Box Score Stockton, Calif. – In front of a school-record 1454 fans, the Pacific Tigers took game two in their series against the Santa Clara Broncos with a rousing 6-3 win. Pacific fell behind 2-0 after the first inning but fought back to tie the game and took the lead for good in the seventh when they scored three runs against Santa Clara's relief staff. The Tigers are now .500 in the WCC at 10-10 in conference games.
The Tigers put Shelby Lackey on the mound, giving the freshman his first collegiate start. Lackey had not allowed an earned run in his last four appearances and carried a 3.00 ERA into today. He went 3.2 innings for the Tigers, matching his career high with three strikeouts while giving up just one earned run and two total.
Bryce Lombardi took over for Lackey in the fourth and did well to ensure that the Broncos didn't score again before Pacific took the lead at 3-2. The fifth-year senior left the game with two men on base and one out in the seventh, giving way to Vince Arobio in a tough situation.
Arobio did allow one run to score but got his first win of the year when the Tigers put up three runs in the bottom of the seventh. The junior had his ongest outing of the year, going 2.2 innings to end the game and put Pacific on the verge of a series sweep.
Santa Clara threw Mitchell White, the WCC leader in strikeouts this year with 92. White gave up three runs to the Tigers but left the game with the score tied, getting a no decision.
It was Jacob Steffens that took the loss in the game to fall to 1-1 after he left the game in the seventh with two runners on base, both of which came around to score.
Lackey retired the first man he faced before a single and an error put the freshman in trouble. A walk loaded the bases with one out. Louis Mejia leapt and gave the next ball a look but it was far too high and ended up a two-run single into right that gave the Broncos the lead. Lackey got his confidence back and struck out the next to batters to end the inning at 2-0.
For the second game in a row, Kevin Sandri reached base to start the game. Today, Sandri singled with a roller that hurried up the middle into center as the shortstop tried to cut it off. That was it in the first for the Tigers, unfortunately.
Lackey continued to roll after his jittery start as he retired the side in order in the second. The freshman put together a streak of seven straight retired after Santa Clara scored in the first, broken up by a double to left-center in the third. Lackey's third strikeout ended that inning, stranding the runner and tying his career-high in Ks.
Another double for Santa Clara came in the fourth, Lackey's last inning of work. After the double, J.J. Wagner did well to field a hot shot at him, then looked back the runner and threw across for the second out. Lackey walked the next batter, ending his day.
Lombardi walked the first man he faced on a questionable checked-swing call but took no time striking out the next man, stranding three runners and keeping Santa Clara scoreless in the inning. Only two of the eight runners Lombardi has inherited this year have scored after his performance in the fourth.
The Tigers built on their fourth-inning success from last night, when they scored five runs, with a two-run inning to tie the game up. The rally started when Danny Mayer recorded a hit for the 14th game in a row. This time it came to lead off the fourth as he smoked a low line drive into center. During his hitting streak, Mayer has batted .344 with 16 runs, seven doubles, five homers, and 12 RBI.
Gio Brusa moved to a tie for third place in Pacific history in doubles when he mashed a ball off the leftfield wall in the very next at-bat. Brusa's 45 doubles move him ahead of Kurt Wideman and Nick Longmire. The senior has a chance to move into second all-time with just one more double this season. The hit also helped Brusa improve on his WCC-leading batting average in conference play, a mark that sits at .414 after tonight.
The double put two men in scoring position for Nate Verlin, who hit a deep flyball into center to score Mayer and move Brusa up, making it just a one-run game. Lucas Halstead drew a five-pitch walk in the next at-bat, giving Pacific men on the corners with one out.
Louis Mejia tied the game at two runs after that. The senior took a full count pitch up the middle with just enough oomph on it to get to center. Mejia went 2-for-5 last night with an RBI and added another one with his single.
For the fourth start in a row, McKay Koissian record a hit with his first-pitch single into left that loaded the bases. Koissian has hit .389 in his last four starts and .429 in the WCC this season. A popup that caught enough of the wind to stay in play and a strikeout left the bases juiced but the Tigers did tie the game in the inning.
With an all-new ballgame, Lombardi came back out for the fifth. Unfortunately, the leadoff Bronco singled to right. A fielder's choice replaced the runner as the Tiger came within a footstep of turning a double play only to have the runner beat it out.
On a foul ball, the Broncos were awarded first on a catcher's interference call to really put the pressure on. Mejia made a fine play on a chopper over Lombardi's head that died just behind the pitcher's mound to get the second out of the inning though and Lombardi forced an easy grounder to strand two more Bronco runners.
Halstead absolutely destroyed a ball in the sixth inning to give Pacific the lead on his fourth homerun of the season. The sophomore launched the ball into the parking lot in leftfield beyond the trees for a mammoth shot. Halstead now has six straight games with an extra-base hit. In that time, he has hit .367 with nine runs, six doubles, and four homers.
Santa Clara had two singles to left in the top of the seventh that put the pressure on Lombardi, who was replaced by Arobio in the high-pressure scenario. Arobio almost got the grounder he needed to start a double play but the ball bounced extremely high to get over Wagner's head on a bad-luck play that tied the game at three runs.
Arobio got a three-pitch strikeout against a pinch-hitter next as Santa Clara tried to bunt but fouled off three straight pitches. Pacific's junior righty got another strikeout after that to end the seventh but the game was back tied.
Wagner extended his hitting streak to six games by blasting a stand-up double to left with one out in the bottom of the seventh, giving Pacific a chance to take the lead back again. It was Wagner's fourth double during his hitting streak.
The senior moved to third on a wild pitch, meaning the Tigers needed just a flyball to go ahead again. Santa Clara moved the infield in to try and make sure Wagner couldn't score on a grounder. That strategy worked, as the third baseman was able to field the next ball and hold Wagner before throwing across for the second out of the inning.
For the seventh time this season, Brusa was intentionally walked after that. Brusa's IBB total is the second-most in Pacific history, just one off of Brett Sullivan's mark of eight set in 2014. The next pitch bounced to the backstop but not before skimming off of Verlin for a HBP that loaded the bases.
It was Halstead that finally made Santa Clara pay, singling to deep right on the first pitch he saw to score two runs and give Pacific the 5-3 lead. Halstead now has and 14 RBI in the last 14 games. Verlin would add an insurance run for the Tigers as he scored on a wild pitch.
Now with the lead, Arobio made short work of the Broncos with a perfect 1-2-3 eighth. The single in the seventh by the first batter Arobio faced was the only man he allowed to reach in his first 1.2 innings.
Arobio did allow a single to start the ninth as Wagner dove for the ball but was too late on what would have been a spectacular play to even stop the ball. A walk came after that as things grew particularly threatening. Arobio got the next batter to flyout, moving the lead runner to third in what was an easy trade for the Tigers.
The next batter got ahead 3-0 on Arobio but the junior fought back into the at-bat and got a looking strikeout for the second out of the inning. A flyout ended it, giving Arobio the win and putting the Tigers in seventh in the conference at 10-10.
Pacific will look for the series sweep tomorrow in a game beginning at 1:00 pm. After that, the Tigers will head to Sacramento for one game against Sacramento State on Tuesday. Next weekend, Pacific will host San Diego. Tickets for all home games are available online.
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