May 30, 2004
at
No. 2 Stanford (44-11, 16-7 Pac-10)
Friday, May 28
at Stanford 5, Arizona State 0
Saturday, May 29
at Stanford 10, Arizona State 3
Sunday, May 30, 1 pm, PDT
LHP Brett Bordes (3-1, 7.56) vs. RHP Matt Leva (5-1, 3.91)
MEDIA COVERAGE
Gametracker: Sunday
Live Audio: gostanford.com with Sam Stefanki and Michael Etchepare on the microphone ... A Gametracker with live stats will also be available from a link at gostanford.com.
PROMOTIONS
Sunday, May 30 - Senior/Fan Appreciation Day
QUICK TEAM NOTES
No. 2 Stanford (44-11, 16-7 Pac-10) will conclude its regular season Sunday (1 pm, PDT) with the series finale versus Arizona State (39-16, 12-11 Pac-10) on Senior/Fan Appreciation Day ... Stanford wrapped up its second consecutive outright Pac-10 title with a pair of victories over the Sun Devils in the first two games of the series Friday (5-0) and Saturday (10-3) ... Stanford's 44 regular season victories are tied for the second-highest in school history behind the school record 52 regular season wins (in 63 games) by the 1990 club ... The 1987 CWS championship squad also picked up 44 regular season wins (in 60 games) ... Stanford's current No. 2 ranking in the latest of all four major college baseball national polls released on Monday, May 24 (Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, NCBWA and Sports Weekly/ESPN) is down one place after the Cardinal was 3-2 in five games last week ... Stanford has spent a total of four weeks (March 22-29, May 3, May 17) as the nation's unanimous No. 1 squad this season and has been on top of the Baseball America poll nine weeks (February 23 - April 5, May 3, May 17) ... Stanford took two-of-three games in its previous series versus USC (May 21-23; L, 3-9; W, 5-4; W, 8-2) after losing its two prior series at Washington (May 7-9; L, 2-3, 10 inn.; W, 7-2; L, 2-9) and at Arizona (May 15-17; W, 11-9; L, 18-19; L, 2-11) ... The first loss in the USC series did snap a 16-game Cardinal home win streak and was only Stanford's second loss of the season at Sunken Diamond, where the Cardinal is 27-2 this year and has won 36 of its last 38 overall ... Stanford struggled to a 5-7 record in its final 12 regular season road games but still finished with a 17-9 regular season road mark ... Stanford has come from behind in 19 of its 44 wins this year ... Stanford is 8-3 this season against ranked teams and 2-1 in extra-inning contests ... Stanford has been errorless in 23 of its first 55 games and is 20-3 in those contests ... Stanford has won by three or more runs in 35 of its 44 victories and is 25-3 in games decided by five or more runs ... The Cardinal is just 3-5 in one-run games and had lost each of the last five one-run games it has been involved in before a 5-4 win over USC (May 22) in its most recent one-run contest ... Stanford is leading the Pac-10 in batting average (.328), ERA (4.19) and fielding percentage (.975, #13 NCAA) ... Stanford is averaging 8.5 runs per contest (#9 NCAA) and has posted double-digit runs in 23 games ... The Cardinal snapped a six-game string without scoring in double figures (its longest of the season) with its 10-3 victory over Arizona State on Saturday ... Stanford's 44-11 record gives the Cardinal an .800 winning percentage that ranks tied for fifth in the nation ... The Cardinal has also reached double digits in hits on 41 occasions ... Stanford has hit 88 homers to lead the Pac-10 and has moved to within 14 of the school record of 102 hit by the 1997 club ... Stanford is looking to extend its school record string of consecutive appearances at the College World Series to six ... Stanford has already extended its school record string of 40-win seasons to 10 and is looking for its fourth 50-win campaign in the last five years ... Stanford has captured 12 Pac-10 titles in the last 22 years and has finished either first or second in the conference 22 times in last 24 seasons (includes 2004).
