Santa Clara University

BELLEVUE, Wash. — Things just keep on clicking for the Santa Clara University baseball team.
 
The Broncos' offense collected double-digit hits Friday for the fifth consecutive game, ace Max Bayles threw five shutout innings, and the defense turned four double plays, cruising to a 7-1 West Coast Conference series-opening victory over Seattle at Bannerwood Park.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Santa Clara (20-28, 8-14 WCC) scored in the first inning for the third straight contest and fourth time in the last five games on its way to a third consecutive victory and sixth in its last nine. Ben Cleary and Will Anderson hit back-to-back one-out doubles and the Broncos were on their way with a 1-0 lead.
   
• Santa Clara hit seven doubles Friday to go with a triple, posting a season-high eight extra-base hits. Anderson hit two, Luke Devine hit two and Thomas Ferroggiaro hit two, while Rayment added a two-run triple in the sixth. Five different Broncos had multiple hits in the game, including the top-three hitters in the lineup. Ferrogiarro, Cleary and Anderson went a combined 8 for 15 with five doubles, four RBIs and three runs scored.
   
• Bayles (4-3) earned the win by throwing five shutout innings, scattering four hits. He struck out six Friday, tying him for eighth all-time on the Santa Clara career strikeouts list with 245. The Broncos turned two double plays behind Bayles in the first and second innings, then he struck out three in the third, holding on to SCU's 2-0 lead.
   
• The Broncos gave Bayles some insurance in the fifth with back-to-back RBI knocks from Ferroggiaro and Cleary to make it 4-0. Rayment's triple in the sixth tacked on two more runs to make it 6-0, and Cleary drove in one more run in the top of the ninth with an RBI single to make it 7-1. RJ Meyn threw two shutout innings in relief of Bayles, and Sebastian Schrieber only allowed a sacrifice fly with a strikeout in 1 1/3 innings of work. Vincent Braga finished off the bottom of the ninth inducing a double play, even running over to first to complete the play and seal the win.
   
• Payton Knowles (2 for 3) and Ryder Manale (2 for 4) both had multiple hits for Seattle (17-26, 11-11 WCC). Travis Farrell (2-7) suffered the loss, allowing six runs (five earned) on 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

• 5: Santa Clara's five consecutive games with double-digit hits match its longest streak since also doing it five games in a row from Feb. 17-25, 2024 versus Arizona State and UMBC.
• 8: The Broncos' eight extra-base hits are their most in a game since having nine (eight doubles, one home run) at Arizona State on Feb. 17, 2024.
• 245: Bayles' 245 career strikeouts are tied with Kellan McConnell, who also had 245 from 2001-05. Next on the list above Bayles is David Tuttle (1989-91) in seventh place with 254.

COMING UP

• Game two of the series is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Funko Field in Everett, Wash., home of the Seattle Mariners high-a minor league affiliate Everett AquaSox. Fans can find all live coverage links on SantaClaraBroncos.com.