March 30, 2002
Stanford, Calif. - John Hudgins tossed his first career complete game and the first of the season for Stanford (19-6) to lead the Cardinal to a 7-2 victory over No. 16 Texas (25-8) in the rubber game of a three-game non-conference series on Saturday. Hudgins improved to 5-0 and won his fourth consecutive start. The win extended Stanford's regular season series win streak to 10 in a row as the Cardinal also won for the sixth time in the last seven games overall. Sam Fuld (3-5, 2B, 2 RBI) led the Stanford offense, while Ryan Garko and Carlos Quentin had two RBI each. Jeff Ontiveros (2-4, HR, 2 RBI) hit his 43rd career homer, a solo shot in the seventh, to tie the all-time Texas record.
The game was played in front of a season-high crowd of 3,280 at Sunken Diamond.
"John Hudgins gave us a very impressive outing," said Stanford head coach Mark Marquess. "He has given us four straight quality starts and helped us solidify our third starting spot."
"It felt really good to get my first collegiate complete game," said Hudgins, who allowed just five hits and two runs with seven strikeouts. "I just tried to take it one pitch at a time, and it all came together. The four-run lead in the first inning gave me a little peace of mind."
Stanford jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning off Texas starter and losing pitcher Ray Clark (3-3), who allowed five runs and six hits in 4.0 innings. Garko drove in the first Cardinal run with an RBI single before Quentin followed with a two-run double to give the Cardinal a 3-0 advantage. Chris Carter closed out the Stanford rally with an RBI single to drive in Quentin.
Texas got on the scoreboard with a run in the top of the fourth. Omar Quintanilla walked with one out, moved to third on a single by Dustin Majewski and scored on an RBI single by Ontiveros.
Stanford picked up another run in the bottom of the fifth when Chris O'Riordan extended his hit streak to 10 games with a leadoff double and scored on an RBI single from Fuld to chase Clark.
The Cardinal scored two more runs in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single by Fuld and a sacrifice fly from Garko.
Texas picked up its final run on the solo homer by Ontiveros to lead off the top of the seventh.
Stanford stranded 12 runners, while Texas left four on base.
Stanford will make its final preparation for Pac-10 play by hosting USF on Tuesday, April 2 (6 pm, PT). The Cardinal opens Pac-10 action with a three-game series at Arizona next Friday-Sunday, April 5-7 (7 pm, 1 pm, 1 pm, MT).