March 6, 2004
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Los Angeles, Calif. - No. 1 Stanford (15-2) rallied for a dramatic 8-7 comeback win in 13 innings over USC (4-9) in a non-conference game that lasted four hours and 30 minutes at Dedeaux Field on Saturday. Danny Putnam singled home Jonny Ash with two outs in the top of the 13th frame to provide the winning margin. Stanford trailed 7-3 heading into the top of the ninth before a four-run rally sent the Cardinal into extra innings for the first time this season. A one-out RBI single by John Mayberry, Jr. scored Jed Lowrie with the tying run in the ninth, while Ash hit a key two-run homer earlier in the inning to key the comeback. Stanford has now won six straight games overall and seven straight road contests, as well as 21 of its last 22 on the road dating back to last season.
"I realized it was a big spot, and I didn't want to be out here any longer," laughed Putnam, when asked about his game-winning hit.
"This was a great win for us," said Stanford head coach Mark Marquess. "We showed a lot of character to come back and tied it in the ninth. I was really proud of the way we battled."
Stanford has come from behind in nine of its 15 wins this season and has won twice when trailing heading into the ninth inning.
The Cardinal also extended its series win streak to 10 with Saturday's victory. Stanford will be looking for its fourth sweep of the season and its sixth during the series win streak when the teams conclude the series on Sunday (1 pm, PT).
David O'Hagan (2-0) picked up the win Saturday for the Cardinal with 4.0 scoreless innings of one-hit relief and four strikeouts. O'Hagan has now given up just four earned runs in his last 33.0 innings dating back to last year and lowered his ERA this season to 1.09. Matt Manship pitched a perfect bottom of the 13th to earn his first save of the season, the 10th of his Stanford career (tied for 10th all-time) and Stanford's ninth this season. Jeff Stimpson also had an outstanding relief performance to keep Stanford in the game, holding USC scoreless while giving up just two hits with two strikeouts over 4.0 innings in relief of starter Jeff Gilmore (4.0 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO).
Putnam (3-5, HR, 2 RBI) and Lowrie (3-7, 2B) led Stanford's season-high 18-hit attack with three hits each. Four other Stanford players - Brian Hall (2-5, 2B, RBI, SB), Mayberry (2-6, RBI), Ash (2-7, HR, 2 RBI) and Sam Fuld (2-7, 2B) - had two hits apiece. Ash extended his hit streak to a new career-high 12 games, while Fuld's two hits raised his career total to 305 to tie him for third-place with A.J. Hinch (1993-96) on Stanford's all-time hit list. Fuld's double was the 57th of his career, moving him into sole possession of seventh-place on Stanford's all-time list.
Daniel Perales (3-4, 3B, 4 RBI) led USC's offensive attack, while Baron Frost (2-4, 2B) and Hector Estrella (2-4, RBI) had two hits each.
Clayton Wentworth (0-2) suffered the loss despite holding the Cardinal scoreless for his first four frames of work before allowing a run in the 13th inning. Wentworth scattered four hits and allowed just the one run with three strikeouts in 4.2 innings.
Stanford's four-run ninth inning included six hits and started when Hall singled, stole second base and scored on an RBI single from pinch-hitter Chris Carter to cut the Trojan lead to 7-4. Ash followed two batters later with his first homer of the season to pull the Cardinal to within a run. Lowrie restarted the rally with a double to leftcenter field that chased Bret Butler, the first of three USC relievers. Putnam then greeted Michael Friedman by beating out an infield single and Mayberry came through with a line drive single to right field off Wentworth to score Lowrie and tie the score at 7-7. Wentworth got USC out of the inning by forcing pinch-hitter Ryan Seawell and Donny Lucy into back-to-back fielders choices.
"To be honest, I don't know where that came from," joked Ash of his ninth inning homer that followed four hitless at bats with a pair of strikeouts. "I was just trying to put a good swing on the ball."
