March 26, 2004
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Stanford, Calif. - No. 1 Stanford (18-3) stayed red hot with a 16-4 victory over Cal Poly (22-10-1) in the opener of a three-game non-conference series at Sunken Diamond on Friday in the first home game for the Cardinal since February 22. Stanford won for the ninth time in its last 10 game and its third consecutive game this week after coming back from a 15-day break for finals. Stanford's 18-3 start is its best since the 1998 Cardinal opened the season with an 18-2-1 mark after its first 21 games. Jed Lowrie (1-1, HR, 4 RBI) also remained hot, homering for the fourth time in Stanford's last three games and the eighth time this season with a three-run shot in the bottom of the first inning. Lowrie walked in his next two at bats, including a bases loaded free pass in the fourth inning that gave him a career-high-tying fourth RBI, before he was removed from the game with the Cardinal leading 11-3 after five innings.
Stanford starter Mark Romanczuk (5-1) picked up his fifth victory of the season in a season-high-tying 7.0 innings of work, spreading out four runs (two earned) and seven hits with four strikeouts. Drew Ehrlich pitched 2.0 scoreless one-hit innings to finish the game, striking out one.
"This was a good overall team effort tonight," said Stanford head coach Mark Marquess. "We continued to swing the bats well as a team and played a solid game."
"We've been swing the bats a lot better (after the 15-day break)," added Lowrie, who has been listed on Baseball America's Player of the Year watch list and is now hitting .446 with eight homers and 35 RBI in the team's first 21 games.
"You have to give some credit to our hitters. It's contagious, because you see the guys in front of you hit the ball well and you want to do the same."
Danny Putnam (3-5, 2B, 3 RBI) also had three hits and three RBI as he extended his hit streak to nine games and raised his season average to .389, while Brian Hall (3-5, SB, RBI) also had a three-hit game. Sam Fuld (2-4, RBI) and Jonny Ash (2-5, 2B, RBI) added two hits each with Ash scoring a career-high four runs and Fuld coming across the plate three times to run his career total to 233 and tie Paul Carey (1987-90) for second-place on the Cardinal's all-time list, just 11 behind the 244 runs scored by all-time leader Mark Davis (1983-86). Donny Lucy (1-4, 2B, 2 RBI) doubled and drove in a pair of runs.
Cory Taillon (2-2) Adam Leavitt (2-4, RBI) and Brandon Roberts (2-4, RBI) combined for six of Cal Poly's eight hits.
Cal Poly starter Jimmy Shull (6-3) took the loss, giving up nine runs (seven earned) and seven hits with three walks and three strikeouts over the first 3.1 frames. Kevin Waldron, the first of three Cal Poly relievers, allowed five runs (one earned) and six hits in 2.2 innings, while Andrew McDaniel gave up a pair of unearned runs and a hit in 1.0 innings before Bud Norris tossed a scoreless eighth inning.
Stanford took advantage of three Cal Poly errors that led to eight unearned runs as the Cardinal scored multiple runs in each of the four frames it scored, including six in the fourth and five more in the seventh.
The Cardinal struck first with Lowrie's three-run homer in the bottom of the first inning that also scored Fuld and Ash, who had led off Stanford's first trip to the plate with back-to-back singles.
Cal Poly came back to tie the score with three runs in the top of the second frame, the first two coming when Sam Herbert hit a potential inning-ending bases loaded double play ball that Cardinal shortstop Adam Sorgi through wide of Lowrie at second base, allowing Bret Berglund and Tallion to score. Berglund had led off the inning with a walk before the Mustangs loaded the bases on a one-out single by Taillon and walk to Kyle Blumenthal. Cal Poly added another run on a successful safety squeeze bunt by Leavitt to score Blumenthal.
Stanford got two of the runs back in the bottom of the third to retake a 5-3 lead. Ash led off the inning with a double, Lowrie walked and Putnam singled to loaded the bases. Mayberry then hit a towering fly ball that drew a gasp from the crowd but was caught near the warning track by Mustang rightfielder Chalon Tietje for a sacrifice fly to score Ash and move Lowrie to third, where he would score from on a balk by Shull.
Stanford erupted for six runs in the bottom of the fourth to extend its lead to 11-3. Sorgi started the rally with a one-out walk before Fuld singled, Ash was hit by a pitch and Lowrie drew his bases-loaded walk to plate the first Cardinal run of the frame and chase Shull.
Putnam then brought home Fuld with a fielders choice RBI. The inning stayed alive when Mustang shortstop Josh Mayo booted a routine groundball off the bat of Mayberry to allow Ash to score. Lucy followed with a two-RBI double to score Putnam and Mayberry before Hall capped the rally with an RBI single to score Lucy.
Cal Poly picked up a run in the top of the seventh when Herbert led off with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch before scoring after back-to-back groundouts by Leavitt and Roberts.
Stanford came up with another big inning in the bottom of the seventh, scoring five times. The Cardinal loaded the bases on a single by Hall, a walk to pinch hitter and another single from Sorgi before Waldron could record an out. The Cardinal scored its first run of the frame after McDaniel entered the game when Roberts dropped a sacrifice fly hit by Fuld to left field. Mayo then made his second error of the game on a RBI groundball hit by Ash to score Rapoport and an RBI groundout from Minaker brought Sorgi home. Putnam finished the rally with a two-RBI double to score Fuld and Ash.
Stanford left eight runners on base, while the Mustangs stranded seven.
Stanford's 12-run margin of victory marked the 16th time in 18 wins this season that the Cardinal has won by three or more runs and the ninth occasion in which the club has won by six or more runs. Stanford has more than doubled its opponents run total this season (191-90). The Cardinal also has 10 or more hits in 16 of its first 21 games, including eight of its last nine.
Stanford has now scored 34 runs in its last two games after putting up a season-high 18 runs in its previous game at Santa Clara on Wednesday.
In addition to moving into a second-place tie on Stanford's runs scored list, Fuld is also among all-time Cardinal leaders in hits (311, #3), triples (15, #4), at bats (907, #5) and doubles (57, #7).
After winning his fourth straight decision, Romanczuk ran his all-time Stanford record to 17-3 for an .850 winning percentage that ranks tied for sixth on Stanford's all-time list.
Stanford and Cal Poly will continue their three-game series Saturday and Sunday at Sunken Diamond with the first pitch scheduled each day for 1:00 pm, PT. Cal Poly is slated to start RHP Jonathan Fleming (4-0, 2.43) on Saturday versus Stanford LHP Blake Holler (2-1, 3.65). Sunday's scheduled pitching matchup slates Cal Poly LHP Garrett Olson (5-2, 3.95) versus Stanford RHP Jeff Gilmore (4-1, 5.30). The Cardinal has won eight straight games over the Mustangs since the last Cal Poly win by a 6-5 score in 12 innings on January 21, 2001, when the Cardinal and the Mustangs opened Robin Baggett Stadium in San Luis Obispo. The Cardinal also leads the all-time series (since 1949) by a count of 44-5. Tickets are available for all 2004 regular season Stanford Baseball home games online at gostanford.com or by calling 1-800-STANFORD.
Stanford needs just one win in the final two games of the series to extend its series win streak to 11 and take its 19th series in its last 20 outings. The Cardinal has also won 18 of its last 19 home contests.