May 28, 2005
Los Angeles, Calif. - Stanford (32-22, 12-11 Pac-10) showed a strong all-around effort in a 14-3 victory over No. 24 USC (36-19, 14-9 Pac-10) on Saturday at Dedeaux Field to even a three-game series with the Trojans. Chris Minaker (3-6, 2 2B, 4 RBI) and John Hester (2-3, 2B, 4 RBI) each drove in four runs to lead the Cardinal offense, while Jeff Gilmore (9.0 IP, 12 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO) pitched a complete game to improve to 10-2 on the mound.
"We played well in all aspects of the game today," said Stanford head coach Mark Marquess. "We had a lot of guys hitting the ball well and coming through in big spots, and Jeff Gilmore gave us a solid and gutsy pitching performance."
"Today was a huge day for us," added Minaker, who extended his career-best hit streak to 12 games. "We came out and swung the bats well early. We won the big spots that we needed to offensively and also got nine awesome innings on the mound from Jeff Gilmore."
Adam Sorgi (3-5, 2B, RBI) and Ben Summerhays (3-5, RBI) also added three hits each for Stanford, while Jed Lowrie was 2-for-4 with a triple. Chris Lewis and Michael Taylor each drove in a pair of runs.
Jeff Clement (2-3, HR, 2 RBI) homered and was one of four Trojans with two hits each as Zack Kalter (2-3, 2B), Billy Hart (2-4, RBI) and Blake Sharpe (2-4) joined Clement with a pair of hits apiece.
USC starter Anthony Encinas (6-4) took the loss, allowing six runs on nine hits and two walks with three strikeouts over the first 3.1 innings.
Stanford jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Sorgi singled to lead off the game before Minaker had the first of his two doubles to put Cardinal runners on second and third. Encinas struck out John Mayberry, Jr. and walked Lowrie intentionally before Hester came through with a two-RBI single.
USC tied the score on a two-run homer by Clement in the bottom of the first that also scored Kalter, who had doubled to lead off the frame.Stanford took the lead for good in the third on a two-out RBI single that scored Hester, who had walked following a one-out single by Lowrie to start the rally. Lowrie was caught stealing at third base when Taylor swung and missed on a hit and run play but Hester moved up to second on the back end to get into scoring position for Taylor's RBI single.
The Cardinal established control of the contest with a four-run fourth that was capped by Hester's two-run double. Summerhays started the rally with a single and scored when Sorgi doubled to the gap in rightcenter. Minaker than singled Sorgi home to chase Encinas. Brett Bannister (3.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO) retired Mayberry but walked Lowrie to set the table for Hester.
"We came out hot with the bats today," said Hester. "We were hitting the ball really hard and on the screws, and a lot of guys won several big spots."
USC would score once in the bottom of the fifth to cut Stanford's lead to 7-3. Kalter reached on a bad-hop single off Lowrie's chest at second and Matt Cusick singled through the right side to put Trojans at first and third with one out. Gilmore got Clement to fly out to Rapoport in center field before Hart came through with a two-out RBI single to plate Kalter.
Stanford added to its lead with two more runs in the seventh. Lowrie tripled to lead off the inning and scored when USC leftfielder Cyle Hankerd dropped Taylor's sacrifice fly. Taylor then stole second, moved to third on an infield single by Rapoport and scored on a sacrifice fly by Lewis.
Stanford completed the scoring by tacking on five more runs in the ninth. Hester walked to start the inning and Seawell followed with a double to put Cardinal runners on second and third. Lewis hit a hard grounder two batters later that Hart came up with on a diving play but the Trojan third baseman's throw trying to retire Hester at home was off line and Lewis was credited with an RBI fielders choice.
Summerhays then drove in Seawell with an RBI single and Sorgi loaded the bases with a single before Minaker cleared them with a three-RBI double down the left field line.
Gilmore benefited from a triple play in the eighth inning as well as double plays the Cardinal turned in the third and sixth frames. He also retired the side in order in the seventh and faced just one batter over the minimum in the final four innings.
"I had the ability to throw a lot of strikes today," said Gilmore. "My job was to keep us close by throwing strikes and let our defense make plays, and we both did our jobs pretty well."
"He knew he didn't have his best stuff today," added Hester. "But he battled and got guys out, and that's what we does best."
Stanford and USC conclude the series and the 2005 regular season for both clubs with the rubber game on Sunday (1 pm, PT). USC is scheduled to start LHP Jack Spradlin (5-3, 4.39) on the mound, who was originally scheduled to start Saturday but was moved back a day. Stanford has not announced a probable starter.
"To be able to win this series would be huge," said Minaker. "It would take away any questions about the postseason and allow us to not back in. It would also give us confidence that we can get the ball rolling and string wins together, which is what you need to be able to do to win a Regional or Super Regional."
Stanford remains in sixth-place in the Pac-10 standings heading into the final day of the regular season Sunday despite the victory over the Trojans on Saturday. Idle Oregon State (19-5 Pac-10) clinched the outright Pac-10 title on Saturday when fifth-place California (12-10 Pac-10) defeated second-place Arizona (16-6 Pac-10) in the resumption of Friday's suspended game, 6-3. The Golden Bears and Wildcats were tied, 4-4, in the top of the seventh inning of Saturday's regularly scheduled contest before rain and lightning postponed action for the second consecutive day. California and Arizona will resume Saturday's contest before Sunday's reguarly scheduled game. USC (14-9 Pac-10) is one-half game ahead of fourth-place Arizona State (13-9 Pac-10) prior to the Sun Devils' contest versus last-place Washington State (1-21 Pac-10) on Saturday evening. Seventh-place Washington (11-12 Pac-10) was a 6-5 winner at eighth-place UCLA (4-19 Pac-10) on Saturday.
The brackets for the 2005 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship will be announced live on ESPN during the tournament's selection show next Monday, May 30 (8:30 am, PT). The 16 NCAA Regional host sites will be revealed this Sunday, May 29 (12:30 pm, PT).
STANFORD NOTES
Chris Minaker extended his career-best hit streak to 12 games, tied career-highs with four RBI and two doubles, and increased his season doubles total to 22 to rank tied for sixth on Stanford's all-time single season list in that category
Chris Minaker has now hit seven doubles in five games versus USC in 2005
John Hester established a new career-high with four RBI
Ben Summerhays had a career-high three hits
Jeff Gilmore improved to 20-4 (.833) all-time at Stanford and now ranks tied for seventh on the school's all-time won-loss percentage list
Jeff Gilmore is now Stanford's active career-leader in complete games after tossing the fifth of his career and also leads the team with three complete games this season
Stanford's 14 runs were one shy of the season-high 15 the Cardinal scored in a 15-10 win at Cal State Fullerton on February 6
Stanford's 14 RBI equaled a season-high that was first set in a 14-5 win at Washington State on April 1
Stanford's eighth inning triple play was its first since turning one against Cal Poly on May 24, 2003
Stanford maintained a .978 fielding percentage that ranks fourth in the nation and is one percentage point better than the school record of .977 set by the 2001 club
Stanford's pitching staff has an updated 3.84 season ERA as the Cardinal is looking to record an ERA under 4.00 for the fourth time in the last six campaigns
Stanford snapped a two-game losing streak to USC
Stanford broke a season-high-tying three-game road losing skid
Stanford needs to win the final game of its current series versus USC on Sunday to extend current strings of eight straight season series and seven consecutive regular season three-game series wins against the Trojans