Final
Stats
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara continued its
winning ways, soundly beating Pepperdine 16-7 Thursday afternoon in
a make up game dating back to a rain-out on Sunday, April 11.
The Bronco offense plated runs in each of the first four innings
then broke open a close game by scoring eight times in the
eighth.
All-American Tommy
Medica went 3-for-5, which included his 16th double, second
triple, 11th homerun and RBI Nos. 48, 49 and 50. He finished the
day a single shy of the cycle.
Santa Clara (20-24; 5-10 WCC) has won five of its last six and
eclipses its win total of 19 from a year ago. The Broncos have a
realistic chance at finishing the season with a winning record,
inching closer to .500 with 11 games to play.
Medica's two-run shot down the leftfield line capped-off SCU's
eight-run eighth inning off Pepperdine reliever Brian McIlhenny.
Medica - the reigning West Coast Conference `Player of the Week' -
will be one of six final-year student-athletes to be honored Sunday
when the Broncos wrap up the home portion of their 2010 schedule
against USF this weekend.
Pepperdine (14-24; 3-6 WCC) continues to struggle as of late,
dropping to 3-8 since beating Santa Clara on Friday, April 9. The
Waves began the season ranked in the Collegiate Baseball
Top 40 Preseason Poll.
The game was tight through seven innings, with Santa Clara
building an 8-6 lead thanks to Drew
Ozanne's two-RBI single in the third, Medica's RBI-triple in
the fourth and three Pepperdine walks, which allowed SCU to
generate another run in the sixth.
Cory
Hall (2-0) goes down as the pitcher of record for the Broncos,
working effectively for two-plus innings of mid-relief.
Pepperdine pitchers issued 13 walks and its defense committed
three errors. Wave starter Aaron Gates (2-7) walked seven in four
innings and took the loss.
Friday night's 7 p.m. series-opener with USF is `Disco Night.'
Fans dressed in disco era attire will be eligible to win an
assortment of prizes.
GAME NOTES: UT Tommy
Medica (.385 BA) leads the WCC in RBI (50) and ranks among the
league's top 5 in virtually every offensive category... 1B Curtis
Wagner (.405 BA) extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a
double in the third inning... freshmen twins 2B Drew
Ozanne (.370 BA) and OF Matt
Ozanne (.400 BA) are leading the team in batting, hitting .524
and .435 respectively in SCU's last 10 games... if Santa Clara can
win 8-of-11 down the stretch the team would finish the season with
a winning record (28-27).