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Five-Run Ninth Lifts Santa Clara to 7-3 WCC Baseball Victory
May 9, 2004
(San Francisco) - USF led 3-2 with two outs recorded in the top of the ninth of the rubber match of their three-game West Coast Conference set against Santa Clara. The Broncos (22-27, 11-13 WCC) then struck for five runs to take a 7-3 victory against the Diamond Dons (23-29, 10-14) Sunday afternoon at Benedetti Diamond. The win lifted Santa Clara into second place in the West Division standings.
USF took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning on a solo homerun to deep leftfield by sophomore outfielder Stefan Gartrell, his team-leading sixth of the season. The Broncos countered with a pair in the fourth to take a 2-1 lead on a sacrifice fly from junior designated hitter Nic Crosta and a RBI double from senior catcher David Mandley.
San Francisco reclaimed the lead with a two-run fifth on back-to-back doubles by freshman outfielder Lucas DeLong and sophomore outfielder Jonnie Knoble, who scored on a double play lifting the Diamond Dons to a 3-2 edge. Both bullpens then threw three scoreless innings until the pivotal ninth.
Freshman outfielder Robert Perry led off with a double and advanced to third on a sacrifice. After a lineout to senior shortstop Armand Gaerlan, sophomore outfielder Jason Matteucci slammed an RBI double down the leftfield line followed by another RBI double from sophomore infielder Michael Thompson. Junior infielder Will Thompson followed with an RBI single and then Crosta slammed a two-run blast to left.
Sophomore right-handed reliever Patrick McGuigan (2-3) suffered the loss for USF allowing three runs off three hits in 1.0 inning of work. Junior right-hander Anthony Rea (3-1) collected the victory for the Broncos and did not allow a run off two hits in 2.1 innings of relief.
USF got a solid start from freshman right-hander Ryan Muller, who allowed two runs off six hits to go along with three strikeouts in 6.0 innings. Junior right-hander Nick Pereira also was effective in relief, allowing two hits in 1.2 innings of scoreless relief.
Knoble led the way for San Francisco offensively with a 3-for-5 day with an RBI double. Sophomore infielder Andrew Smith and senior catcher Nick Cirbo each tallied two-hit days for USF. Gaerlan singled in the first inning to extend his hitting streak to a career-best 20 games.
USF returns to action when they travel to the Pacific Northwest for a three-game WCC series against Portland. First game against the Pilots is scheduled for Friday, May 14. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 PM at Pilot Stadium.































