April 12, 2002
Stanford, Calif. - Sam Fuld singled down the left field line with one out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th inning to score Andy Topham and lift No. 2 Stanford (24-7, 3-1 Pac-10) to a dramatic 6-5 comeback victory over USC (19-15, 5-2 Pac-10) in a key Pac-10 conference game at Sunken Diamond on Friday. Fuld's game-winning single capped a two-run Stanford rally in the bottom of the 10th inning that was aided by a pair of USC errors as the Cardinal improved to 10-0 in series-openers this season. Stanford won its fifth straight game overall versus the Trojans dating back to last year and improved to 4-0 against USC this season. The Cardinal has also won 15 of its last 18 games overall and remains in third-place in the Pac-10 standings, one game behind first-place Arizona State (23-12, 7-3 Pac-10) and a half game behind the second-place Trojans, who lost for only the second time in their last nine outings.
"We are an experienced team and that definitely helps at the end of close games," said Fuld, as the Cardinal improved to 4-1 in extra-inning games this season after playing extra innings for the fifth time in the last 10 contests. "We know that we have a chance to win under any circumstances."
"This was a great game," added Stanford head coach Mark Marquess. "We kept chipping away with those three solo homers and finally found a way to win."
Stanford had three solo homers in the contest by Putnam in the second, Chris O'Riordan in the sixth and Chris Carter in the seventh. Ryan Garko (2-4, 2B), O'Riordan (2-4, HR, RBI), Putnam (2-5, HR, 2 RBI) and Topham (2-5) had two hits each as the Cardinal registered 13 hits, marking the 22nd time this season the team has had double-digit hits.
Michael Morales (2-4), Brian Barre (2-5, 2B, 2 RBI) and Michael Moon (2-5, RBI) had two hits each for the Trojans.
Stanford's rally in the bottom of the 10th inning started when Putnam reached on an error by Morales in left field to lead off the inning. Topham then beat out an infield single with one out to give the Cardinal runners on first and second base. Stanford then scored its first run when pinch-hitter Brian Hall hit a ball off the end of his bat just out of the reach of USC reliever Jon Williams. Putnam came around to score on the play when Williams overthrew first base in an attempt to throw out Hall. Chris O'Riordan was then intentionally walked to set up Fuld's game-winning hit off reliever Josh Rummonds.
USC had taken a 6-5 lead in the top of the 10th inning when Bill Peavey was walked with the bases loaded to score Barre. The Trojans rally started with two outs when Barre reached on a throwing error by Stanford catcher Donny Lucy, who singled as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the ninth and stayed in the game to catch. Michael Moon the singled Barry over to third base and the Trojans had the bases loaded on a walk to Joey Metropoulos. Peavey hit a ball over the fence down the right field line prior to drawing the bases loaded walk.
Stanford reliever Ryan McCally (3-0) earned the victory after relieving starter Jeremy Guthrie to begin the 10th inning. Guthrie tossed 9.0 innings, scattering six hits, four runs (three earned) and striking out eight. He received no decision as his 11-game win streak on the mound stayed alive.
Williams, the fourth Trojan pitcher of the evening, suffered the loss to fall to 4-2 overall. Williams gave up five hits and two runs (no earned runs) over 2.1 innings.
Both teams were victimized by three errors as four unearned runs were scored, two by each team.USC jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in the game.
The Trojans scored twice in the top of the first inning on a wild pitch by Guthrie and an error on Carter at first base.
Putnam's first collegiate homer cut the Trojan advantage to 2-1 in the bottom of the second before USC scored two more runs in the top of the fifth for a 4-1 lead. Morales led off the rally with a two-out single, stole second base and scored on a double by Barre. Moon followed with an RBI single to scored Barre.
The Cardinal tied the score with single runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. O'Riordan's solo blast in the bottom of the sixth, his sixth homer of the year, cut the USC lead to 4-2. Carter's shot over the left field wall in the bottom of the seventh brought Stanford to within 4-3 before a leadoff double by Jason Cooper and a one-out RBI single from Putnam in the bottom of the eighth tied the game at 4-4.
Stanford's Carlos Quentin had an eight-game hit streak snapped by going 0-for-4.
Stanford stranded 13 runners, while the Trojans left six on base.
The teams will continue their current three-game series on Saturday and Sunday with start times scheduled both days for 1:00 p.m. Saturday's contest will be televised by FOX Sports Net. Check your local listings for time of the broadcast.
Stanford needs just one victory in the final two games of the contest to extend its regular season series win streak to 12.
Saturday's scheduled starters are USC's Matt Chico (4-3, 5.24) versus Stanford's Tim Cunningham (5-1, 2.67).