QUICK INDIVIDUAL NOTES
National Player of the Year candidate Jed Lowrie leads the Cardinal in most offensive categories - batting average (.407, #1 Pac-10, #18 NCAA), runs scored (67, #2 Pac-10, #20 NCAA), doubles (19, #3 Pac-10), triples (4, co-team leader, #5T Pac-10), home runs (16, #1 Pac-10, #30T NCAA), RBI (65, #1 Pac-10, #29 NCAA), extra-base hits (39), total bases (162, #1 Pac-10), slugging percentage (.757, #1 Pac-10, #9 NCAA), bases on balls (44, #2 Pac-10), on-base percentage (.507, #2 Pac-10) and multiple-RBI games (19) ... Lowrie also ranks second on the club in hits (87, #3 Pac-10) ... Danny Putnam leads the team in hits (90, #2 Pac-10) and multiple-hit games (30), while ranking second on the squad in batting average (.393, #3 Pac-10), home runs (15, #2 Pac-10) and RBI (57, #4 Pac-10) ... Putnam has a current career-high 15-game hit streak (5/2 - 5/29; .467, 28-60, 5 HR, 17 RBI, 1 SB) and has hit safely in 27 of his last 28 games overall (4/8 - 5/23; .446, 50-112, 9 HR, 35 RBI, 4 SB) ... Jonny Ash, the reigning Pac-10 Player of the Week after going 6-for-13 (.462) with two doubles, a triple, four RBI, four runs scored, one walk and one hit by pitch to go with a .769 slugging percentage and a .533 on-base percentage in a three-game series versus USC last Friday-Sunday, ranks third on the club with a .388 batting average ... Brian Hall is fourth on the club with a .358 mark, while pacing the club in stolen bases (12, #5T Pac-10) and co-leading the team in triples (4, #5T Pac-10) ... Hall also ranks second on the club in doubles (12), fourth in RBI (51, #4T Pac-10) and fifth in homers (9) ... John Mayberry, Jr. is second on the team in stolen bases (9), as well as third in homers (#14, #3T Pac-10) and RBI (56, #5 Pac-10), as well as fifth in batting average (.340) ... John Hester (.321, 7 RBI, 2 SB), Ryan Seawell (.314, 7 RBI, 1 SB) and Donny Lucy (.311, 11 HR, 43 RBI, 5 SB) are also hitting over .300 ... Sam Fuld (.274, 3 HR, 28 RBI, 8 SB) is the all-time Stanford and Pac-10 leader for runs scored (264) and at bats (1051), while ranking second in hits (351), just 17 behind former Stanford player John Gall (368, 1997-2000) on the all-time Stanford and Pac-10 hit lists ... Fuld also ranks among Stanford's career leaders in games played (255, #2), triples (16, #3T) and doubles (58, #6T) ... Mark Romanczuk (11-2) co-leads the Pac-10 with 11 wins (#17T NCAA), while placing seventh on Stanford's all-time won-loss percentage list (23-4, .852) ... David O'Hagan is 6-1 with a team-high six saves, while leading the team and the Pac-10 in ERA (2.62) among pitchers that qualify with at least 1.0 inning pitched per team game played, as well as ranking fourth on Stanford's all-time won-loss percentage list with a 13-2 (.867) career record.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Stanford leads the all-time series over Arizona State by a slim 80-77 count after winning the first two games of its current series with the Sun Devils by a score of 5-0 on Friday night and a 10-3 count on Saturday. Last year, the Cardinal won two-of-three games at Arizona State in a hotly contested Pac-10 opening series that included a pair of extra-inning contests. Stanford dropped the first game of the series in 11 frames, 7-6, before rebounding for a 9-8 win in 10 innings and a 4-2 victory in the rubber game to win the series. Stanford has also won two-of-three in the previous two series versus Arizona State (May 10-12, 2002, at Stanford, CA; W, 5-3; L, 2-10; W, 3-1. March 30 - April 1, 2001, at Tempe, AZ; W, 6-2; W, 5-2; L, 5-6). Arizona State's last series victory over the Cardinal came from March 31 - April 2, 2000, in Tempe, when the Sun Devils took two-of-three (W, 5-1; L, 6-10; L, 6-11).