USC put runners into scoring position off O'Hagan in every inning from the ninth through the 12th frames but were unable to score. In the ninth, O'Hagan allowed a leadoff single to Estrella and walked Jon Brewster to put Trojan runners on first and second base with one out before retiring Metropoulos and Jeff Clement. In the 10th, Darin Vieira reached on a one-out error by Lowrie at shortstop and O'Hagan walked Perales to put Trojans on first and second base with one out again, but Hall saved the game when he made a diving catch in rightcenter field on a soft line drive by pinch-hitter Bobby Paschal and doubled Viera off second base to end the threat. The Trojans put runners on first and second base with two outs in the bottom of the 11th when O'Hagan hit Michael Moon and Metropoulos before striking out Clement to end the inning. The Trojans came even closer to scoring in the 12th. Blake Sharpe led off with a double and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt from Viera before O'Hagan intentionally walked Perales to put USC runners on first and third base with one out. The Trojans then called a two-strike suicide squeeze but pinch-hitter Kyle Degener fouled the ball off for a strikeout and the second out of the inning before O'Hagan left Sharpe stranded at third when he retired Rafael Torres on a groundout to Lowrie at shortstop.
Stanford jumped out to an early 3-0 lead with three runs in the top of the second. Putnam led off the inning with his third homer of the season over the right field fence. Mayberry singled to restart the rally before Jim Rapoport beat out an infield single with the runners moving up a base when Blake threw the ball away trying to get Rapoport at first. Hall brought Mayberry home with an RBI groundout before Chris Minaker came through with a clutch two-out RBI single to score Rapoport with an unearned run.
USC came back with seven unanswered runs to take a 7-3 lead, scoring twice in the second and fourth innings before a three-run fifth.
In the second, Sharpe was hit by a pitch and Frost doubled before Perales brought home both runners with a two-RBI triple.
Frost started USC's fourth inning rally with a two-out double, moved to third on a throwing error by Lucy on a pickoff attempt and scored on an RBI infield single from Perales. Two more singles from Cyle Hankerd and Estrella brought home Perales.
Two of USC's three runs in the bottom of the fifth were unearned as the Trojans took advantage of an error by Ash early in the frame. Brewster started the inning with a single before Ash made an error on a potential double play ball hit by Metropoulos trying to throw out Brewster at second base. Clement followed with an RBI double to plate Brewster, leaving Trojan runners on second and third base with no outs. Sharpe followed with an RBI groundout to score Metropoulos before a two-out RBI single by Perales plated Clement.
USC starter Ian Kennedy (6.0 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 SO) held the Cardinal scoreless after the three-run second until he was removed from the game after walking Hall to begin the seventh. Butler came in to the game and put out the fire, striking out Ash and Lowrie back-to-back with runners on first and second base to end the inning.
Butler also held the Cardinal scoreless in the eighth until giving up hits to four of the first five batters in the ninth and being removed from the game.
Stanford left 12 runners on base, while the Trojans stranded 11. Stanford recorded the only double play of the contest.
Stanford struck out a season-high 10 times for the second consecutive game.
Stanford is scheduled to start LHP Blake Holler (2-0, 1.89) on Sunday, while the Trojans have not announced a starting pitcher.
Stanford has won seven straight games against USC and has also extended its series win streak over the Trojans to five with victories in the first two games of the series. In addition, Stanford has won four consecutive season series against USC (2000-03) since the teams split six games in 1999. In fact, USC has not won a season series against the Cardinal since the Trojans swept all six games between the clubs in 1996. Stanford has also won four straight series overall versus the USC.
After the final game of the USC series on Sunday, the Cardinal will take a 15-day break for finals before returning with a non-conference game at Saint Mary's on Tuesday, March 23 (2 pm). Stanford does not return home to Sunken Diamond until hosting Cal Poly for a three-game set from March 26-28 (6 pm, 1 pm, 1 pm, PT). Tickets are available for all 2004 regular season Stanford Baseball home games online at gostanford.com or by calling 1-800-STANFORD.