April 22, 2003
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Tue., April 22, 2:30 pm (at SAC) - TBA vs. RHP Chris Kinsey (5-3, 3.15)
*Fri., April 25, 6 pm (vs. ARIZ) - RHP Richie Gardner (6-1, 3.63) vs. RHP John Hudgins (6-2, 3.00)
Sat., April 26, 1 pm (vs. ARIZ) - RHP Sean Rierson (7-1, 4.50) vs. TBA
Sat., April 27, 1 pm (vs. ARIZ) - TBA vs. TBA
*Televised by College Sports Television Network (CSTV)
All four Stanford Baseball games this week are scheduled to be broadcast on the air at KZSU (90.1 FM) as well as online at gostanford.com ... Nick Kapur and Toby Hyde will be on the microphones for Tuesday's game at Sacramento State ... Chad Goldberg and Sam Stefanki will call the action versus Arizona ... A Gametracker with live stats for all three games versus Arizona will also be available from a link at gostanford.com ... There will be no Gametracker for the Sacramento State game.
STANFORD BASEBALL QUICK TEAM NOTES
Stanford has won eight straight series, eight of its last nine and 23 of its last 29 games overall ... Stanford (9-3 Pac-10) holds a two-game lead over Arizona and Arizona State (both 7-5 Pac-10) in the conference standings ... Stanford has won 16 career Pac-10 championships (includes Southern Division and shared titles) and finished either first or second in the conference 20 times in the last 22 years ... Stanford maintained its No. 4 ranking in the latest Baseball America poll released April 21 for the fourth straight week and is also ranked No. 3 by Collegiate Baseball, as well as No. 4 by the NCBWA and No. 6 by Sports Weekly/ESPN ... The Cardinal has won six straight road games and is also 17-8 in non-conference games this year ... Stanford has reached double-digits in hits in 18 of its last 21 games and is hitting .321 (#3 Pac-10) as a team, which would rank third on the school's all-time single-season list ... The Cardinal has also averaged 8.9 runs per contest over the 21-game stretch ... Stanford's pitching staff has moved up a spot to second in the Pac-10 with a 4.16 ERA and has held its opponents to a Pac-10 low .246 batting average ... Stanford is 46-10 at Sunken Diamond over the past two seasons and 17-6 this year ... Stanford is looking to extend its school record of consecutive appearances at the College World Series to five.
STANFORD BASEBALL QUICK INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Carlos Quentin has a current career-high 25-game hit streak (.485, 48-99) and leads the club in batting average (.426) ... Quentin is just .004 points off Stanford's single season record of .430 set by Tom Williams in 1971 and is attempting to become the first Stanford player to hit .400 or better since David McCarty finished the 1991 season with a .420 mark ... Quentin is also within 12 games of Jeffrey Hammonds' school-record 37-game hit streak in 1990 ... Quentin also paces the team in hits (60), doubles (19), walks (26), hit-by-pitches (9), extra-base hits (24) and on-base percentage (.534) ... Ryan Garko is the team's leader in homers (9) and RBI (48) ... John Hudgins (7-2, 2.90) leads the conference and the team in innings pitched (90.0) and strikeouts (88) ... Mark Romanczuk (8-0) leads the Pac-10 in victories and was recently named Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week (4/20) ... Danny Putnam had 10 RBI in the recent three-game series versus Oregon State, while Donny Lucy has a current career-high-tying seven-game hit streak (.385, 10-26).
STANFORD-SACRAMENTO STATE AND STANFORD-ARIZONA SERIES HISTORY
Stanford holds an all-time 15-9 lead versus Sacramento State. Stanford has already won the first meeting between the teams this season, 9-1, on April 11 at Sunken Diamond. Stanford has won two in a row overall in the series but Sacramento State won 12-3 the last time the teams played in Sacramento at Raley Field on May 2, 2001. Stanford leads Arizona in the all-time series, 90-50. Last year, Stanford won two-of-three in Tucson (April 5-7; W, 5-4 in 18 inn.; W, 19-1; L, 13-15). Stanford also won two-of-three the last time the teams played at Sunken Diamond (May 11-13, 2001; W, 6-5, L, 4-5; W, 8-2).
