SANTA CLARA, Calif. — A huge, eight-run first inning and a dominant start on the mound powered the Santa Clara University baseball team Saturday to a mercy-rule, 13-0, victory over San Francisco at Stephen Schott Stadium, evening its West Coast Conference series versus the Dons.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Santa Clara (9-10, 1-1 WCC) scored its most runs in a game Saturday since also scoring 13 against Pepperdine on April 14, 2024. Its eight-run first inning Saturday was its second of the year, after also scoring eight in the seventh inning versus California on March 3. The Broncos had five hits, three free base runners (two walks, one hit by pitch) and took advantage of two San Francisco errors to put up the eight-spot and lead 8-0 after one.
   
• The Broncos were ambushing Dons starter Joe Soberon (2-3) from the beginning. Nine of the 12 Broncos who batted in the first had their at-bats resolved in four pitches or fewer. Six of those were determined in two or fewer pitches. That included first- or second-pitch RBI base hits by Niko Olson, Koen Carston and Mateo Garcia. Garcia's was the big blow in the inning, a bases-clearing double into the right-center field gap that scored three and made it 8-0.
   
• Garcia finished with his team-leading third three-hit game of the year and sixth multi-hit game overall. He went 3 for 4 with a double, walk, three RBIs and a run scored. Kai Cunningham (2 for 4, two RBIs), Olson (2 for 4, two RBIs) and Carston (2 for 2, two runs, RBI, two hit-by-pitches) also had multi-hit performances for Santa Clara.
   
• While the Broncos' offense was lighting up the scoreboard, starter Max Bayles (2-2) was silencing the San Francisco bats. He threw a seven-inning, complete-game shutout Saturday with nine strikeouts and only one walk, scattering five hits. Only two base runners made it to second base all day. He retired 10 consecutive from the fourth to the seventh, 10 of 12 to start the game, and 11 of the last 13 he faced. It was Bayles' fourth game this season with at least nine Ks. He's had no fewer than seven strikeouts in all six of his outings in 2025.
   
• Five different players had hits for the Dons. Soberon finished with only eight earned runs out of the 11 he allowed, as San Francisco committed three errors on the game. The Broncos also hit USF Cal Amborn for two runs on seven base hits.
   
• Santa Clara added three runs in the fourth inning on a two-run single from Cunningham and a two-out RBI single from Olson. Single runs were tacked on in the fifth with a sacrifice fly from Ben Cleary and a solo home run from Andrew Rayment – the first of his collegiate career – in the sixth.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

• 1st: Saturday marked the Broncos' first shutout thrown of the year. The team had five shutouts in 2024, tops in the WCC and tied for 14th in the nation.
• 14: Santa Clara's 14 hits Saturday tied a season high, after also having 14 versus CSUN on Feb. 15. The Broncos are 4-1 this season when they have at least 10 hits in a game.

COMING UP

• Sunday's rubber game of the series is scheduled for a noon first pitch. Fans can purchase tickets and find all live coverage links on SantaClaraBroncos.com.