Vulcans' current record is 9-35.)

"As a team we are just getting after it and flat out having fun, playing with confidence day in and day out, compared to non-conference where some guys were just feeling things out and not letting their natural ability take over," said senior lead off hitter Scott Dierks, who leads the WCC in batting average (.447), home runs (17) and slugging percentage (a mind boggling .943).

During the streak, which has consisted of two wins over San Diego and a pair of three-game sweeps of Portland and Loyola Marymount, Santa Clara has outscored its opponents 53-17 and the pitching staff has struck out 57 batters while allowing only 21 walks.

"We're pitching real well," said Head Coach Mark O'Brien. "Some guys have come around since the beginning of the year."

The pitching staff has been led throughout the year by senior left-hander Joe Diefenderfer, who logged 15 consecutive scoreless innings and two victories during the streak. For the year, he has a record of 7-3 with 3.50 ERA. Diefenderfer has also hit .298 in 84 at-bats.

Santa Clara also has a dominant closer in freshman right-hander Patrick Overholt, who leads the WCC in saves with seven and ranks third in ERA at 2.47.

"Our team is playing much better because each individual understands what their role is on the team," said freshman outfielder Jason Matteucci, who has started every game this season and is hitting .304. "We have been playing with confidence and we understand that we can always come back."

Matteucci and Overholt are two of four freshmen on the team that have made significant contributions to the club.

"Our freshmen are beginning to feel comfortable," said O'Brien. "Look at a guy like Mike Lange. He was hitting something like .170 a month ago and now he has it up to .262."

During the current win streak, Lange, a shortstop, has an average of .407 and has hit safely in seven of the eight games.

The Broncos will need similar production from Lange and the entire squad to take this weekend's series against the Waves at Malibu. As hot as the Broncos have been, Pepperdine has been even hotter. Before a loss to Portland on Sunday, the Waves had won 12 WCC games in a row. They are currently ranked No. 27 in the nation. Santa Clara did take two out of three from them during a series earlier in the season at Buck Shaw.

The series at Pepperdine (17-4 in WCC) can be viewed as a playoff for the Broncos (16-5) because both teams play in the WCC Coast Division, the winner of which will face the winner of the WCC West Division (probably either San Diego or USF) for the league title and an invitation to the NCAA Tournament. After Santa Clara, Pepperdine finishes the year with two series against Saint Mary's and Gonzaga, teams it has whipped this season.

So the Broncos can't afford to drop two out of three to the Waves and fall two games behind with six to go because Pepperdine probably won't lose two more games.

And they cannot hope for an at-large bid to the tournament because their troubles in non-conference play have left them with an unimpressive overall record of 25-22. O'Brien and his team know this.

"I think that's the approach you have to take," said O'Brien. "I think one of the reasons we've been so successful is we're just taking it one game at a time."

But with eight victories in a row in conference and the win at Stanford, the Broncos have reason to look towards the postseason - somewhere it is becoming increasingly obvious they belong.

"If we keep playing the way we are capable of playing and everyone believes, I believe we will make it to a regional and do very well at it," said Matteucci.