June 7, 2003
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STANFORD, Calif. (AP) - Danny Putnam hit a two-run go-ahead single in the seventh inning and Carlos Quentin had four hits and drove in a run as Stanford defeated Long Beach State 4-2 on Saturday in the Stanford Super Regional to advance to its fifth straight College World Series.
Mark Romanzcuk (12-0) scattered 10 hits over 8 1-3 innings to become the first Stanford freshman to win his first 12 decisions. He struck out two and walked one. Matt Manship got the final two outs for his ninth save.
The Cardinal (46-15), who have won nine straight and 18 of 19 overall, are making their 15th trip to Omaha.
Adam Heether hit a home run and drove in two runs as Long Beach State (41-20) was eliminated by the Cardinal in postseason play for the second straight year.
Sophomore Jered Weaver (14-4) struck out five to tie the single-season school record. Scott Rivette struck out 144 in 1995. Weaver, the younger brother of New York Yankees' pitcher Jeff, walked one batter and had an ERA of 1.57 over his last 46 innings. He had an eight-game winning streak stopped.
Long Beach State catcher Todd Jennings had hits in his first two at bats to extend his school record hitting streak to 28 games. Jennings was hitting .161 at the beginning of his streak.
Heether, an 11th-round draft choice of the Milwaukee Brewers, led off the second with his sixth home run of the season to give the 49ers a 1-0 lead. He added an RBI single in the third to make it 2-0.
In the fifth, Tobin Swope and Sam Fuld each had one-out singles for the Cardinal. With two outs, Quentin singled sharply into left field to cut the lead to 2-1.
Stanford took the lead in the seventh. With two outs, Sam Fuld was safe on Troy Tulowitzki's fielding error. Fuld stole second and scored on Jonny Ash's single to shallow left field. It appeared Josh Buhagiar had a play at the plate, but Heether cut the ball off.
After Quentin's infield single, 49er closer Carlos Muniz walked Ryan Garko to load the bases ahead of Putnam, who singled sharply up the middle.
Long Beach State stranded a runner at third in the first, and Stanford stranded a runner at third in the second.