TUESDAY ... TBA
FRIDAY ... #17 - JOHN HUDGINS (R/R, 6-2, 200, Jr.) ... PLAYER OF THE YEAR/ALL-AMERICAN CANDIDATE
2003 Season Notes: Leads the team and the Pac-10 with 88 strikeouts, 90.0 innings pitched, 12 starts, 30 strikeouts looking and a .230 opponents batting average ... Has posted a 7-2 record and a 2.90 ERA with three complete games, lasting at least 7.0 innings in each and 7.0 or more on eight occasions ... 2003 Individual Game Highlights: Tossed his third complete game of the season in his most recent outing versus Oregon State (4/17), allowing just two runs and six hits with 10 strikeouts ... Pitched 8.0 scoreless two-hit innings and struck out a career-high 11 batters in his most recent start to lead Stanford to a 9-1 win over Sacramento State (4/11) ... Recorded his second complete game of the season to earn a win in a 6-1 victory at Washington State (4/4), scattering seven hits and giving up only one run with six strikeouts ... Suffered a loss in Stanford's 5-3 defeat to Washington (3/28), allowing three runs and eight hits over the first 7.0 innings ... Received no-decision in a Pac-10 opening 7-6, 11-inning loss at Arizona State (3/22), scattering four runs and six hits over the first 6.0 innings ... Tossed his first complete game of the season versus California (3/7), allowing just two runs and seven hits with nine strikeouts in an 11-2 Stanford win ... Suffered his first loss of the season versus USC (2/28), giving up eight runs (six earned) and nine hits with six strikeouts over the first 6.0 innings ... Scattered four runs and seven hits with eight strikeouts in 7.0 innings to earn the victory in an 11-7 win at Texas (2/22 - Game 1) ... Took a no-hitter into the eighth inning and earned a win in a 4-1 victory over Fresno State (2/14), allowing just three hits and one run with nine strikeouts over 8.0 innings ... Earned his first career Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week honors (2/11) after holding Florida State to one run and six hits with 10 strikeouts over the first 9.0 innings of Stanford's 12-inning, 2-1 victory (2/7) ... Picked up a no-decision at Cal State Fullerton (1/31) by scattering 10 hits and three runs over the first 6.0 innings before leaving an eventual 7-3 loss with the score tied 3-3 ... Limited Santa Clara to two runs and five hits with six strikeouts over 6.0 innings in his first start of 2003 to pick up a victory (1/25) ... Career Notes: The only active Stanford pitcher with a shutout to his credit ... Leads active Stanford pitchers in career complete games (6) and strikeouts (200), while ranking second in career victories (18), innings pitched (241.1), saves (4) and games started (30) ... Third among active pitchers with 55 appearances ... Has a 18-8 career record and a 3.95 ERA ... Finished the 2002 season with a 10-1 overall record to rank tied for fourth on Stanford's all-time single season won-loss percentage list (.909) ... Earned honorable mention All-Pac-10 honors in 2002 while also ranking third on the club in both innings pitched (105.0) and strikeouts (62).
SATURDAY ... TBA
SUNDAY ... TBA
at Stanford 9, Sacramento State 1 (April 11, 2003)
John Hudgins pitched 8.0 scoreless two-hit innings and struck out a career-high 11 batters to lead Stanford to its fifth straight win with a 9-1 victory over Sacramento State in a non-conference game. Hudgins retired 20 of the final 22 batters he faced and did not allow a hit over his final 6.0 innings before he was relieved by Kodiak Quick to begin the ninth inning. Ryan Garko (3-4, 2 RBI) had three hits to extend his season-long hit streak to 10 games, while Carlos Quentin's fifth inning single kept his career-best hit streak alive at 21 games. Danny Putnam (2-3, HR, 2 RBI) hit the game's only homer and drove in a pair of runs for the Cardinal.
Sam Fuld (2-3, 2B, SB), Tobin Swope (2-3, RBI) and Brian Hall (2-4, RBI) each added two of Stanford's 13 hits as the Cardinal reached double digits in hits for the 16th time in the last 17 games. Donny Lucy also had two RBI.
All three of Sacramento State's hits were singles and the Hornets did not have a player with more than one hit.
Sacramento State starter Steve Cuckovich (5-2) suffered the loss, allowing six runs on six hits and five walks over the first 4.0 innings.
