May 24, 2002
Stanford, Calif. - No. 8 Stanford (38-16, 14-8 Pac-10) kept pace in the Pac-10 race with a 10-0 victory over Washington State (21-31, 6-16 Pac-10) in the opener of a three-game series before a crowd of 3867 at Sunken Diamond on Friday. Stanford remained 1.0 games behind first place USC (15-7 Pac-10) after the Trojans won 5-4 in 12 innings at UCLA. Washington (14-8 Pac-10) came from behind for a 7-3 win over Arizona to stay in a second place tie with the Cardinal. Arizona State (13-9 Pac-10) also stayed in contention, 2.0 games behind USC, with a 13-7 win over Oregon State.
"This was a great win with clutch hitting and another excellent performance by Jeremy Guthrie," said Stanford head coach Mark Marquess.
Guthrie, a candidate for National Player of the Year, improved his record to 10-1 and extended his consecutive scoreless inning streak to 19, scattering seven hits and striking out six in 7.0 scoreless frames to pick up the victory.
"It was great to be able to go out there with a big lead early," said Guthrie. "I was able to just go right after every hitter."
Sam Fuld (3-4, 2B, 4 RBI) continued his hot hitting with his 19th multiple-hit game in the last 22 contests and raised his season batting average to .390 in his attempt to become the first Stanford player since David McCarty (.420, 1991) to hit .400 in a season.
"I'm just trying to maintain the same swing and the same approach that I've had," said Fuld about the extended hot streak.
Jason Cooper (3-5, RBI) also had three hits for the Cardinal, while Ryan Garko hit his team-leading 14th homer and drove in three runs.
J.D. Willcox and Darin Naatjes pitched scoreless eighth and ninth innings to secure Stanford's third shutout of the season.
Chris Carter started the scoring when he led off the bottom of the first inning with a solo homer. The Cardinal added another run in the inning when Chris O'Riordan singled home Fuld to make the score 2-0.
Stanford picked up five runs in the bottom of the second inning to increase its lead to 7-0, marking the 23rd time this season the Cardinal has scored five or more runs in an inning. Fuld drove home the first two runs with a double before Garko's three-run homer off the batting eye beyond the center field fence.
The Cardinal added another run in the bottom of the sixth inning on an RBI single by Cooper before finishing the game's scoring with two runs in the bottom of the seventh on a two-RBI single by Fuld.
Washington State's biggest threat came in the top of the fourth when the Cougars put runners on second and third base before Guthrie got out of the jam on a comebacker by Jeff LaRue and a strikeout of Derek Bruce.
The Cougars also had a runner on third with one out in the top of the seventh before pinch-hitter Robert Stahlke lined into an inning-ending double play.
Wes Falkenborg (2-4, 2B) was the only Washington State player with more than one hit.
Washington State starter Eddie Bonine (8-8) picked up the loss, allowing seven runs (five earned) and five hits in 3.0 innings.
Stanford stranded 11 runners, while Washington State left six on base.
Stanford has now won 12 straight games over Washington State dating back to 1978. The Cardinal also improved to 22-4 at home this season.
Stanford and Washington State continue their three-game series on Saturday (1 pm, PDT) before concluding the regular season with Fan Appreciation/Stanford Senior Day on Sunday (1 pm, PDT).