HawgBeat - Fayetteville Regional Preview: Santa Clara
HawgBeat does an in-depth scouting report on the Santa Clara Broncos and how they stack up with Arkansas.
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The Arkansas Razorbacks (41-16) are set to host the Fayetteville Regional as the No. 3 national seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. The first squad the Diamond Hogs will face is the Santa Clara Broncos, who are the 4-seed in the Fayetteville Regional.
Santa Clara won the West Coast Conference Tournament last week as the 3-seed, going a perfect 4-0. The Broncos shutout 2-seed Portland 6-0 to secure their first conference title since 1997 and the first conference tournament title ever. This also marks Santa Clara's first postseason appearance since that 1997 season.
Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn didn't know much about the Broncos when he found out that his team would be facing them.
"I don’t know anything," Van Horn said Monday. "Probably will here in a little while. Don’t know. Just found out who we were playing. They won. They’re from the Northern part of California. I know that they’re a champion. They won something. They’re a championship team."
Sixth-year head coach Rusty Filter leads Santa Clara and he also serves as the team's pitching coach. Filter previously served as the pitching coach at Stanford for eight years and he helped mentor Mark Appel, who was selected No. 1 overall by the Houston Astros in the 2013 MLB Draft.
Prior to his time at Stanford, Filter also served as the pitching coach at his alma mater — San Diego State. There, he coached Stephen Strasburg, who was selected No. 1 overall by the Washington Nationals in the 2009 MLB Draft.
This season, Filter's squad led the WCC with a 4.42 team ERA and they ranked second in the conference with 8.70 strikeouts per nine innings.
The Broncos ranked second in the WCC with a team batting average of .300 and they ranked third in runs scored (379) and home runs (72).
Santa Clara will enter the postseason on an eight-game winning streak and it has won 17 of its last 20. The 35 wins so far this season are the most since the 1997 campaign, when the team won 41.
Notable wins for the Broncos include a split series (2-2) with Washington from Feb. 18-20, a 10-5 win over Stanford on March 7, a pair of wins over BYU and Washington State in April and midweek win over California on May 2.
Three players were named second team All-WCC — RHP Skylar Hales, RHP Blake Hammond and outfielder Michael O'Hara. Outfielder Coleman Brigman, first baseman Efrain Manzo and RHP August Souza were all-conference honorable mentions and third baseman Thomas Ferroggiaro was named to the WCC All-Freshman team.
Arkansas and Santa Clara will play the first game of the Fayetteville Regional on Friday at 2 p.m. CT at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville. The game will be streamed live on ESPN Plus.
Below is a comparison of the Arkansas and Santa Clara's metrics and stats, as well as a look the projected starting lineup and noteworthy pitchers for the Broncos...
Team Metrics Comparison
| Metric | Santa Clara (35-18) | Arkansas (41-16) |
