STOCKTON, Calif. — Here comes the Santa Clara University baseball team's offense.
 
And just in time.
 
The Broncos scored 11 runs and tallied double-digit hits for the second consecutive game Thursday, as they pummeled host Pacific, 11-0, in the opener of a three-game West Coast Conference series at Klein Family Field.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Santa Clara (25-24, 11-11 WCC) broke up what was a scoreless contest through four frames with a big fifth inning. A two-run triple by Michael O'Hara, an RBI single by Ben Cleary, and a three-run home run from Efrain Manzo made it 6-0 in a matter of four at-bats. The entire rally started with two outs and the bases empty. Malcolm Williams kicked it off with a double, the lineup drew three walks and Santa Clara batted around in the inning.
   
• Cade Pilchard threw four shutout innings to kick off the Broncos' fourth shutout effort of the year. It was his longest outing since April 6 when he threw five innings at Gonzaga. Pilchard struck out seven – tied for his second-most in a game this season – and only faced one over the minimum in his four innings of work.
   
• Josh Johnson (4-1) threw two shutout frames with four strikeouts for the win. Victor Martinez followed with two more zeros in the seventh and eighth, and Caden Wooster shut the door with a shut-down ninth inning that included two strikeouts. Santa Clara pitchers limited Pacific (10-43, 4-18 WCC) to only three hits and two walks on the night.
   
• Manzo would chalk up a career-high six RBIs on a game-high three hits, and he was a triple shy of the cycle. He added an RBI single in the seventh to make it 7-0, and his bases-loaded double in the eighth scored two and made it 10-0 Broncos. O'Hara had two RBIs, two runs scored, a walk and a stolen base to go with his RBI triple while hitting in the leadoff spot.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

• 3: Santa Clara has won three in a row against Pacific dating to last season. The Broncos have won four of the teams' last five meetings since 2022. In just the last two meetings, Santa Clara has won by an average score of 14-1.
• 11: Thursday marked the Broncos' 11th game of the year scoring double-digit runs on double-digit hits. They are 9-2 in those games.
• 11: Santa Clara's 11-run margin of victory Thursday is its largest win of 2024 and its biggest since beating Saint Mary's by 14, 17-3, in last year's WCC Tournament on May 26.

NEXT UP

• The series continues at 5 p.m. Friday with game two between the Broncos and Tigers. Fans can find all live coverage links at SantaClaraBroncos.com.