Opening the home portion of its West Coast Conference schedule, Santa Clara baseball looks to get back in the win column when it welcomes Brigham Young University to the Mission campus. The Broncos and Cougars open the series tonight at 6:00pm at Schott Stadium.
"As tough as things have been in recent weeks, it's been great to see so many young players get opportunities to contribute so early in their careers," said Bronco head coach Dan O'Brien. "You can't teach experience..."
The Santa Clara University baseball team was swept in a three game series aginst University of Portland last weekend. The Broncos are now 8-18 overall and 0-6 in West Coast Conference play while the Pilots move to 11-16 and 4-2 in conference action.
Santa Clara returns to the field on Thursday, April 4 versus Brigham Young University at 6:00 p.m. at Stephen Schott Stadium. For recaps and box scores from the series, click on the links below:
Meet the Future of Bronco Baseball: Nick Gagliardi
Nick Gagliardi Signs with Santa Clara University Baseball
Continuing to introduce the next wave of talent, Santa Clara baseball introduces Nick Gagliardi of Seattle, Wash. Gagliardi attended Gig Harbor High School where he was coached by Peter Jansen and Larry Carlson.
"I chose Santa Clara because it was a great fit both athletically and academically," said Gagliardi. "From the athletic standpoint Santa Clara offers an amazing coaching staff that works diligently and the players are all very close. Playing at the Division I level was my dream. On the academic side, Santa Clara has great programs..."
Halfway through the regular season, the postseason picture is murky and ever-shifting. The Ratings Percentage Index is still subject to wild swings and odd quirks (like 12-12 Rutgers ranking No. 19 in the updated RPI rankings at boydsworld.com, which we will refer to instead of the NCAA's official RPI rankings, which do not reflect Tuesday's action). So this exercise is a blend of recognizing strong first halves and projecting strong second halves.
Some teams that would not be in regionals if the season ended today still make our Field of 64 projection, because we expect them to perform better in the second half. Stanford is finally getting healthy, so we anticipate the talented Cardinal getting hot in the second half and surging to a No. 2 seed...