2004 VERSUS ARIZONA STATE
at Stanford 5, Arizona State 0 (May 28, 2004) - Stanford clinched a co-Pac-10 title with a 5-0 shutout victory over Arizona State. Danny Putnam (2-3, HR, 4 RBI) hit his second career grandslam in the bottom of the first inning, while Mark Romanczuk (7.0 IP, 2 H, 4 BB, 5 SO) and David O'Hagan (2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 SO) combined on a three-hit shutout with Romanczuk (11-2) earning his co-Pac-10 leading 11th win. Jonny Ash (2-3), John Mayberry, Jr. (2-4, RBI) and Chris Minaker (2-4) added two hits each for the Cardinal. Tuffy Gosewisch (2-4, 2B) had two of Arizona State's three hits. Arizona State starter Jeff Mousser (6-4) took the loss, allowing five runs on six hits and three walks over the first 4.0 innings.
at Stanford 10, Arizona State 3 (May 29, 2004) - Stanford won its second straight outright Pac-10 title and secured the conference's automatic berth to the 2004 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship with a 10-3 victory over Arizona State. Chris Minaker (2-4, HR, 2 RBI), Jonny Ash (2-5, HR, 2 RBI) and John Mayberry, Jr. (1-4, HR, 3 RBI) all homered for the Cardinal, while Brian Hall was 3-for-4. Jeff Gilmore earned the victory, allowing just three runs on six hits and two walks with six strikeouts over the first 7.0 innings. Danny Putnam (2-5, 3B, 2 RBI) extended his career-high hit streak to 15 games, while Jed Lowrie ran his hit streak to nine games. Josh Asanovich (2-3, RBI) was the only Arizona State player with more than one hit. Arizona State starter Jason Urquidez (2.1 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO) suffered the loss.
2003 VERSUS ARIZONA STATE
at Arizona State 7, Stanford 6 - 11 inn. (March 22, 2003) - Dennis Wyrick's two-out bases loaded RBI single in the bottom of the 11th inning scored Dustin Pedroia with the game-winning run to lift Arizona State to a dramatic 7-6 victory over Stanford in a four-hour and twelve minute Pac-10 opener for both teams. Wyrick, who also had a key two-run triple in the sixth inning, finished the game 3-for-6 with three RBI. Stanford's Brian Hall (4-6, 3 RBI) tied a career-high with four hits, while John Mayberry, Jr. extended his hit streak to 15 games with a ninth inning triple. Arizona State reliever Ryan Schroyer picked up the victory with 3.0 scoreless innings to close out the game, while Stanford reliever Matt Manship suffered the loss despite striking out six in 3.2 innings. Travis Buck (3-4, 2 RBI, SB) also had three hits for the Sun Devils, while Pedroia (2-4) and Rod Allen (2-4) added two hits each. Tobin Swope (2-4, RBI, SB) and Jed Lowrie (2-5, RBI) had two hits each for Stanford.
Stanford 9, at Arizona State 8 - 10 inn. (March 23, 2003) - Sam Fuld (4-6, 2 2B, 2 RBI) singled home pinch-runner Donny Lucy in the top of the 10th inning to help Stanford hold off Arizona State by a score of 9-8 in the second extra-inning game in as many days between the teams. Stanford had led 8-1 before Arizona State forced extra innings by scoring seven runs in the eighth and ninth innings, the final three coming on a two-out homer by Andre Ethier in the bottom of the ninth. Tobin Swope (2-4, RBI, SB), John Mayberry, Jr. (2-5, RBI) and Brian Hall (2-6, 3 RBI, 2 SB) added two hits each for the Cardinal. Arizona State had four players with three hits each in Ethier (3-4, 2B, HR, 3 RBI), Dennis Wyrick (3-4, 2B, RBI), West (3-5, 2B) and Pedroia (3-6, 2B, RBI). David O'Hagan was credited with the victory, while Kodiak Quick worked out of a one-out bases loaded jam in the bottom of the 10th inning to record his second save. Arizona State reliever Ryan Schroyer suffered his first loss of the season.