LAST WEEK'S GAME REVIEWSat Stanford 4, San Jose State 2 (April 15, 2003)
Brian Hall (2-3, 2 2B, 3 RBI) doubled twice with two outs and drove in three runs to lead Stanford to its sixth straight win with a 4-2 non-conference victory over San Jose State at Sunken Diamond on Tuesday. Stanford's six-game win streak equals a season-best. Stanford starter Mark Romanczuk (7-0) was credited with his team-leading seventh victory by tossing 2.0 scoreless innings as the first of five Stanford pitchers who allowed just two runs, five hits, one walk and one hit batsmen. David O'Hagan pitched the final 1.1 innings and picked up his third save of the season after getting the Cardinal out of an eighth inning jam and pitching a scoreless ninth. Jonny Dyer had an impressive relief stint by retiring all nine batters he faced in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings.
San Jose State starter Matthew Winck (1-2) suffered the loss and David Pierson (2-3, 2B) was the only Spartan with more than one hit. San Jose State's Aaron Bates hit the game's only home run a long solo shot over the left field wall in the top of the fourth.
at Stanford 5, Oregon State 2 (April 17, 2003)
Stanford extended its lead in the Pac-10 standings to two games and won its season-best seventh in a row with a 5-2 victory over Oregon State. John Hudgins (7-2) pitched his third complete game of the season and the second in his last three outings, allowing just two runs and six hits while striking out 10. Donny Lucy (3-4, 2B, HR, RBI) blasted his first homer of the season and tied a career-high with three hits, while Carlos Quentin extended his career-best hit streak to 23 games with his team-leading 18th double of the season in the fifth inning.
Hudgins did not give up a run after the fourth inning and held the Beavers to just two hits over his final 5.2 innings of work and retired 17 of the final 20 batters he faced with seven strikeouts during the stretch. He is now tied for the Pac-10 lead with seven victories and continues to pace the conference in both strikeouts (88) and innings pitched (90.0).
Oregon State starter Ben Rowe (3-4) suffered the loss despite pitching his first complete game of the season and limiting the Cardinal to five runs and eight hits.
Oregon State's Chris Biles (2-3, 2 2B) was the only player for either team other than Lucy with two or more hits.
Stanford's errorless game was its second in a row and 12th of the season.
Oregon State 8, at Stanford 7 (April 18, 2003)
Oregon State snapped a season-best seven-game win streak for No. 4 Stanford with an 8-7 Pac-10 victory over the Cardinal. The Beavers jumped out to a 6-0 lead after two innings in a game the Cardinal never led. Stanford's Carlos Quentin (3-5, SB) did extend his career-high hit streak to 24 games and raised his season batting average to .420 with a three-hit game. Andy Jarvis (3-5, HR, 2 RBI) and Tony Calderon (3-5, 3 RBI) each had three hits for the Beavers, while Seth Pietsch was 2-for-4 and scored three runs.
Jarvis' homer was a solo shot in the top of the eighth inning extended Oregon State's 7-6 lead into a two-run advantage, providing an insurance run that the Beavers would need when Stanford scored once in the bottom of the ninth before Oregon State reliever and winning pitcher Nathan Pendley (1-2) retired Tobin Swope on a fly out to right field to end the game. Pendley (1-2) earned his first victory at Oregon State as the Beavers' third pitcher, scattering one run and three hits with three strikeouts over the final 2.1 innings.
Danny Putnam (3-3, 2B, 4 RBI) drove in four runs and matched Quentin's three hits for the Cardinal, while Ryan Garko (2-3, 2B) and Brian Hall (2-5) each had a pair of hits. Garko also tied his career-high with four runs scored.
Stanford starter Ryan McCally (3-2) suffered the loss, allowing five runs and seven hits over 1.2 frames.
at Stanford 10, Oregon State 0 (April 19, 2003)
Danny Putnam (2-4, 2 HR, 5 RBI) homered twice and drove in five runs, while freshmen Mark Romanczuk and Matt Manship combined on a two-hit shutout to lift Stanford to a 10-0 win over Oregon State in the rubber game between the schools. The win gave Stanford eight consecutive series, 15 straight Pac-10 home series and five overall home series victories in a row.
Stanford scored three times in the bottom of the first on Putnam's three-run blast and then put up a seven-spot in the bottom of the sixth inning as Putnam hit a two-run homer to highlight the rally. The seven runs equaled Stanford's most in an inning in 2003.
