March 8, 2002
Berkeley, Calif. - No. 1 Stanford (13-4) scored 15 runs in the seventh and eighth innings to rally for a 15-4 victory over California (12-8) in the opener of a three-game non-conference series at Evans Diamond on Friday. Jason Cooper (5-5, 2 HR, 4 RBI) had the first two-homer game of his career and also had a career-high five hits to lead Stanford's 17-hit attack. Jeremy Guthrie (5-0) picked up his 10th consecutive win on the mound dating back to last season, scattering five hits and four runs with six strikeouts over the first 7.0 innings. Stanford extended its season-high win streak to five games and tied a season-high with four homers as Ryan Garko and Carlos Quentin also went deep.
"It's always neat to get a bunch of hits in one game, especially when you can get a couple of big ones," said Cooper.
"Jason Cooper is a better hitter this year," added Stanford head coach Mark Marquess. "Today was an unbelievable day for him. He's really swinging the bat well."
Stanford scored seven runs in the top of the seventh inning to erase a 4-0 California lead. Chris O'Riordan singled to lead off the rally and Sam Fuld reached when California second baseman Carson White made an error on a possible double play ball. Garko followed with a three-run homer to put the Cardinal on the board and cut California's lead to 4-3. Cooper tied the score at 4-4 when he hit a tape-measure homer to right field before Quentin hit a two-run homer to give Stanford its first lead of the game at 6-4 and chase California starter Trevor Hutchinson. Stanford scored its final run of the inning on an RBI single by Fuld.
Stanford then added eight more runs in the top of the eighth inning, leading off the frame with six consecutive hits. Cooper led off the rally with a single and scored on an RBI triple by Brian Hall. Danny Putnam and Quentin followed with back-to-back RBI doubles to give the Cardinal a 10-4 advantage. Arik VanZandt and O'Riordan each drove in a run on an RBI single and a sacrifice fly, respectively, before Cooper finished the inning with a three-run homer.
"This was an interesting game," commented Marquess. "We couldn't anything going at first and then we were able to erupt for a couple of big innings."
Stanford has now scored five or more runs in an inning 12 times this season.
California had led 4-0 after six innings as Hutchinson dominated the Cardinal lineup by facing the minimum number of batters heading into the seventh. The Cardinal did manage three hits in the first six innings but had the baserunners erased on two double plays and a caught stealing.The Golden Bears scored four times off Guthrie in the bottom of the fourth. Ben Conley hit his first home run of the season, a three-run shot off the left field foul pole, for the final three runs of the inning. California had snapped a scoreless tie earlier in the inning on a hit batsmen, a double by Brad Horwitz and a passed ball.
Cooper raised his season batting average to .475 and extended his career-long hit streak to nine games as he is hitting .543 (19-35) with four doubles, three homers and 15 RBI during the stretch.
Garko (2-5, HR, 3 RBI) extended his hit streak to a season-high 10 games, while Quentin (2-4, 2B, HR, 3 RBI), Scott Dragicevich (2-4) and Sam Fuld (2-5, RBI) also had two hits each for the Cardinal. Stanford reached double digits in hits for the 15th time in 17 games this season and raised its team batting average to .351, on pace to crush the school-record of .337. The Cardinal is averaging 9.3 runs per game and has scored 54 runs in its last three contests.
Horwitz (2-4, 2B) was the only California player with more than one hit as the Golden Bears were limited to six hits. Conley contributed his homer and three RBI.
Hutchinson (4-2) was tagged with the loss, allowing six runs (five earned) and seven hits in 6.1 innings.
Stanford relievers Ryan McCally and Darin Naatjes held the Golden Bears scoreless in the final two innings to preserve the Cardinal victory.
Stanford remained perfect in Friday series-openers with a 6-0 mark.
Stanford and California will continue the three-game non-conference series on Saturday and Sunday with 1:00 p.m. starts scheduled both days. Stanford can extend its series winning streak to eight with a victory in either game.