Santa Clara Sweeps Loyola : Baseball: The Lions’ West Coast Conference title hopes appear dashed after they lose, 8-3, 14-5.

Pitching has been one of the areas of improvement for the Loyola Marymount baseball team this season.

The Lions went into Saturday’s doubleheader against visiting Santa Clara with the top earned-run average in the West Coast Conference. But that didn’t faze the visiting Broncos, who pounded out 28 hits in two games to beat the Lions, 8-3 and 14-5.

The doubleheader loss also dealt Loyola (15-20) a setback in its hopes of staying in the conference race. The defeats dropped the Lions to 8-7 in the conference, 4 1/2 games behind first-place University of San Diego and three behind Pepperdine.

Loyola is a game ahead of Santa Clara (17-18), which is in fourth place at 7-8 in the conference.

Although the Lions have six home games remaining against San Diego and Pepperdine, Coach Jody Robinson said Saturday’s sweep was a big blow.

“If you get one of these, then you’ve still got to say you have a chance,” Robinson said. “But with seven losses, I don’t know if you can bounce back from that.”

With a little luck, Loyola might have won the seven-inning first game of the doubleheader.

Santa Clara took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth inning before the Lions came back to tie the score. With one out and runners on first and third, the Lions scored their first run on a sacrifice fly by shortstop Greg Carl that advanced both runners.

After first baseman Anthony Napolitano singled in Loyola’s second run, he scored the tying run two batters later on a single by second baseman Darren Sugiyama.

But the Broncos broke the game open by scoring five runs off starter Shawn Hammett (6-5) with the bases loaded and two out in the seventh inning. The first came on a throwing error by third baseman Jeff Ciccarella. The error allowed Santa Clara center fielder Tommy Thompson to bat and he hit a grand slam that gave the Broncos a 8-3 lead.

Robinson said the loss may have deflated his team for the second game. With starter Shane Bowers out because of stiffness in his lateral muscles, reliever Jesse Ibarra was forced into a start and gave up eight runs--six of which were earned--in three innings as the Broncos opened an 8-2 lead.

“In the second game, we tried to throw some different pitchers at them and it didn’t work out,” Robinson said.

In addition to not having Bowers for the second game, catcher Andy Biaggi missed both games because of a bruised elbow that he suffered from being hit by a pitch in Loyola’s 11-4 win Friday over Santa Clara. Outfielders Collin Hinds and Mike Seal also went out early in the second game after being struck by pitches.

“We had some guys banged up, but if the guys that were in there had done the job, nobody would’ve noticed,” Robinson said.

The losses overshadowed the performance of outfielder Mike Peters, who went five for six in the doubleheader, including a home run in the second game to lift his batting average to .319.

“I got some hits and that’s nice, but when you lose it’s like it’s a failure,” Peters said.