April 7, 2003
Pullman, Wash. - Sam Fuld's two-out RBI single in the top of the 11th inning scored Tobin Swope with the winning run and sparked a three-run rally to lift No. 4 Stanford (21-10, 7-2 Pac-10) to a thrilling 8-5 victory over Washington State (9-22, 1-5 Pac-10) on Monday and complete a three-game sweep of the Cougars at Bailey-Brayton Field. Stanford's sweep was the first time a Pac-10 team has swept a conference series this season. The victory keeps the Cardinal in first place in the Pac-10 standings by one game over California (6-3 Pac-10). Stanford has also won seven straight series and 18 of its last 23 games overall, as well as 15 in a row versus Washington State since the Cougars rejoined the Pac-10 in 1999.
"Baseball's a game of inches and small adjustments, and I was able to make a small adjustment in my final at bat," said Fuld, who was hitless in his first five at bats. "It was great to come back and get this victory today."
"It was a good game, but we were fortunate to win it today," added Stanford head coach Mark Marquess.
Brian Hall also had an RBI single and Ryan Garko an RBI double in the top of the 11th inning to add two insurance runs. Swope had led off the inning by drawing a walk before stealing second base and reaching third with two outs on a groundout by Jonny Ash.
Washington State brought the winning run to the plate by loading the bases in the bottom of the 11th before winning pitcher David O'Hagan (4-1) struck out pinch-hitter Garrett Alwert to end the game.
O'Hagan pitched the final 3.0 innings, allowing just one run and three hits with four strikeouts.
Washington State reliever Nick Kenyon (1-2) was charged with the loss, allowing three runs on two hits in 0.2 innings after relieving Washington State starter Aaron MacKenzie to begin the 11th inning. MacKenzie lasted 10.0 innings, scattering four runs and 12 hits without allowing a walk and striking out two in his no-decision effort.
Stanford was on the verge of losing the contest before scoring twice in the top of the ninth inning to erase a 4-2 Washington State lead. Danny Putnam led off the inning with a solo homer to cut the Cougars lead to 4-3. Pinch-hitter Donny Lucy then restarted the rally with a one-out double and Ash came through with a clutch two-out RBI single through the right side of the infield to bring Lucy home with the tying run.
Hall (4-5, 2 2B, 2 SB, RBI) had a career-high-tying four of Stanford's 15 hits, while Garko (2-5, 2B, HR, 2 RBI) homered for the third time in the series and extended his hit streak to eight games. Garko is hitting .559 (19-34) with five homers and 18 RBI during his eight-game streak. On the season, Garko leads Stanford with nine homers and 43 RBI, while ranking second on the club with a .370 batting average.
Carlos Quentin extended his career-high hit streak to 19 games with a first inning double, while Fuld's 11th inning RBI single extended his career-high hit streak to 15 games and gave him his 100th career RBI. Fuld lost one point to .362 on his career batting average after a 1-for-5 performance to fall back into a first place tie with the late Jack Shepard, who hit .362 from 1951-53. Quentin's updated season batting average stands at .407 after also going 1-for-5. Quentin is attempting to become the first Stanford player to hit .400 or better in a season since David McCarty batted .420 in 1991 and only the sixth in Stanford history.
Swope (2-4, SB) and Jed Lowrie (2-5) each added a pair of hits for the Cardinal. Swope's multiple-hit game was his team-leading 16th of the season. Putnam drove in a pair of runs.The teams traded runs in the 10th inning after the Cardinal tied the score 4-4 with its two-run ninth.
Stanford took a 5-4 lead in the top of the 10th inning by scoring a run without a hit. Fuld drew a walk to lead off the inning and moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Hall, who also reached safely when MacKenzie failed to pick up the ball cleanly. Fuld and Hall stole second and third base, respectively, to set up a sacrifice fly by Putnam.
A solo homer by Washington's Derek Bruce off O'Hagan with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning extended the contest.
Stanford starter Mark Romanczuk remained unbeaten in his collegiate career with a no-decision, allowing four runs (three earned) and seven hits with three strikeouts over the first 6.2 innings.
Jay Miller (4-6, RBI) had four hits for the Cougars, while Colin Henderson was 2-for-5 with a double. Jeremy Farrar homered for the second time in the series with a two-run blast in the bottom of the sixth.
Stanford scored the first run of the game in the top of the first inning on back-to-back one-out doubles by Hall and Quentin.
A solo homer by Garko in the top of the sixth extended Stanford's lead to 2-0.
Miller's leadoff single set up Farrar's two-run homer that tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth.
Washington State scored twice in the bottom of the seventh to snap a 2-2 tie and maintained its 4-2 lead until Stanford's two-run ninth. Dustin Realini led off the inning with a single before Romanczuk retired the next two batters. Washington State needed a two-out single by Jonathan Fender to keep the rally alive. Kodiak Quick then relieved Romanczuk and was greeted with a two-out RBI single by Miller to score Jon Baeder and give the Cougars their first lead of the three-game series. Fender scored a second run on the play when Quentin's throw from right field got by Ash at third base in an attempt to throw him out at third base.
Stanford's 15 hits marked the 14th time in the last 15 games the Cardinal has reached double-digits in hits and raised its team batting average to .322.
Washington State stranded 12 runners, while Stanford left nine on base.
The Cougars turned three double plays, while both teams committed three errors.
Stanford's victory improved the Cardinal to a perfect 15-0 versus Washington State since the Cougars rejoined the Pac-10 in 1999. Stanford holds an all-time lead in the series, 23-13.Stanford will begin a stretch of four consecutive non-conference games by traveling to Santa Clara this Tuesday, April 8 (6 pm, PT). The Cardinal will play a two-game home and home series versus Sacramento State this Friday (6 pm, PT) at Sunken Diamond and Saturday (2 pm, PT) in Sacramento.