Stanford's Carlos Quentin (2-3, 2B, RBI) extended his hit streak to 25 games and raised his season batting average to .426. Quentin, who is hitting .485 (48-99) during the 25-game streak, is now 12 games shy of the school record 37-game hit streak set by current Milwaukee Brewers' outfielder Jeffrey Hammonds in 1990 and is attempting to become the first Stanford player to hit .400 or better in a season since David McCarty batted .420 in 1991.
Romanczuk gave up just two hits and struck out a career-high nine batters in 7.2 innings of work. Manship retired all four batters he faced to complete Stanford's shutout of the season. Manship also finished Stanford's other shutout, a 5-0 victory over Santa Clara on January 26.
Jonny Ash (2-3, 2B) and Donny Lucy (2-4, SB) each had two hits for the Cardinal, while Tobin Swope drove in a pair of runs. Lucy extended his hit streak to a career-high-tying seven games.
Oregon State starter Stephen Copeland suffered the loss, allowing eight runs (seven earned) and seven hits over the first 5.1 innings.
Levi Webber's fourth inning single and Aaron Matthews' sixth inning single were the only hits for Oregon State.
NOTEBOOKSTANFORD STAYS AT NO. 4 IN LATEST BASEBALL AMERICA POLL
Stanford stayed at No. 4 for the fourth consecutive week in the latest Baseball America poll released April 21. The Cardinal moved up one spot in the latest Collegiate Baseball (No. 3), NCBWA (No. 4) and Sports Weekly/ESPN (No. 6) polls. Cal State Fullerton (Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball) is the new No. 1 team in two of the four polls, while Florida State becomes the No. 1 club in the NCBWA and Sports Weekly/ESPN polls. Rice, the nation's unanimous No. 1 team for the four previous weeks, fell out of the top spot in all four polls after losing three-of-five games last week. Stanford began the 2003 season ranked as high as No. 3 in the preseason Baseball America poll. Stanford has been ranked No. 1 at one point during each of the past six years (1997-2002) prior to this season. Stanford's poll history includes a run as "king of the polls" in 1998 when the team held the top spot in the Baseball America poll for the entire regular season (a record 14 consecutive weeks). Stanford has already played 18 games against teams ranked in Baseball America's top 25 at the time of the contest and 12 games versus teams currently ranked in the top 11 (No. 1 Cal State Fullerton, No. 2 Florida State, No. 9 Texas, No. 11 Arizona State).
STANFORD SERIES WIN STREAK REACHES EIGHT
Stanford's series win streak reached eight after the Cardinal took 2-of-3 over Oregon State last Thursday-Saturday. Stanford has also 15 straight Pac-10 home series with USC being the last team to defeat the Cardinal in a Pac-10 series at Sunken Diamond when the Trojans won two-of-three from April 16-18, 1999. Stanford's series win streak started versus Fresno State (2/14 - 2/16, sweep) and has continued against Texas (2/22 - 2/23, 2-of-3), USC (2/28 - 3/2, 2-of-3), California (3/7 - 3/9, sweep), Arizona State (3/22 - 3/24, 2-of-3), Washington (3/28 - 3/30, 2-of-3), Washington State (4/4 - 4/7, sweep) and Oregon State (4/17 - 4/19, 2-of-3). The Cardinal has had to come back to win the final two games of the series three times (USC, Arizona State, Washington) after dropping series openers and picked up the rubber game victory against Oregon State to keep the streak going. The sweep over Washington State was the first in Pac-10 action this season and remains only one of two in the first five weeks of Pac-10 plays. Stanford has won 42 of its last 48 regular season series overall and had series previous win streaks of 17 (broken in 2001) and 12 (broken in 2002) during the period. Stanford has also won eight of its last nine games, six in a row on the road and 23 of 29 overall. Stanford had a season-high seven-game win streak snapped by Oregon State on April 18.
