Santa Clara University

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Can they be stopped?
 
The answer Thursday night was a resounding No, as the Santa Clara University baseball team rattled off its sixth consecutive win, this time run-ruling Pepperdine with a 10-0, seven-inning, walk-off victory in the teams' West Coast Conference series opener at Stephen Schott Stadium.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Broncos (23-28, 11-14 WCC) have been nearly impossible to stop. Double-digit hits for the eighth straight game. Double-digit strikeouts for the 19th time in 2026. Scored 10-plus runs Thursday for the fourth time in six games. So naturally, they found a way to one-up themselves.
   
• Max Ross, batting for only the second time after pinch-hitting two innings earlier, worked a 2-1 count and sent a ball crashing off the center-field wall. It ricocheted past the fielder, scored Will Anderson from second, and Ross never stopped running. Walk-off home run. Inside the park. Mercy rule.
   
• Santa Clara scored in all but two innings, including the fourth through the seventh. A four-run fifth put it up, 7-0. Two Pepperdine throwing errors on a Luke Devine single helped three runs score, and a Mateo Garcia pinch-hit double drove home Devine. Bryant Viskovich's RBI groundout in the fourth brought home Payton Lambert – who led off the inning with his fourth triple of the year – to make it 3-0 at the time. Thomas Ferroggiaro tacked on another in the sixth with an RBI double to make it 8-0 and set up Ross' walk-off in the seventh.
   
• Even with all the offense, one can't overlook Santa Clara's pitching Thursday. Max Bayles (5-3) struck out a career-high-matching 12 and Nick Chow threw a scoreless seventh to log the Broncos' first shutout of the season. Bayles' 12 strikeouts pushed him past the 100 Ks mark this season (102) and lifted him to sixth all-time on the Santa Clara career list, passing two former Broncos – David Tuttle (1989-92) and Cole Kitchen (2020-24) in one night. Bayles' first five outs of the game were recorded with a strikeout. He struck out three in the first, fourth and fifth innings, had two in the second and one in the sixth. Chow also struck out two in the seventh, escaping a bases-loaded jam with back-to-back looking Ks.
   
• The first inning set the tone for the night. After Bayles struck out three in the first inning, the Broncos rewarded him with a two-out rally to give the righty a lead to work with. Three consecutive two-out hits by Johnny Luetzow, Luke Devine and a two-run double by Anderson gave Santa Clara the early 2-0 advantage.
   
• 10 different Broncos notched hits Thursday, including eight of the nine starters. Ben Cleary stayed red hot with his sixth consecutive multi-hit game and his 18th of the year, going 2 for 4 with a run scored. Ferroggiaro also continued his hot streak with his fourth multi-hit game in his last six appearances, going 2 for 4 with a double, RBI and run scored from the leadoff spot. Devine went 2 for 4 with an RBI and two runs scored.
   
• Pepperdine (21-30, 15-10 WCC) only mustered four hits on the night from four different players. Max Aude (1 for 2) and Kai Laxa (1 for 3) both hit doubles. Casey Euper (5-4) took the loss after allowing four runs on seven hits in four innings. He showed flashes of dominance, striking out seven and walking none, but the Broncos finally chased him in the top of the fifth after Ferroggiaro's leadoff single that started the four-run rally.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

• Tied: Santa Clara's win coupled with losses by both Portland and Seattle pulled the Broncos into a three-way tie for sixth place in the WCC and the final spot in next week's WCC Tournament. The Broncos hold tiebreakers over both the Pilots and Redhawks after beating them in series over the last two weeks.
• 8: Santa Clara had 13 hits at the plate and 14 strikeouts on the mound Thursday, its eighth time this season with double-digit hits and double-digit strikeouts in the same game. It's 6-2 in those games.
• 8: The Broncos have collected double-digit hits in eight consecutive games, the first time they've done that since March 22 to April 2, 2010, when they achieved the feat in nine straight contests against San Diego State, Princeton, Albany and Portland.
• 257: Bayles now has 257 career strikeouts, ranking him sixth all-time. The next spot above him is No. 5 Rick Foley (1975-78), who struck out 306 in his four seasons.

COMING UP

• Game two of the series is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start on Friday. Fans can purchase tickets and find all live coverage links on SantaClaraBroncos.com.