|---|---|---|
| RPI | 80 | 3 |
| Strength of Schedule | 179 | 3 |
| Non-Conference RPI | 28 | 33 |
| Non-Conference SOS | 78 | 23 |
| Home Record | 18-8 | 30-4 |
| Road Record | 13-10 | 7-9 |
| Neutral Record | 4-0 | 4-3 |
Team Stats Comparison
| Statistic | Santa Clara (35-18) | Arkansas (41-16) |
|---|---|---|
| Batting Average | .300 | .276 |
| Runs Scored | 379 | 434 |
| Home Runs | 72 | 82 |
| ERA | 4.42 | 4.87 |
| Strikeouts | 460 | 520 |
| Walks | 184 | 241 |
Santa Clara Projected Starting Lineup (based on 5/27 lineup)
1. LF JonJon Berring — Junior, L/R, 5'7", 175 pounds
2023 stats: 190 AB, 32 R, 62 H, 10 2B, 4 3B, 1 HR, 24 RBI, 27 BB, 30 K, 15 SB, .326/.429/.437
2. 2B Dawson Brigman — RS Senior, R/R, 6'0", 180 pounds
2023 stats: 208 AB, 46 R, 66 H, 10 2B, 3 3B, 6 HR, 32 RBI, 31 BB, 46 K, 12 SB, .317/.416/.481
3. RF Michael O'Hara — Senior, L/R, 6'0", 195 pounds
2023 stats: 201 AB, 49 R, 65 H, 11 2B, 3 3B, 3 HR, 37 RBI, 25 BB, 27 K, 6 SB,
.323/.418/.453
4. 1B Efrain Manzo — Junior, R/R, 6'2", 195 pounds
2023 stats: 211 AB, 52 R, 67 H, 19 2B, 2 3B, 17 HR, 54 RBI, 26 BB, 58 K, 2 SB, .318/.418/.668
5. CF Coleman Brigman — Senior, R/L, 6'0", 190 pounds
2023 stats: 218 AB, 36 R, 66 H, 12 2B, 2 3B, 12 HR, 49 RBI, 20 BB, 55 K, 10 SB, .303/.368/.541
6. DH Eamonn Lance — Senior, R/R, 6'2", 205 pounds
2023 stats: 76 AB, 20 R, 25 H, 7 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 18 RBI, 10 BB, 13 K, 0 SB,
.329/.433/.684
7. SS Malcolm Williams — Sophomore, R/R, 6'2", 175 pounds
2023 stats: 207 AB, 35 R, 58 H, 8 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 29 RBI, 23 BB, 44 K, 16 SB,
.280/.363/.372
8. 3B Thomas Ferroggiaro — Freshman, S/R, 5'10", 170 pounds
2023 stats: 96 AB, 11 R, 24 H, 2 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 10 RBI, 10 BB, 13 K, 3 SB,
.250/.339/.271
9. C Ben Steck — Junior, R/R, 6'1", 210 pounds
2023 stats: 133 AB, 27 R, 33 H, 7 2B, 0 3B, 6 HR, 31 RBI, 18 BB, 67 K, 1 SB,
.248/.340/.436
Santa Clara Noteworthy Pitchers
RHP Cole Kitchen — Senior, 5'11", 200 pounds
2023 stats: 16 APP, 15 GS, 3-2 W/L, 78.1 IP, 67 H, 38 R, 37 ER, 33 BB, 67 K, 7.70 K/9,
10 HR, 4.25 ERA
RHP Jared Feikes — Senior, 6'2", 225 pounds
2023 stats: 17 APP, 13 GS, 6-1 W/L, 66.0 IP, 61 H, 39 R, 37 ER, 22 BB, 52 K, 7.09 K/9,
9 HR, 5.05 ERA
LHP Nick Sando — Senior, 6'2", 205 pounds
2023 stats: 14 APP, 10 GS, 3-3 W/L, 47.1 IP, 46 H, 38 R, 35 ER, 22 BB, 44 K, 8.37 K/9,
10 HR, 6.65 ERA
RHP Skylar Hales — Junior, 6'4", 220 pounds
2023 stats: 20 APP, 1 GS, 6-4 W/L, 6 SV, 51.1 IP, 49 H, 22 R, 16 ER, 14 BB, 64 K, 11.22 K/9,
6 HR, 2.81 ERA
RHP August Souza — Senior,
2023 stats: 12 APP, 1 GS, 1-2 W/L, 5 SV, 32.0 IP, 20 H, 9 R, 6 ER, 10 BB, 29 K, 8.16 K/9, 2 HR, 1.69 ERA
RHP Blake Hammond — Sophomore, 6'3", 195 pounds
2023 stats: 18 APP, 0 GS, 6-1 W/L, 1 SV, 46.0 IP, 34 H, 19 R, 12 ER, 25 BB, 64 K, 12.52 K/9,
2 HR, 2.35 ERA
LHP Brandon Gomez — Sophomore, 6'0", 190 pounds
2023 stats: 16 APP, 8 GS, 6-3 W/L, 1 SV, 54.0 IP, 59 H, 24 R, 21 ER, 10 BB, 51 K, 8.50 K/9,
2 HR, 3.50 ERA
RHP Cade Pilchard — RS Junior, 6'4", 215 pounds
2023 stats: 15 APP, 4 GS, 4-3 W/L, 2 SV, 48.1 IP, 34 H, 26 R, 20 ER, 17 BB, 42 K, 7.82 K/9,
4 HR, 3.72 ERA
