March 23, 2002
Game 1 - Box Score
Game 2 - Box Score
Los Angeles, Calif. - Scott Dragicevich singled home Carlos Quentin in the top of the 11th inning with the eventual game-winning run to cap a sweep for No. 1 Stanford (16-5) over USC (12-12) in a non-conference doubleheader at Dedeaux Field on Saturday. Stanford picked up a 12-10 victory in 11 innings in the nightcap after Arik VanZandt singled home Dragicevich with an insurance run. The Cardinal won the opener, 9-6, after coming back from a 5-0 deficit after the first two innings. The sweep assures Stanford of its ninth consecutive regular season series victory dating back to last season.
Jeremy Guthrie (6-0) picked up the victory in the opener to extend his win streak on the mound to 11 straight decisions, scattering eight hits and six runs (three earned) with six strikeouts over the first 6.0 innings. Jason Cooper was 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI in the first game, before going 2-for-4 with two RBI in the second game to extend his career-high hit streak to 13 games. VanZandt had the only home run of the day for either team, his first of the season and a two-run shot to key a five-run Cardinal rally in the sixth inning of the first game.
USC jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first game, scoring four times in the bottom of the first and once more in the second.
Brian Barre led off the Trojan first with a double, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Kris Cox and scored on a passed ball for the first USC run. Joey Metropoulos had an RBI single later in the inning before Michael Moon closed out the scoring with a two-out, two-RBI single.
The Trojans added to their lead in the bottom of the second when Barre again doubled to lead off the inning, moved to third on another sacrifice bunt by Cox and scored on an RBI single from Bill Peavey.
Stanford cut the lead to 4-3 with three runs in the top of the third inning on an RBI single by Chris O'Riordan and a two-RBI double from Ryan Garko.
The Cardinal took the lead for good by scoring five times in the top of the sixth inning, marking the 13th time Stanford has scored five or more runs in an inning during the first 20 games this season. Stanford loaded the bases with one out off Trojan starter and losing pitcher Matt Chico (3-2) before he was relieved by Bret Butler, who struck out Dragicevich for the second out before balking in a run to make the score 5-4. Brian Hall followed with a clutch two-out, two RBI double to put Stanford ahead 6-5 and VanZandt hit his two-run homer to extend the lead to 8-5.
Stanford added an insurance run in the top of the seventh when Sam Fuld singled to lead off the inning, moved to second on a wild pitch and third on a groundout before scoring on an RBI double by Cooper.
USC threatened in the bottom of the seventh before Cardinal reliever Dan Rich came on in relief of Guthrie to close the door. The Trojans loaded the bases with no outs off Guthrie on a walk to pinch-hitter Mark McCauley, a double by Barre and a walk to Cox. Rich, who picked up his first save of the season with 3.0 innings of two-hit scoreless pitching with three strikeouts, retired all three batters he faced with the tying run at the plate. USC did pick up one run, which was charged to Guthrie, on a wild pitch by Rich.
VanZandt (2-4, HR, 2 RBI), Quentin (2-4) and Cooper (2-5, 2B, RBI) had two hits each for the Cardinal, while Garko and Hall both had a double and two RBI.
Barre was 3-for-3 with three doubles to lead the Trojans, while Moon was 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI.
In the nightcap, Stanford held on for a wild 12-10 victory in 11 innings that clocked in as the longest Cardinal game of the season at four hours and 25 minutes.
The Cardinal jumped out to a 7-0 lead after three and a half innings. Stanford scored twice in the top of the first on a two-RBI single by Chris Carter and then picked up a pair of unearned runs in the top of the second frame when VanZandt reached on an error with one out, stole second and scored on an RBI double by O'Riordan. Garko followed with an RBI single to score O'Riordan. The Cardinal scored three more runs in the top of the fourth on an RBI double by Sam Fuld and a two-RBI single from Cooper.
USC began to battle back with three runs in the bottom of the fourth on a two-RBI double by Metropoulos and an RBI single from Michael Morales.
Stanford extended its lead to 9-3 with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth on an RBI triple by VanZandt and an RBI single from O'Riordan.
USC would score another three runs in the bottom of the sixth to cut the Cardinal lead to 9-6 when Cooper misplayed a single by Nick Mosich in left field, allowing three Trojans to score.Stanford answered back with a run in the top of the sixth when Garko singled to lead off the inning and eventually scored on a two-out RBI single from Donny Lucy.
USC crept closer with a run in bottom of the sixth on a sacrifice fly by pinch-hitter Matt Bonovich before scoring three runs in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game at 10-10. Mosich led off the three-run rally with a single before walks to Travis McAndrews and Cox loaded the bases with one out. Bonovich singled home a run to cut the lead to 10-8 before the final two runs scored on a bases loaded walk to pinch hitter Matt Chico (USC's starting pitcher in the first game) and a sacrifice fly by Barre.
The Trojans had an opportunity to win the game in the bottom of the ninth when Alberto Concepcion led off the inning with a double and moved to third on a bunt single by Mosich with no outs. Stanford reliever Ryan McCally was able to retire McAndrews on a pop out before intentionally walking Peavey to load the bases with one out. McCally then struck out Cox and retired Bonovich on a fielders choice to retire the side.
Both teams went quietly in the 10th except for a leadoff single by O'Riordan.
Quentin started Stanford's 11th-inning rally with a leadoff single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Hall before Lucy went down on strikes for the second out. Dragicevich then followed with his game-winning single and VanZandt singled home Dragicevich for an insurance run.
The Trojans loaded the bases again in the bottom of the 11th with one out on a pair of singlesby Moon and Peavey, as well as an error by Dragicevich at shortstop. However, McCally retired Cox and Bonovich to end the game with the tying run on second base.
Every Cardinal starter had at least one of the team's 19 hits and seven players had multiple-hit games, led by O'Riordan (3-5, 2B, 2 RBI) and Garko (3-4, RBI) with three hits each. Cooper (2-4, 2 RBI), VanZandt (2-5, 3B, 2 RBI, SB), Dragicevich (2-6, RBI), Lucy (2-6, RBI) and Fuld (2-7, 2 2B) had two hits each, while Carter had a pair of RBI.
Mosich was 4-for-4 to lead USC's offense, while Peavey (2-4) had the Trojans' other two-hit game. Metropoulos had a double and two RBI, while Bonovich also had a pair of RBI.
McCally (1-0) picked up his first victory of the season for the Cardinal, holding the Trojans scoreless on four hits and striking out five over the final 3.1 innings. Cory Campos (0-1) took the loss despite striking out six batters and only giving up one earned run (two total) over the final 4.0 innings.
Stanford and USC will conclude their three-game non-conference series with a single game on Sunday at Dedeaux Field (1 pm, PT).