March 20, 2005
Stockton, Calif. - No. 12 Stanford (12-7) returned to the field after a 13-day hiatus with a 9-6 victory over Pacific (10-14) that sent the Tigers to their season-worst seventh consecutive loss in a non-conference game at Billy Hebert Field on Sunday. Jeff Gilmore (3-1) picked up the victory after coming on in relief of starter Mark Romanczuk to begin the third inning. After allowing three runs to the Tigers in his first inning on the hill, Gilmore (season-high-tying 7.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO) shut Pacific out the rest of the way to allow the Cardinal to rally from a 6-3 deficit at end of three innings. Jed Lowrie's team-leading eighth homer of the year was a three-run shot that capped a four-run Stanford fourth inning that put the Cardinal back on top to stay.
"We were able to do enough to win today and that's important," said Stanford head coach Mark Marquess. "We got some great pitching from Jeff Gilmore after a tough start and came up with a big inning when we needed one. I'm proud of our guys for the character they showed today."
"It was an uphill battle every single pitch for me today," admitted Gilmore, who hit six batters in his outing. "It took a lot of things from all of our guys to get this victory."
Jim Rapoport (3-5, RBI, SB) tied a career-high with three hits for the Cardinal, while John Mayberry, Jr. (2-4, 2 RBI) and John Hester (2-4, RBI) added a pair of hits each.
Justin Baum had a three-run homer off Gilmore in the third inning to score all three Tigers' runs in the frame for his ninth long ball of the season. Jerin Harper (2-3) and Will Brindza (2-3) added two hits each for Pacific.
Matthew Pena (0-1), the second of four Pacific pitchers, took the loss. Pena (0.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB) entered the game with one out in the Cardinal fourth and allowed Lowrie's home run two batters later.
"It was really rewarding to get this win today," said Lowrie. "Our offense showed some character in the way it came back."
Stanford took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Mayberry come through with a two-out RBI single to score Adam Sorgi, who had led off the game with a walk and moved up to second base on a groundout by Lowrie.
Pacific bounced right back to tie the game at 1-1 with a run in the bottom of the first. Anthony Jackson doubled to lead off the inning, moved to third two batters later on a bunt single by Harper and scored on an RBI groundout from Matt Berezay.
The Tigers took a 3-1 lead with two more runs in the second. Brindza led off the inning with a single and scored two batters later on an RBI triple from Ramon Glasgow before Hall plated Glasgow with an RBI single.
Stanford tied the game at 3-3 with two runs in the third, taking advantage of an error by Jackson at second base on Chris Minaker's groundball to lead off the frame. Lowrie then drew a walk and Mayberry came through with his second consecutive RBI single to cut the Tigers' lead to 3-2. Hester then drove home Lowrie with a sacrifice fly.
After replacing Romanczuk to start the third inning, Gilmore promptly hit the first two batters he faced before allowing Baum's opposite field homer over the wall in right field. Brinzda followed with a double and Gilmore hit Glasgow two batters later before striking out Hall and Jackson to get out of the inning without any further damage.
Stanford immediately came back with its four-run fourth to go ahead 7-6 and never trailed again. Ben Summerhays singled to start the rally but was picked off after Chris Lewis struck out, leaving the Cardinal with two outs and no runners on base. Rapoport doubled to restart the rally and Sorgi walked to mark the end of the road for Pacific starter Eric Stolp (3.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 2 SO). Minaker then greeted Pena with an RBI single to plate Rapoport before Lowrie's long three-run blast over the center field fence.
Gilmore then settled in and did not allow another hit until Jesse Kovacs doubled with one out in the bottom of the eighth, while Stanford picked up a pair of insurance runs in the seventh. The Cardinal was once again benefited on an error by Jackson on a leadoff ground ball, this time hit by Hester. Taylor then drew a walk but Hester was thrown out on a sacrifice bunt attempt by pinch-hitter Randy Molina that kept Cardinal runners on first and second but Lewis and Rapoport came through with back-to-back RBI singles to plate Taylor and pinch-runner Cameron Matthews.
Pacific was able to get the tying run to the plate with one out in the bottom of the ninth after Jackson drew a leadoff walk and Harper singled two batters later before Gilmore retired Berezay and Baum to end the contest.
"The best teams are those that can score a lot of runs if the pitching is shaky or can shut down an opponent when you aren't hitting, and we did both things at times today," said Gilmore. "That's what good teams do; they pick each other up."
Stanford will next travel to San Jose State for a non-conference game at San Jose Municipal Stadium this Tuesday, March 22 (7:00 pm, PT). The Spartans are coming off a three-game sweep of #11 Rice in their most recent action.
STANFORD NOTES
Stanford won just its second game this season on the road as the Cardinal improved to 2-5 away from Sunken Diamond
John Mayberry, Jr. posted his fifth consecutive multiple-hit contest and now has a team-high 11 this season, while leading the squad with a .360 batting average
Jeff Gilmore's 7.0 inning outing was his longest career relief outing and tied for his longest overall this season
Adam Sorgi tied a career-high with three walks
Jim Rapoport tied a career-high with three hits
Jed Lowrie (6), John Mayberry, Jr. (5) and Jim Rapoport (5) all extended their hit streaks with Rapoport's a career-high
Stanford has now returned from its annual break with a win in its first game in five of its last six years