Feb. 4, 2000
Stanford, Calif. - Senior first baseman Craig Thompson's two-out single to right field in the bottom of the ninth inning scored Billy Jacobson and lifted top-ranked Stanford to a thrilling 5-4 victory over #2 Cal State Fullerton in the home-opener for the Cardinal at Sunken Diamond on Friday. Stanford remains undefeated with a 3-0 record, while Cal State Fullerton falls to 0-1.
"I was just trying to put the ball in play with two strikes in the count," said Thompson following the game. "I just hit it where they weren't."
"This was a great college baseball game between two excellent clubs," said Stanford head coach Mark Marquess. "We had some big hits tonight. I was very pleased with our performance. It was a good win."
The Cardinal trailed 3-0 before a three-run homer by junior right fielder Joe Borchard in the bottom of the sixth tied the score at 3-3.
Stanford took a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning on an RBI-single by Edmund Muth before a solo homer by the Titans' Shawn Norris with two outs in the top of the ninth retied the game at 4-4.
Cal State Fullerton jumped out to a 3-0 lead on an RBI-single by Mike Martinez in the fourth, as well as RBI-singles by Chris Beck and Aaron Ripkin in the fifth.
Jeff Bruksch (1-0) pitched the final 2.0 innings to pick up the victory, allowing just the home run to Norris while striking out two. Kirk Saarloos (0-1) was tagged with the loss as he gave up a pair of runs and three hits in the final 1.2 innings. Titan starter Adam Johnson received no decision despite shutting out the Cardinal through the first five innings.
Borchard (2-for-4, HR, 3 RBI) was the only Cardinal with more than one hit. Aaron Rifkin (3-for-5, 2B, RBI) led the Titans offensively, while David Bianci (2-for-4, 2B) and Robert Guzman (2-for-4) each had a pair of hits.
The three-game series continues with single games on Saturday and Sunday, both beginning at 1:00 p.m. Saturday's pitching matchup is scheduled to be Stanford's Justin Wayne (1-0, 1.69) versus Cal State Fullerton's Jon Smith (0-0, 0.00). Stanford's Brian Sager (0-0, 0.00) is scheduled to square off with Cal State Fullerton's Ronnie Corona (0-0, 0.00) on Sunday.