Stanford 4, at Arizona State 2 (March 24, 2003) - Ryan Garko (4-4, HR, 3 RBI) and Sam Fuld (4-5, 2 3B, RBI) had four hits each to lift Stanford to a key 4-2 victory over Arizona State in the rubber game of a three-game series. Garko blasted a key two-run homer in the top of the eighth inning to break a 2-2 tie one inning after Fuld had driven home the tying run with a two-out triple off the right field wall. Mark Romanczuk pitched the first complete game of his career to earn the victory, giving up just five hits and two runs while striking out five. Tobin Swope (2-4, 2B) added a pair of hits for the Cardinal, while the Sun Devils did not have a player with more than one hit. Arizona State reliever Mark Sopko suffered the loss without recording an out.
LAST WEEK
at Stanford 3, San Francisco 1 (May 18, 2004) - Stanford extended its school record string of consecutive 40-win seasons to 10 and its home win streak to 16 with a 3-1 victory over San Francisco to snap a two-game losing skid. Four Stanford pitchers limited the Dons to one run and four hits with starter Greg Reynolds earning the victory and Matt Manship picking up the save. John Hester was 2-for-3 with a double, two RBI and a stolen base to lead the Cardinal offense. Jed Lowrie (2-2, SB) and Chris Lewis (2-3) also had two-hit games. Armand Gaerlan (2-4) had half of the Dons' four hits to extend his school record hit streak to 24 games and also scored the team's only run. San Francisco starter Scott Cousins suffered the loss in his first collegiate start. The Cardinal finished the mid-week portion of its regular season schedule with a perfect 9-0 record in those games.
USC 9, at Stanford 3 (May 21, 2004) - Stanford had its 16-game home win streak snapped and lost just its second home game of the season, falling to USC (23-28, 9-10 Pac-10) by a score of 9-3. Ian Kennedy (7-2) picked up the victory, spreading out seven hits and two runs with two walks and six strikeouts over the first 6.0 innings. USC relievers Michael Friedman (0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 SO) and Clayton Wentworth (2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 SO) held onto the lead for the Trojans. Jon Brewster (3-5, 2 2B, HR, 3 RBI) and Billy Hart (3-5, 2 RBI) led the 14-hit USC offensive attack with three hits each, while Joey Metropoulos (2-5, HR, 2 RBI) and Cyle Hankerd (2-4, 2B) picked up two hits apiece. Jed Lowrie (3-4, 2 RBI) and Jonny Ash (3-5, 2 2B) had three hits each for the Cardinal, while Sam Fuld (2-4) added two hits and Danny Putnam had a fifth inning single to extend his hit streak to 11 in a row. Stanford starter Mark Romanczuk suffered the loss, allowing seven runs on 10 hits and a pair of walks with four strikeouts.
at Stanford 5, USC 4 (May 22, 2004) - Stanford scored twice on a dramatic play in the bottom of the eighth inning to earn a 5-4 comeback win over USC and even a three-game Pac-10 series. Pinch-hitter John Hester doubled with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning and Sam Fuld grounded a single up the middle to score pinch-runner Chris Lewis with the tying run. Fuld came all the way around to score on the play when the ball rolled past USC centerfielder Daniel Perales as he was trying to come up with the ball for a possible play at the plate on Lewis. Danny Putnam (2-4, 3B, RBI) extended his hit streak to a career-high-tying 12 games in the contest as he hit safely for the 24th time in his last 25 games, while Fuld (2-5, RBI) also had a pair of hits. Billy Hart (2-3, RBI) was the only USC player with more than one hit. David O'Hagan was credited with the victory when he rebounded to pitch a scoreless ninth after USC had plated a pair of unearned runs with him in the game in the top of the eighth to take a 4-3 lead. Michael Friedman suffered his first loss of the season for the Trojans, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits with one strikeout in 0.2 innings of relief.
at Stanford 8, USC 2 (May 23, 2004) - Stanford moved back into first-place in the Pac-10 with an 8-2 win over USC in the rubber game of a three-game conference series. Jonny Ash (3-4, 3B, 4 RBI) had three hits and tied a career-high with four RBI to lead Stanford's 12-hit attack, while Matt Leva picked up the victory with 4.0 hitless innings of work as the Cardinal starter in a predetermined pitching rotation. Leva retired 12 of the 13 batters he faced. Michael Moon (2-5) was the only USC player with more than one hit. USC starter Josh Rummonds took the loss, allowing five runs on seven hits and three walks with seven strikeouts over the fist 5.0 innings.