TOP OF THE PAC
Stanford currently sits in sole possession of first place in the Pac-10 standings by two games with a 9-3 conference record at the halfway point of the team's conference schedule. Stanford is two games ahead of both Arizona and Arizona State (7-5 Pac-10). Stanford has already won two-of-three versus Arizona State and will host Arizona this Friday-Sunday, April 25-27. Stanford has won a total of 18 conference championships in school history, including 16 Pac-10 crowns (includes Southern Division and shared titles). Stanford's last Pac-10 championship came in 2000 when the team finished in a three-way tie for the conference title with Arizona State and UCLA. Stanford has finished second in the conference behind two-time defending league champion USC each of the last two years and has been among the top two in the conference standings (includes Pac-10 Southern Division) for nine straight seasons and 20 times in the last 22 years.
STANFORD'S OFFENSIVE SURGE CONTINUES
Stanford's offensive surge has continued of late to give the team a current .321 batting average. Stanford has reached double-digit hits in 18 of its last 21 games for a .347 batting average during the stretch. The Cardinal has also scored 186 runs in those 21 games for an 8.9 run per game average. On the season, the Cardinal is scoring runs at a clip of 7.1 per game.
CARLOS QUENTIN MAKING RUN AT BATTING AVERAGE RECORD, HIT STREAK AT 25
Carlos Quentin continues his run at Stanford's single-season batting average and has run his career-high hit streak to 25 games. Quentin's current .426 (#2 Pac-10) season mark is just .004 points off the school record of .430 set by Tom Williams in 1972. Quentin is also attempting to become the first Stanford player to hit .400 or better since David McCarty hit .420 in 1991. Quentin has extended his career-high hit streak to 25 and is within 12 games of the Stanford record of 37 set by current major leaguer Jeffrey Hammonds of the Milwaukee Brewers as a freshman in 1990. Quentin is hitting a team-high .485 (48-99) with 17 doubles, one triple, four homers, 28 RBI and seven stolen bases during his 25-game hit streak. On the season, Quentin also leads the Cardinal in hits (60, #7 Pac-10), doubles (19, #2 Pac-10), walks (26, #6 Pac-10), hit-by-pitches (9, #5T Pac-10), extra-base hits (24) and on-base percentage (.534, #2T Pac-10). Quentin had a career night to lead Stanford to a 17-8 win at Santa Clara (4/8), hitting hit his first career grandslam and homering twice for the second time in his career, while setting new career-highs with six RBI and six runs scored.
RYAN GARKO LEADS TEAM IN HOMERS AND RBI, SECOND IN BATTING AVERAGE
Ryan Garko continues to lead the team in homers (9, #6T Pac-10) and RBI (48, #3 Pac-10), while ranking second on the club in batting average (.381, #8T Pac-10). Garko has hit safely in 13 of his last 14 games with a .441 batting average (30-68), seven doubles, five homers and 23 RBI during the stretch. Garko has also driven in at least one run in 14 of the 17 games. He started the stretch in the series finale at Arizona State (3/24) by going 4-for-4 (career-high-tying four hits) with a key two-run homer in the eighth inning and three RBI. Garko has also twice driven in a career-high-tying four runs during the run versus Washington (3/30) and at Washington State (4/5), going deep twice for the second time in his career against the Cougars. In addition, he tied a career-high four runs scored versus Oregon State (4/18). He has 46 RBI in the team's last 30 games, while leading the club in both multiple-hit games (18) and multiple-RBI games (15).
JOHN HUDGINS LEADS PAC-10 IN FIVE CATEGORIES
John Hudgins (7-2, 2.90) leads the Pac-10 in innings pitched (90.0), strikeouts (88), strikeouts looking (30), starts (12) and opponents batting average (.230). He has three of Stanford's five complete games this season, including two in his last three outings. Hudgins has lasted at least 6.0 innings in each of his 12 starts and has gone 7.0 or more innings eight times. In his most recent start, he tossed his third complete game in a 5-2 win versus Oregon State and struck out 10 batters while scattering two runs and six hits. In his previous start, he pitched 8.0 scoreless two-hit innings and struck out a career-high 11 in a 9-1 win over Sacramento State (4/11). Hudgins also has complete game victories this season at Washington State (4/4) and versus California (3/7). In addition, Hudgins also carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning in a 4-1 win versus Fresno State (2/14) and earned Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week honors (2/11) after holding Florida State (2/7) to just one run and six hits with 10 strikeouts over the first 9.0 innings of a game Stanford eventually won, 2-1 in 12 innings.
