It will be a Morgan Hill PONY baseball reunion of sorts at Santa
Clara University
’s Buck Shaw Stadium this weekend.
It will be a Morgan Hill PONY baseball reunion of sorts at Santa Clara University’s Buck Shaw Stadium this weekend.
That’s because local products Ryan Muller and Andrew Slorp will meet when Muller and the USF Dons baseball team do battle with Slorp’s Santa Clara University Broncos in a three-game West Coast Conference series beginning Friday.
Friday’s game starts at 6 p.m., while Saturday’s and Sunday’s games are set for 1 p.m.
Muller, a freshman pitcher, and USF are both off to a slightly better start than Slorp, a sophomore, and Santa Clara this season.
USF (12-12 overall) is off to a 3-0 conference start after sweeping Portland State at home last week.
In spot starting duty and in relief, Muller has a 2-1 record with a 3.86 ERA. In 18 2/3 innings over eight games, including three starts, the 6-foot-1, 165-pounder has surrendered 25 hits and nine runs, eight earned, with 13 strikeouts and just five walks.
Meanwhile, Santa Clara (12-14 overall) lost two of its first three WCC games at Pepperdine before dropping an 18-4 decision to top-ranked Stanford last week.
Slorp, a 6-foot-5, 210-pound middle reliever with a mid-90s fastball, has struggled a little early in the season. He has an 0-2 record with an 8.66 ERA in 10 games, including three starts. In 17 2/3 innings, he has allowed 32 hits and 19 runs, 17 earned, while striking out 19 and walking 13.
Muller, a 2003 Live Oak High grad, led the Acorns to a Tri-County Athletic League co-championship last season and was named the league’s co-MVP. Muller finished with a 9-2 record and struck out a career-high 20 batters in one game. He also hit .480 while playing third base for Live Oak. He was named the Santa Clara County Hot Stove League’s Pitcher of the Year.
Despite being drafted by Detroit last June, Muller decided he wanted to attend college.
Another former Hot Stove League award winner, Slorp earned all-West Catholic Athletic League and all-Central Coast Section honors after going 18-3 in his three-year high school career at Bellarmine. A 2002 grad, Slorp also led the Bells to a league title his senior year. He was also drafted out of high school, by Anaheim but chose to play at Santa Clara.
