April 1, 2000
Tempe, Ariz. - Jeff Phelps crushed a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning to key #7 Arizona State (27-8, 3-2 Pac-10) to a 10-6 comeback win over #2 Stanford (21-8, 3-2 Pac-10) in a Pac-10 baseball game at Packard Stadium on Saturday. The Sun Devils and Cardinal have now split the first two games of the series with the deciding game scheduled for Sunday (1:00 p.m.).
Stanford held a 6-5 lead until Phelps launched a 3-2 pitch from losing pitcher Jeff Bruksch (2-2) over the right field wall with one out in the bottom of the seventh to give the Sun Devils a 7-6 advantage. Arizona State added three insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth, the first two coming on Phil Downing's two-run homer. Arizona State's Eric Doble (3-1) shut the Cardinal out on only hit over the final 2.1 innings to earn the victory.
Stanford's John Gall broke the school's 10-year-old record for career runs batted in, passing former record holder Paul Carey (220 RBI, 1987-90) on a solo homer in the seventh inning. Gall, who now has 221 career RBI, finished the day 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBI. He also had a two-run single in the first and an RBI-single in the third. Chris O'Riordan (2-for-4, 2B, RBI) continued his hot hitting.
"I know it is a great accomplishment, and I take pride in it," said Gall in reference to his new school record. "However, I probably won't take much else from it until my career at Stanford is over."
"John Gall has been a great player for us throughout his career," said Stanford head coach Mark Marquess. "He deserves this record."
Casey Meyers (2-for-3, 2B), Dennis Wyrick (2-for-4), Mitch Jones (2-for-5, 2B) and Brooks Conrad (3 RBI) all assisted Phelps and Downing in the Sun Devils' offensive attack.
Stanford began today's game with a pair of runs in the top of the first inning on Gall's two-run single. The Sun Devils answered back with a run in the bottom of the first when Jones scored on a wild pitch. Phelps had struck out swinging at a ball in the dirt on the play but reached first base safely when the ball bounced all the way to the backstop.
The Cardinal increased its lead to 4-1 in the third inning. Gall singled to left centerfield with two outs and runners on first and second base. Gall was credited with one RBI and the Cardinal scored a second run on the play when ASU centerfielder Jeff Duncan misplayed the ball, allowing Joe Borchard to score all the way from first base.
Arizona State came right back to tie the score at 4-4 with three runs in their half of the fourth on a two-run single by Conrad and an RBI-double from Mike Lopez after two were out.Stanford scored single runs in the fifth and seventh innings on an RBI-single by O'Riordan and Gall's solo home run to regain a 6-4 lead prior to Arizona State's comeback.
Cardinal starter Jason Young allowed eight hits and six runs (five earned) in 6.0 innings.
The teams conclude their three-game series with Sunday's deciding game at 1:00 p.m.