Jan. 29, 2005
Stanford, Calif. - No. 6 Stanford (1-0) opened its 2005 regular season on Saturday with a 12-1 victory over Fresno State (0-1) as a seven-run fourth inning keyed the Cardinal win in a non-conference game at Sunken Diamond. Chris Minaker (5-5, RBI) had the first five-hit day of his career and also scored a career-high four runs. Mark Romanczuk (1-0) picked up the victory on the mound by allowing just one run and two hits with five strikeouts over the first 5.0 innings, while Matt Leva earned his first collegiate save by striking out a career-high six and allowing just three hits over 4.0 scoreless frames.
"I'll take that right now," said Minaker. "I just got good pitches to hit today, put the barrel of the bat on it and the ball ended up going where they weren't."
"Chris Minaker has really made himself into a nice player and a much improved hitter," added Stanford head coach Mark Marquess. "I'm obviously not expecting five hits from him every day, but I'll take it today."
John Hester (3-5, 2B, 2 RBI) equaled a career-high with three hits for the Cardinal, while John Mayberry, Jr. (2-3, 3 RBI) drove in three runs and Jed Lowrie blasted a two-run homer. Adam Sorgi and Jim Rapoport also both had a pair of RBI with Sorgi adding a double.
Fresno State led 1-0 before Stanford went ahead 2-1 in the bottom of the third on a clutch two-out, two-RBI single by Mayberry that scored Sorgi and Minaker, who had walked and singled earlier in the frame.
The Cardinal quickly made the game a blowout with its seven-run fourth. Rapoport got things going when he reached on a one-out error by Fresno State second baseman DeAndre Miller, hustling down the line and forcing Miller into an errant throw after a slight bobble. Ryan Seawell kept the rally going with a single and then Sorgi came through with a two-run double down the left field line on a 3-2 pitch to score both Rapoport and Seawell, who were running on the pitch. Chris Lewis then drew a walk before Minaker singled home Sorgi. Lowrie then walked to load the bases, spelling the end of a losing outing for Fresno State starter Brandon Miller (0-1). Mayberry drew a bases loaded walk off reliever Doug Fister to force home Lewis before a one-out RBI single by Hester and a two-out, two RBI double from Rapoport finished the rally.
John Mayberry, Jr. drove in three runs for the Cardinal in a 12-1 win over Fresno State on Saturday with two of them coming on a clutch two-out single in the third |
Stanford scored two more runs in the bottom of the fifth when Minaker doubled and scored on Lowrie's homer over the right field wall. The Cardinal closed out the game's scoring in its half of the seventh when Minaker singled with one out, moved to second on Mayberry's two-out single and scored on an RBI single by Hester.
DeAndre Miller (2-4, 2B) and David Gomez (2-4) combined for four of Fresno State's five hits, while Kent Sakamoto was credited with the Bulldogs' lone RBI when he walked with the bases loaded in the top of the first inning.
Brandon Miller allowed eight runs (six earned) on seven hits and three walks without striking out a batter over the first 3.1 innings as the first of five Bulldog pitchers.
The Bulldogs scored their only run of the game in the top of the first inning before the Cardinal could record an out. Miller led off the game with a single before Romanczuk walked three straight batters in Nick Moresi, Christian Vitters and Sakamoto to move Miller all the way around the bases. Romanczuk settled down to strikeout the next two batters before Mayberry made a nice play on a grounder between first and second hit by Beau Mills and tossed to Romanczuk covering first base to leave three Bulldogs stranded.
"We're fortunate that Romanczuk settled down there in that situation," said Marquess. "He's a veteran pitcher, and he showed that in that situation today."
"I was able to make a little bit of an adjustment and was able to get out of the jam," added Romanczuk. "The game might have been changed if they had got some more runs in the first inning."
The two teams conclude the three-game series with a doubleheader on Sunday (1 pm, PT) that will include a makeup game that had originally been scheduled for Friday but was postponed due to weather conditions. Stanford is scheduled to go with Jeff Gilmore in the first game of the doubleheader, while Greg Reynolds is slated to make the start in game two. Fresno State is expected to go with Ryan Miller in the opener and Matt Garza in the nightcap.
NOTES
Chris Minaker had career-highs of five-hits and four runs scored
John Hester tied a career-high with three hits
Mark Romanczuk won his 24th career game to move within one of the school's all-time Top 10 list
Matt Leva had a career-best six strikeouts
Adam Sorgi's two RBI were a career-best
Jim Rapoport tied a career-high with two RBI
Stanford improved to 23-6 in 29 season-openers under current head coach Mark Marquess
Stanford defeated Fresno State for the third straight time overall and on the fourth consecutive occasion at Sunken Diamond
Stanford needs just one victory over the Bulldogs in Sunday's doubleheader to extends its series win streak over Fresno State to six
Three Stanford players - Joe Ayers (So.), Brendan Domaracki (Fr.) and Michael Taylor (Fr.) - made their collegiate debuts Saturday