MARK ROMANCZUK NAMED PITCHER OF THE WEEK, LEADS PAC-10 IN WINS
Mark Romanczuk is the co-Pac-10 leader and paces the club in victories with a perfect 8-0 record. Romanczuk was named the Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week for the second time in his career on April 20 after picking up a pair of victories and pitching 9.2 scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts last week. Romanczuk tossed 2.0 scoreless one-hit innings with three strikeouts versus San Jose State (4/15) before pitching 7.2 scoreless innings and striking out a career-high nine while combining with Matt Manship on Stanford's second shutout win of the season in a 10-0 victory over Oregon State (4/19). Romanczuk has recorded a 3.57 ERA this year and added two saves with 46 strikeouts in 53.0 innings. Romanczuk won three games coming out of the bullpen before making his first career start versus USC (3/2). He won his first three starts before picking up no-decisions but returned to the win column in his two starts last week.
DANNY PUTNAM HAS BIG SERIES VERSUS OREGON STATE
Danny Putnam drove in 10 runs in a three-game series versus Oregon State last Thursday-Saturday, while hitting a pair of homers and going 6-for-11 (545) with a 1.182 slugging percentage and a .615 on-base percentage. Putnam combined for nine RBI in the final two games of the series. In Saturday's finale, he hit a pair of homers for the second time in his career and drove in five. On Friday, he was 3-for-3 with a double and four RBI. On the season, Putnam ranks second on the club in homers (8) and RBI (35), as well as third in batting average (.374).
SAM FULD FOURTH ON ALL-TIME BATTING AVERAGE LIST
Sam Fuld currently sits in fourth place on the school's all-time batting average list (.357, 245-685). Fuld began the 2003 campaign on top of Stanford's career batting average list (.367) but lost .017 points off his career down to .350 by hitting .217 (15-69) over the first 16 games this season before raising his career mark back to its current .357 by hitting safely in 19 of his last 21 games (.402, 39-97). Fuld is also Stanford's active career leader in hits (245), runs scored (164), at bats (686) and triples (11).
ACTIVE PLAYERS IN THE SCHOOL RECORD BOOK
Following is a list of all active Stanford players in the school's record book ...
Individual Career Records: Batting Average - Sam Fuld (.357, 4th); Saves - Ryan McCally (12, 7th-T); Doubles - Ryan Garko (49, 9th-T)
Individual Season Records: Hits - Sam Fuld (110, 2002, 1st); Hit-by-Pitch - Carlos Quentin (19, 2002, 1st-T; 14, 2001, 9th-T), Ryan Garko (16, 2002, 5th-T); At Bats - Sam Fuld (293, 2002, 4th); Won-Loss Percentage - John Hudgins (.909, 2002, 10-1, 4th-T); Saves - Ryan McCally (7, 2002, 9th-T)
FRIENDLY CONFINES
Stanford has posted a 46-10 record at home over the past two seasons, including a 17-6 mark this year. The Cardinal also has won 15 consecutive Pac-10 home series. Stanford did have two home win streaks snapped earlier this year versus Florida State. The Seminoles ended Stanford's 11-game win streak with a 4-3 victory in the second game of the series (2/8) and then won 10-8 in 12 innings in the series finale (2/9) to become the first opponent to win a series at Sunken Diamond since USC took two-of-three against the Cardinal from April 16-18, 1999, a span of 22 series. Stanford has since won five straight three-game home series versus Fresno State (2/14 - 2/16, sweep), USC (2/28 - 3/2, 2-of-3), California (3/7 - 3/9, sweep), Washington (3/28 - 3/30, 2-of-3) and Oregon State (4/17 - 4/19, 2-of-3).
CARDINAL LOOKING TO EXTEND STRING OF 40-WIN SEASONS TO NINE
Stanford is looking to extend its string of 40-win seasons to nine in 2003 after picking up its eighth straight 40-win season last year by finishing with a 47-18 overall mark. The last time Stanford didn't win 40 games was when the club finished 27-28 in 1993.
