The Santa Clara Broncos took the early lead, and a late rally by the Seattle University Redhawks was not enough as Santa Clara won the first game of a baseball midweek series, 8-4, Tuesday night at Bannerwood Park.
Santa Clara (21-20) jumped on top right away, as Greg Harisis led off the game with a single, followed by a walk drawn by Matt Ozanne and a single from Pat Stover. Stephen Takahashi cleared the bases with a double down the left field line, and then he advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a ground ball hit by T.J. Braff to third base, giving the Broncos a 4-0 lead.
In the bottom of the first inning, Nate Roberts (Silverdale, Wash.) singled through the left side of the infield, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a single by Brian Olson (Black Diamond, Wash.). Steve Kirbach (Kirkland, Wash.) followed with a single to put runners on first and second, but that is where they would remain when the inning ended.
Seattle U starter Garrett Anderson (Kennewick, Wash.) retired six batters in a row before Quinton Perry singled with one out in the fourth inning. Evan Peters was hit by a pitch, and Justin Viele singled to load the bases. Harisis drove in Perry with a single to left field, and Lucas Herbst reached on a fielder's choice, scoring Peters to increase Santa Clara's lead to 6-1.
Stover led off the fifth inning with a slow grounder up the middle that Roberts grabbed, but his throw to first base was off line, allowing Stover to advance to second base. Anderson retired the next two batters, but then he walked Perry, and Peters hit the first pitch he saw to deep center field for a double, driving in Stover and Perry and chasing Anderson from the game.
Santa Clara starter James Smith recovered from the first inning difficulties, allowing only a walk from the second inning until one out in the sixth inning, when Ryan Somers (Sammamish, Wash.) singled and Olson walked to put two runners on base with one out. However, Smith struck out the next two Redhawk batters to work his way out of the jam.
Zach Aaker (Ravensdale, Wash.) led off the seventh inning with a double, advanced to third on a single by Grant Newton (Bend, Ore.), and scored on a sacrifice fly hit by Marcelino Morales (Pasco, Wash.). Smith was finally replaced in the bottom of the eighth inning after Somers led off with a single and scored when Olson hit his second home run of the season.
Both teams' bullpens allowed little to the opposing side. Blaine Jones (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.), Kyle Doyle (Covington, Wash.), and Eric Yardley (Richland, Wash.) gave up only a walk and two hit batters in 4 1/3 innings of relief for the Redhawks. Chris Mendoza and Paul Twining pitched the final two innings for the Broncos with little trouble.
Olson finished the game 2-for-2 with two walks, a run scored, and three runs batted in, while Somers and Kirbach also enjoyed two-hit performances. Stover and Viele each went 2-for-3 for the Broncos, with Harisis also picking up two hits in five at-bats for the visiting team.
Seattle University (19-18) will look to salvage a split of the two-game series Wednesday, May 2, beginning at 12 noon. Bryan Dalton (Vancouver, Wash.) is scheduled to start for the Redhawks, while Tommy Nance has been announced as the starter for Santa Clara.