May 14, 2002
Reno, Nev. - Mike Hass (3-3, 2B, HR, 2 RBI) hit a two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to put Nevada (22-29) ahead for good and the Wolf Pack held on for a 13-12 victory over No. 7 Stanford (35-15) in a non-conference game at Peccole Park. The teams combined for 25 runs, 30 hits and 11 walks in the contest. Three other Nevada players - Taylor Pullins (3-5, 2B, HR, 4 RBI), Jeff Tolotti and Mike Gillies -- also homered for the Wolf Pack in a game that featured a combined seven homers by the two teams. Scott Dragicevich (3-4, 2B, HR, 3 RBI), Arik VanZandt (3-4, HR, 2 RBI, SB) and Carlos Quentin went deep for the Cardinal. Stanford's three home runs gives the club 68 for the season, surpassing their total of 67 hit in 2001.
Dragicevich extended his hitting streak to a season-high eight games.
Sam Fuld (3-5, RBI) posted his 10th multiple-hit game in the last 11 contests and his 16th in the last 18. Fuld is hitting .528 (38-72) over the 18-game stretch and increased his school record career batting average to .370. Chris O'Riordan (2-6, 2 2B) also had two hits for the Cardinal, while Brian Hall remained perfect on the basepaths with his 12th stolen base in as many attempts this season.
Tony Cappuccilli (3-4, 2 2B, RBI) and Chris Gimenez (3-5) added three hits each for Nevada.Bryan Johnson (5-4) picked up the victory by holding the Cardinal to two hits and an unearned run over the final 3.0 innings.
Ryan McCally (4-3) took the loss for Stanford after allowing his first home run of the season to Hass.
Stanford started the scoring with four runs in the top of the first inning when O'Riordan doubled to lead off the game and scored on an RBI single by Fuld to give the Cardinal a 1-0 lead after just two batters. Fuld scored later in the inning on a balk by Nevada starter George Moran. Dragicevich capped the rally with a two-out, two-RBI single to score Quentin and Hall.
Nevada answered by scoring two runs in the bottom of the first inning to cut Stanford's lead to 4-2. Chris Dickerson led off the inning with a walk and scored on an RBI double by Pullins. Cappuccilli followed two batters later with an RBI double to score Pullins before J.D. Willcox relieved starter Darin Naatjes and got the Cardinal out of a jam by retiring the next two batters.
The Wolf Pack tied the score at 4-4 in the bottom of the second on the first homer of the year by Pullins, a two-run shot with two outs over the left field fence. Nevada reloaded the bases before Drew Ehrlich relieved Willcox and enticed Craig Markel into a fielders choice to end the threat.
Stanford regained a 7-4 lead in the top of third, scoring three runs after Moran retired the first two batters. Quentin led off the rally with a mammoth solo homer to left field, his 10th of the year. Hall and Dragicevich then drew back-to-back walks before scoring on a bloop two-RBI double by Andy Topham that fell in front of a diving Dickerson in center field. Dickerson was injured on the play and removed from the game.
Nevada rallied for five runs in the bottom of the third to take a 9-7 lead, scoring all five runs with two outs. The Wolf Pack scored its first two runs of the inning on an RBI infield single by Pullins. Gimenez scored on the single and Ryan Strain came all the way around from second base on the play when Topham's throw from deep in the hole at shortstop skipped by VanZandt at first base. Gillies followed with a two-run homer, his eighth longball of the season. The Wolf Pack concluded its scoring for the inning when Cappuccilli restarted the rally with a single and eventually scored on a wild pitch by Mark Jecmen, the fourth of six Stanford pitchers used in the game.
Stanford picked up a run in the top of the fourth inning to cut the Wolfpack lead to 9-8. The Cardinal loaded the bases with no outs on a double by O'Riordan, a single by Fuld and a walk to Garko to chase Moran. Stanford scored a run when Nevada reliever Ryan Leake forced Jason Cooper into a double play before Quentin hit a comebacker to Leake to end the threat.
The Wolf Pack came back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to extend its lead to 11-8 on the eighth homer of the season by Jeff Tolotti, a two-run shot with two outs off the scoreboard in rightcenter field.
Stanford got both runs back in the top of the sixth to shrink the lead to 11-10. VanZandt led off the inning with a solo homer off the scoreboard, his fifth roundtripper of the season. The Cardinal reloaded the bases and scored another run on an RBI fielders choice by Quentin.Stanford tied the game 11-11 when Dragicevich led off the top of the seventh inning with a towering shot down the left field line, his third of the season, to chase Leake.
Nevada regained the lead for good on the two-run homer by Hass in the bottom of the seventh.
Stanford scored a run in the top of the ninth to make the final score 13-12 on a sacrifice fly by Arik VanZandt before Johnson retired O'Riordan on a fly ball to left field to end the game.
Stanford finished its regular season with a 6-2 record in non-conference midweek games.
Stanford will make its final road trip of the regular season with a three-game series at UCLA this Friday-Sunday, May 17-19 (6 pm, 1 pm, 1 pm, PDT). The Cardinal will then close out the regular season with a three-game home series versus Washington State next Friday-Sunday, May 24-26 (6 pm, 1 pm, 1 pm, PDT).