STANFORD HOSTS SANTA CLARA, TRAVELS TO USC NEXT WEEK
Stanford will host Santa Clara in a non-conference game next Tuesday, April 29 (6 pm) before beginning a stretch of seven consecutive road games by travelling to USC for a three-game Pac-10 series Friday-Sunday, May 2-4 (6 pm, 1 pm, 1 pm). Stanford leads the all-time series versus Santa Clara (since 1977), 81-25-1, and has won all three meetings with the Broncos this season (7-2, 5-0, 17-8) to extend its win streak against Santa Clara to five. Stanford has actually won 25 of its last 26 games against Santa Clara with the only Bronco victory during the stretch a 13-9 win at Buck Shaw Stadium to snap a 20-game losing streak to the Cardinal on February 23, 2002. USC leads Stanford in the all-time series, 198-147-3. However, Stanford took two-of-three games (L, 4-13; W, 10-6; W, 18-4) in a non-conference series at Sunken Diamond (2/28 - 3/2) earlier this season and won seven of the eight games played between the clubs last year, including a pair of NCAA Super Regional contests (W, 4-2; W, 5-3). USC last won a series over the Cardinal from April 20-22, 2001 (2-of-3 in Los Angeles).
OFFENSIVE REPORT
Stanford has raised its team season batting average to .321 (#3 Pac-10) with 18 double-digit hit games in its last 21 outings, hitting .347 during the stretch. The .321 overall batting average would rank third on Stanford's all-time list for a single-season. The Cardinal has also scored 186 runs over the same 21-game stretch for an 8.9 per game average. Carlos Quentin is having a huge season and leads the club in batting average (.426, #2 Pac-10), hits (60, #7 Pac-10), doubles (19, #2 Pac-10), walks (26, #6 Pac-10), hit-by-pitches (9, #5T Pac-10), extra-base hits (24) and on-base percentage (.534, #2T Pac-10). Ryan Garko has team-highs in home runs (9, #6T Pac-10), RBI (48, #3 Pac-10), total bases (96, #7 Pac-10), multiple-hit games (18), multiple-RBI games (15) and sacrifice flies (3, shares team lead with Jed Lowrie and Danny Putnam). Putnam paces the team with a .673 slugging percentage. Sam Fuld leads the club in runs scored (41) and at bats (166). John Mayberry, Jr. leads the team with six triples, while Brian Hall has a team-high 11 stolen bases. Garko (.381), Putnam (.374), Tobin Swope (.333), Fuld (.325) and Jed Lowrie (.316) join Quentin above the .300 mark.
PITCHING REPORT
Stanford's ERA currently sits at 4.16 (#2 Pac-10) and the Cardinal has held its opponents to a Pac-10 low .246 batting average. John Hudgins (7-2, 2.90, 90.0 IP, 88 SO) is the Pac-10's leader in innings pitched, strikeouts looking (30), starts (12) and opponents' batting average (.230), while ranking one victory behind teammate and conference leader Mark Romanczuk (8-0, 3.57, 2 SV, 53.0 IP, 46 SO) in victories. Hudgins also has three of the team's five complete games and the lowest ERA (#3 Pac-10) among pitchers in Stanford's starting rotation. Romanczuk has been named the Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week twice (4/1, 4/20) this month. Ryan McCally (3-2, 5.22, 1 SV) has been Stanford's other starter for most of the season and has one of the team's five complete games, as does Romanczuk. Matt Manship (1-2, 3.95, 27.1 IP, 27 SO), David O'Hagan (4-1, 4.65, 31.0 IP, 35 SO) and Kodiak Quick (1-0, 6.11, 17.2 IP, 19 SO) all have three saves each to share the team's lead. O'Hagan has also won four games out of the bullpen, while Manship and Quick have each won one game. Stanford has already posted 12 saves, second in the conference and over halfway to the school record of 23 recorded in 2001.
DEFENSIVE REPORT
Stanford has a .969 fielding percentage (#2 Pac-10) and has recorded more than one error in a game only once in its last nine contests. Stanford has been errorless 12 times overall this season. John Mayberry, Jr. continues to lead the club and rank second in the Pac-10 with 320 putouts, while Tobin Swope has a team-high 95 assists. Mayberry's 16 putouts at Washington State (4/5), as well as six assists by Jonny Ash versus Florida State (2/9), Chris Lewis at Arizona State (3/23), Jed Lowrie at Washington State (4/4) and Brian Hall versus Oregon State (4/18) are single-game team highs. Stanford turned a season-high three double plays versus Nevada (2/17).
