Feb. 5, 2005
Fullerton, Calif. - No. 6 Stanford (3-2) dropped its second straight squeaker on Saturday with a 4-3 loss against defending national champions and No. 3 Cal State Fullerton (2-0) in a non-conference game at Goodwin Field. John Curtis' bases loaded sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh inning snapped a 3-3 tie and brought home Brett Pill with the game-winning run. Four Titan pitchers held the Cardinal to just three hits for the second consecutive contest. One of Stanford's hits was a tape-measure solo homer by John Mayberry, Jr. to lead off the Cardinal fourth.
"It has been a combination of Cal State Fullerton pitching very well and us not swing the bats that well," explained Stanford head coach Mark Marquess. "Hopefully, we will be able to improve offensively tomorrow."
Ryan Schreppel pitched the first 6.0 innings for the Titans, scattering three runs (two earned) and three hits with two walks and four strikeouts. Brian Stevens got a pair of outs and Lauren Gagnier earned the victory (1-0) by recording four more (two strikeouts) to keep the Cardinal off the scoreboard in the seventh and eighth innings. Vinnie Pestano worked a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his first save of the season.
Jeff Gilmore kept the Cardinal in the game in a 4-3 loss at Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, scattering three runs and four hits in 6.0 innings |
Stanford starter Jeff Gilmore battled Schreppel to a 3-3 tie with his 6.0 innings of work, also giving up three runs on four hits with one walk and four strikeouts in a no-decision outing. Nolan Gallagher (0-1) started the seventh inning for the Cardinal and took his first collegiate loss by allowing the Titans' seventh inning run. He walked Pill to lead off the seventh before giving up a single to Ronnie Prettyman and hitting Bobby Andrews to load the bases with no outs, setting up Curtis' game-winning sacrifice fly before working his way out of the inning without further damage.
Cal State Fullerton's Sergio Pedroza started the scoring with an opposite field homer to left with two outs in the bottom of the first inning.
Stanford answered with two runs in the top of the second. Chris Minaker started the rally with a one-out double off the wall in leftcenter field and scored two batters later when Michael Taylor came up with his first collegiate hit, a two-out RBI single through the right side that tied the score at 1-1. Ben Summerhays then drew a walk to put Cardinal runners on first and second with two outs. Taylor would then score the second Cardinal run of the frame with a piece of aggressive baserunning. Taylor moved up to third on a wild pitch by Schreppel and came all the way around to score after Curtis' throw trying to nab Summerhays at second base on the back end of the play would up in the dirt and bounced away from Titan second baseman Justin Turner. Taylor made an acrobatic slide at the plate to get around Curtis' tag.
The Titans bounced right back to take the lead with two runs in their own half of the second. Danny Dorn drew a leadoff walk and scored on an RBI triple by Pill, who crossed the plate when Prettyman followed with an RBI groundout.
Stanford tied the score at 3-3 on Mayberry's blast well into the parking lot over the left field wall to lead off the fourth.
No player from either team had a multiple-hit or multiple-RBI contest.
Stanford and Cal State Fullerton conclude the series on Sunday (1 pm, PT). RHP Greg Reynolds (0-0, 8.10) is scheduled to start for the Cardinal versus Cal State Fullerton LHP Scott Sarver (0-0, 0.00).
NOTES
Stanford has now dropped nine of its last 14 games on the road dating back to April 4, 2004
The losses by Stanford in the first two games of its current series at Cal State Fullerton extend the team's road series losing streak to three (at Washington, May 7-9, 2004; at Arizona May 15-17, 2004; at Cal State Fullerton, February 4-6, 2005) ... The last time the Cardinal had a three-series road losing streak was from March 10 - April 10, 1989 (at Arizona, March 10-12; at UCLA, March 26-28; at Arizona State, April 8-10)
Jed Lowrie and Adam Sorgi were both hitless for the first time this season with a six-game hit streak that dated back to the final two games of the 2004 season coming to an end for Lowrie
Michael Taylor had the first hit of his collegiate career with his second inning RBI single
Nolan Gallagher suffered his first collegiate loss
Stanford has now lost five straight games at Cal State Fullerton (January 31, 2003 - February 5, 2005)
Stanford has not been swept in 29 consecutive regular season three-game series ... The last time the Cardinal suffered a sweep was at Cal State Fullerton (January 31 - February 2, 2003)