Preview: Santa Clara Broncos at Stanford Cardinal

PALO ALTO, Calif. (Interstat) — The Stanford Cardinal look to climb above .500 when they host the struggling Santa Clara Broncos in a nonconference baseball game Wednesday at Klein Field at Sunken Diamond.

Stanford (16-16) enters after splitting a four-game series at Louisville, winning the finale 6-4 on Sunday. The Cardinal have shown inconsistency but possess a reliable bullpen arm in Trevor Moore. The right-hander has been dominant in recent relief appearances, not allowing a hit or an earned run over his last 10 1/3 innings pitched across five outings, striking out 13. He threw four perfect innings with three strikeouts in Sunday’s win.

Santa Clara (13-21) seeks to halt a five-game skid, all at home, including a three-game sweep by Saint Mary’s last weekend. The Broncos fell 15-11 in a 13-inning marathon Sunday.

A bright spot for the Broncos has been outfielder Luke Devine. He drove in four runs, including a home run, in Sunday’s loss and has six RBIs in his last three games. He will be a key figure for an offense trying to spark a turnaround.

The Cardinal took two of three games from Clemson earlier this month and will aim to build momentum before a pivotal weekend series against Miami (FL) begins Friday.

Santa Clara begins West Coast Conference play at Pacific on Friday.

According to Interstat’s game simulator, the projected final score is Stanford 6, Santa Clara 3.

The teams are scheduled to meet again next Tuesday at Santa Clara.