STANFORD BASEBALL HISTORY
Stanford's storied baseball program has had many highlights now in its 110th season since beginning in 1892. Stanford has an all-time record of 2352-1477-32 (.613) ... The Cardinal won NCAA titles in 1987 and 1988 before returning to the CWS championship game in 2000 and 2001 ... Stanford has made a school record four straight College World Series appearances in the last four seasons and has been to the CWS 14 times since making its first appearance in 1953 ... Stanford has had 37 winning seasons in its last 38 campaigns and 54 in the last 56 years ... Stanford has reached the 40-win mark in eight consecutive campaigns (1995-2002) and recently recorded three straight 50-win seasons for the first time in school history (1999-2001) ... Stanford has won 18 conference titles and gained 23 NCAA Tournament berths ... Stanford has boasted 41 All-Americans who have earned a total of 51 All-American honors ... Stanford has garnered three NCAA Players of the Year in Jeff Austin (1998), David McCarty (1991) and Steve Dunning (1970) ... Stanford has had 97 All-Conference players earn a total of 127 All-Conference honors ... Stanford has had 59 major league players and 13 first round draft picks in the last 16 years ... Three former Stanford players (Jeffrey Hammonds - Milwaukee Brewers, Rick Helling - Baltimore Orioles, Mike Mussina - New York Yankees) have seen Major League Baseball action in 2003.
STANFORD HEAD COACH MARK MARQUESS
One of the nation's premier collegiate coaches, Mark Marquess is in his 27th season at the helm of Stanford Baseball in 2003 with an overall record of 1119-544-5 (.672) and a 453-291 (.609) mark in Pac-10 action. The 1969 Stanford graduate has led the Cardinal to two NCAA titles, two CWS runner-up showings, 12 College World Series appearances, 12 NCAA Regional titles, four NCAA Super Regional championships and 10 Pac-10 or Pac-10 Southern Division regular season titles. The Cardinal has qualified for the NCAA Tournament 20 times in the its first 26 seasons under Marquess. Marquess began the 2003 season ranked 10th in victories and 16th in winning percentage among active Division I baseball coaches. Marquess moved into sole possession of 20th place on the all-time victory list with his 1101st career victory at Texas (2/22/03 - Game 1). Recent milestone victories were his 1100th career win versus Nevada (2/17/03) and his 1000th against Florida State (2/9/01). He has been named NCAA Coach of the Year three times and has received Pac-10 or Pac-10 Southern Division Coach of the Year honors on eight occasions. The Cardinal has posted winning seasons in 25 times of the first 26 seasons under his leadership and has finished either first or second in the prestigious Pacific-10 (formerly Pac-10 Southern Division) 20 times in the last 22 years. Stanford has had 104 professional baseball draft picks in the past 18 seasons, including 13 first round selections in the last 16 years. A member of the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, Marquess was the head coach of the 1988 United States Olympic baseball team that captured the gold medal. Marquess was also an accomplished football and baseball standout on The Farm and is a member of the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame. He is one of only six collegiate baseball head coaches to have both played and coached in the College World Series. Marquess was the starting first baseman and a First Team All-American on Stanford's 1967 College World Series squad and played four seasons of minor league baseball with the Chicago White Sox organization.
COMMENTS FROM MARK MARQUESS
(On the state of Stanford in the Pac-10 standings at the halfway point)
"I feel good. I would rather have a two-game lead than be down by two. But, at the same time I think we need to improve in the second half. We need to be more consistent and that starts with pitching and defense."
(On the upcoming second half of the Pac-10 schedule)
"We've got four tough weekends in a row. All four of the teams we play in the second half of the schedule have been playing very well."
(On Arizona)
"Arizona presents a unique challenge because they run so much, more than anybody else that we've played all year."
(On Carlos Quentin's season to date)
"Carlos Quentin is having a great season and been a really tough out. Anytime you have a player hitting over .400 he is having a phenomenal year."
STANFORD COACHING STAFF
Dean Stotz is in his 27th campaign with Stanford Baseball and his fourth season as associate head coach after he was promoted to the position prior to the 2000 campaign. Stotz served for 23 years as an assistant. Stotz currently coaches third base while also handling various offensive and defensive aspects of the game. Tom Kunis is in his fourth season as Stanford's pitching coach, while Dave Nakama is in his fourth year overall as a Stanford assistant coach and in the second year of his second stint on the coaching staff. He assists with all aspects of the game and serves as Stanford's first base coach.