April 17, 2004
Updated Season Stats
Stanford Baseball Tickets
Stanford, Calif. - Danny Putnam (3-4, 2 HR, 5 RBI) and Donny Lucy (2-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI) each homered twice to lead No. 2 Stanford (28-5, 6-2 Pac-10) to its 15th consecutive win over California (20-22, 6-8 Pac-10) by a score of 9-2 at Sunken Diamond on Saturday before a crowd of 2816. Sam Fuld also broke Stanford's all-time record for runs scored in the contest when he singled and came around to score in the third inning, while Brian Hall (2-5, SB) extended his career-high hit streak to 18 games. Jeff Gilmore (6-1) pitched the first complete game of his career and the first by a Cardinal pitcher this season, allowing just two runs and five hits with a walk and four strikeouts.
"Jeff Gilmore pitched one of our best games of the season, and it was a pretty good day for offense, too," summarized Stanford head coach Mark Marquess.
"I pitched the whole game with only four strikeouts today," added Gilmore. "I was able to get a lot of groundouts, which is my game."
Putnam's first two-homer game of the season and the fourth of his career moved him into a time for the team lead with 10 homers, while his five RBI were a season-high. Lucy, who homered twice in a game for the first time in his career, also extended his career-high hit streak to 10. Fuld's season-high hit streak stands at nine.
"I haven't felt that comfortable at the plate for most of the year," said Putnam. "Today, I just wanted to try to hit a good pitch, let the rest of it happen and be comfortable. I really wasn't worried about anything at all. I just wanted to get a pitch and drive it. That was my approach today."
Chris Minaker (3-4, 2B, SB) and Jed Lowrie (3-4, RBI) added three-hit games for the Cardinal, while Jonny Ash (2-4, RBI) posted his team-leading 16th multiple-hit contest of the year as Stanford tied a season-high with 18 hits in the contest to record its ninth straight double-digit hit effort and its 26th this season.
Stanford held onto its one-game lead in the Pac-10 race over USC (5-3), a winner at Washington State on Saturday. Arizona and Washington are both playing non-conference series this weekend and are tied for third-place with 4-3 records. Arizona State (5-6) has moved into fifth-place in the conference with wins over UCLA in the first two games of their current series, while Oregon State (4-5) is in sixth and also playing out of conference this weekend. California (6-8), UCLA (3-5) and Washington State (3-5) are all a pair of games under .500.
Stanford's victory kept the Cardinal unbeaten in 10 regular season series this year and extended its series win streak to 14 dating back to last year. Stanford has also won 22 of its last 23 series overall and six in a row against California.
Stanford got on the board in the bottom of the second inning when Lucy led off the frame with a solo homer.
The Cardinal came back with two more runs in the third when Fuld singled and scored his record-breaking 245th career run on Putnam's first homer to put the Cardinal ahead, 3-0. Fuld surpassed former runs scored record holder Mark Davis (1983-86) on the play.
"It means a lot to break the record," said Fuld. "Obviously, a record like that is more of a tribute to the teammates I've had over the last four years."
Fuld is also among Stanford's all-time leaders on several other career lists as he is now ranked third in hits (327) and at bats (960), tied for third in triples (16), tied for sixth in doubles (58) and seventh in games played (233).
Stanford added two more runs in the fourth to increase its lead to 5-0. Minaker led off with a single, stole second base and moved to third on a fly out by Fuld before scoring on a one-out RBI single from Ash. Lowrie followed with a single to move Ash to second and Putnam capped the rally with a two-out RBI single to plate Ash.
Putnam gave the Cardinal two more runs in the seventh with a one-out homer that also scored Lowrie, who had singled in front of him.
Gilmore had a one-hit shutout going and had faced just one batter over the minimum through six innings before California broke through with a run in the top of the seventh. David Nicholson started the rally with a leadoff single, moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt by David Weiner and third on a wild pitch before scoring on a sacrifice fly from Chris Grossman.
Stanford got the run back in its half of the seventh when Minaker doubled with two outs, moved to third on an infield single by Fuld and scored two batters later when Lowrie was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
Lucy gave the Cardinal its final run with a long one-out solo homer over the left field wall in the eighth.
California made the final score 9-2 with a run in the ninth inning. Allen led off the frame with a single, moved around to third on a pair of groundouts and scored on a two-out RBI single by Grossman.
Allen Craig (2-3) was the only California player with more than one hit, while Grossman drove in a pair of runs.
California starter Mike Padgett (3-5) took the loss, lasting just 2.2 innings and giving up three runs on seven hits with two walks and a strikeout. Five other Golden Bears - Blake Read (0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER), Kevin Barnum (0.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER), Brandon Morrow (1.2 IP, 2 H), Brent Hale (1.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO) and Travis Talbott (1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER) - pitched in relief.
Stanford has won 23 of its last 24 games at home and is 13-1 this season at Sunken Diamond. The Cardinal is 51-9 overall in its last 60 contests dating back to last year.
The Cardinal stranded 11 runners in the game, while the Golden Bears left just three on base. California turned both of the game's double plays, while Stanford made the only error of the contest.
Stanford continued its domination of opponents this year, winning by three or more runs for the 24th time and six of more runs for the 13th occasion. Stanford has more than doubled the run output of its opponents (299-143) and is averaging 9.1 runs per contest. Stanford's four homers in the game increased its season total to 53, moving the Cardinal more than halfway to the school record of 102 hit by the 1997 club.
Stanford and California conclude their current three-game set and season series at Sunken Diamond on Sunday (1 pm, PDT). Stanford is scheduled to start LHP Blake Holler (3-2, 4.65), while California has not announced a starting pitcher.
The Cardinal concludes a six-game homestand next week versus Saint Mary's (Tuesday, April 20, 6 pm, PT) and Sacramento State (Friday, April 23, 6 pm, PT).
Tickets are available for all 2004 regular season Stanford Baseball home games online at gostanford.com or by calling 1-800-STANFORD.