Feb. 15, 2004
Box Score
Updated Season Stats
Stanford, Calif. - Brian Hall's first career grandslam capped a dramatic comeback as No. 4 Stanford (8-1) scored seven runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to rally for a 10-6 victory over Kansas (7-7-1) at Sunken Diamond on Sunday to complete a three-game sweep. The victory also extended Stanford's home win streak to 15 games dating back to last season. The Cardinal has five sweeps in its last seven regular season three-game series and has won 31 of its last 36 games overall. Stanford has come from behind in six of its eight victories this season.
"I was just trying to hit the ball in the air, and it ended up going out of the park," joked Hall, who claimed to hit the ball off the end of the bat for his first homer of the season and the 12th of his career.
"You don't like to have to flip the switch but this team has an extra gear," added Hall about the team's comeback wins. "We have been able to come through in the clutch and take it to that next level right when we need to."
Hall blasted the only pitch thrown by Kansas reliever Tyson Bothof, the fourth Jayhawk pitcher in the inning and sixth in the game, over the left field wall to send a season-high Sunken Diamond crowd of 2441 into a frenzy. Sam Fuld started Stanford's ninth inning rally when he drew a one-out walk before Jonny Ash was hit by a pitch and Jed Lowrie walked to load the bases. Danny Putnam brought home Fuld with Stanford's first run of the inning with a line drive single off the glove of losing pitcher Jacob Jean (0-1), extending his hit streak to a career-high-tying 10 games. John Mayberry, Jr. then drew a bases loaded walk off Ken Livesey, the third Kansas pitcher of the inning, to score Ash and cut the Jayhawks lead to 6-5. Donny Lucy's hard-hit bad-hop single off the chest of Kansas third baseman Travis Metcalf plated Lowrie to tie the game at 6-6 and set up Hall's dramatic game-winner.
The seven-run ninth inning was the Cardinal's biggest output in a single frame this season."We were struggling to get any runs before the ninth," said Stanford head coach Mark Marquess. "Just getting the game tied up was big and then Hall's homer was obviously the game-winner. Kansas helped us a lot with the three walks and the hit batsmen, but to our credit we also came up with a couple of big hits."
Stanford reliever David O'Hagan pitched a career-high 7.2 innings after entering the game for Cardinal starter Mark Jecmen in the top of the first inning, limiting Kansas to two runs and three hits with five strikeouts. Kodiak Quick (1-0) got the final two outs in the ninth inning to earn his first victory of the season.
Kansas jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Matt Baty drew a leadoff walk and then stole his 10th base of the season, before moving to third on a ground out by Ritchie Price and scoring on RBI single from Sean Richardson, who moved to second on the play when Hall failed to come up with the ball cleanly in right field for the first of Stanford's season-high four errors. Ryan Baty then singled to put Jayhawks on first and third before Matt Tribble came through with an RBI single to plate Richardson and chase Jecmen. O'Hagan uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Ryan Baty to score before retiring Metcalf and Jared Schweitzer to get out of the jam.
Kansas increased its lead to 4-0 in the top of the second when A.J. Van Slyke drew a one-out walk and scored on an RBI double from Matt Baty.
Stanford got on the scoreboard with a run in the bottom of the second. Mayberry beat out a squibber in front of the plate to lead off the inning, moved to second on a single by Lucy and scored two batters later on an RBI ground out from Chris Carter.
The Cardinal cut the deficit to 4-3 with two more runs in the bottom of the third. Fuld and Ash drew back-to-back walks to start the rally before Fuld scored on an RBI single by Lowrie. Putnam hit a potential double play ball to Schweitzer at second base on the next play but Price was forced to stretch for his throw at second base, allowing Putnam to just beat out Price's relay throw to first. On the next play, Mayberry bounced a high-hopper to Schweitzer at second base for an RBI fielders choice that scored Ash.
Neither team would score for the next four innings.
O'Hagan faced a minimum of 15 batters from the third through seventh frames and Stanford made up for three errors during his outing by recording three double plays. Kansas reliever Sean Land held the Cardinal scoreless with just three hits and two strikeouts during a 4.2 inning stint that began with no outs and runners on first and second in the bottom of the third, lasting until he was relieved by Clint Schambach, who got the Jayhawks out of a seventh inning jam by retiring Mayberry on a hard-hit ground out to Metcalf at third base with runners on second and third base to end the inning.
Metcalf hit his third solo homer of the series and his fourth longball of the year with two outs in the eighth and Kansas increased its lead to 6-3 with another run in the top of the ninth when J.C. Sibley led off with a double and scored on a one-out RBI single from Price.Schambach retired the Cardinal in order in the eighth and got pinch-hitter Jim Rapoport to lead off the ninth before a walk and two hit batsmen that started Stanford's ninth inning rally ended his afternoon.
Mayberry (2-4, 2 RBI) and Lucy (2-5, RBI) had two hits each for the Cardinal as Stanford outhit Kansas, 10-8, to record its ninth double-digit hit game in its first nine contests this season. No Kansas player had more than one hit.
Stanford left eight runners on base, while the Jayhawks stranded seven.
Stanford's four errors were its most since making six miscues against USC in a 13-4 loss on February 28, 2003. The Cardinal had been errorless in six of its first eight games and had a .990 fielding percentage that dropped 11 points to .979.
Fuld had one hit to increase his career total to 298, moving him to within two of becoming just the fifth player in Stanford Baseball history to reach 300 career hits. Fuld also walked twice and now leads the club with 13 bases on balls this season in addition to a team-high .523 on-base percentage.
Stanford's Ryan Seawell picked up his first collegiate hit in the contest, a pinch-hit single in the sixth inning.
Kansas starter Mike Zagurski received a no-decision, allowing three runs and four hits in 2.0 innings.
Kansas is 0-5-1 over its last six games after opening the season with a 7-2 mark.
Stanford will next be in action when the Cardinal hosts No. 6 and currently unbeaten Texas (8-0) in a highly anticipated three-game non-conference series at Sunken Diamond next Friday-Sunday, February 20-22 (6 pm, 1 pm, 1 pm). Stanford and Texas have established a high-profile national rivalry in recent years as the teams have played each other 22 times since beginning a regular season series in 1998. Stanford holds an all-time 15-12-1 advantage in the series.
"Texas is always a national power with a great college baseball tradition," commented Marquess. "It's always good to play them. It shows us where we are and what we need to improve on."
Tickets are available for the Texas series and all 2004 home Stanford Baseball games online at gostanford.com or by calling 1-800-STANFORD.