April 1, 2006
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Stanford, Calif. - Stanford (13-10, 2-3 Pac-10) and USC (16-13, 3-2 Pac-10) split a doubleheader with the Cardinal coming from behind to win the opener, 9-7, before losing a 12-inning 3-2 heartbreaker in the nightcap Saturday at Sunken Diamond. Chris Lewis' three-run homer keyed a six-run bottom of the seventh to lift the Cardinal to its dramatic comeback win over the Trojans in the opener, while USC scored an unearned run without a hit in the top of 12th to pull out the nightcap.
USC's 12th inning rally started when Stanford rightfielder Michael Taylor dropped leadoff hitter Cyle Hankerd's fly ball to reach second. USC loaded the bases on intentional walks to Daniel Perales and Darin Vieira sandwiched around a sacrifice bunt from Baron Frost. Pinch-hitter Josh Fogel then grounded a ball deep in the hole on the left side of the infield that left Stanford shortstop Chris Minaker only with the option of going to third base, allowing Hankerd to score what proved to be the game-winning run.
Stanford left the bases loaded in both the bottom of the 11th and 12th innings in the nightcap as winning pitcher John Dunn (3-1) finally recorded the last out of the doubleheader seven hours and 36 minutes after action began.
Dunn crushed the Cardinal hopes in the 11th when he struck out Joey August with the bases loaded on a 3-2 pitch to extend the game to another inning, before doing it again in the 12th when he got pinch-hitter Austin Yount to fly out to rightfielder Roberto Lopez and Lewis to ground out to second baseman Blake Sharpe to end the game after the Cardinal had loaded the bases with just one out.
Lewis (3-4, HR, 3 RBI) tied his career-high for both hits and RBI in the first contest, while Jim Rapoport (3-5, RBI) and August (3-5) also had three hits each for the Cardinal. Minaker added a homer and a pair of RBI in a two-run Cardinal first, while Randy Molina (2-5, RBI) had a multiple-hit contest.
Stanford reliever Max Fearnow (1-0) earned his first collegiate victory in the opener, giving up just one hit in a scoreless seventh inning before Jeremy Bleich (2.0, 1 BB, 1 SO) came on to record his seventh save by shutting the Trojans down in the final two frames after the six-run Cardinal seventh.
Matt Cusick (3-5, 3B, HR, 2 RBI) had three of USC's seven hits in the opener, while Lucas Duda drove in a pair of runs.
Paul Koss (0-3) took the loss as the third of four Trojan relievers in the Cardinal seventh. Koss gave up a pair of runs and hits to all three batters he faced, including Lewis' three-run shot that put the Cardinal ahead, 8-7.
The Cardinal jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning of the opener on Minaker's team-leading fourth homer, a two-run blast off the scoreboard beyond the left field wall that also scored August, who had singled to lead off the bottom of the inning.
Matt Cusick cut the Cardinal lead in half with his leadoff solo homer in the fourth after Stanford starter Greg Reynolds (5.1 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO) had retired the first nine USC hitters in a row.
The Trojans went in front 5-2 by scoring four runs in the top of the fifth. Vieira walked with one out to start the rally before Duda was hit by a pitch. The runners moved up to second and third on John Hester's passed ball before Johnny Bowden tied the game with an RBI ground out. Hector Estella's RBI single put the Trojans ahead for the first time in the contest, 3-2, and Cusick followed with an RBI triple to plate Estrella before Blake Sharpe capped the rally with an RBI single to bring in Cusick.
USC added to its lead with two more run in the sixth when Duda tripled home Frost and Vieira, who had walked and singled with one out, but Erik Davis (0.2 IP) came on for Reynolds to get the final two outs and keep the game from getting away from the Cardinal.
Stanford got one run back in the bottom of the sixth to cut the Trojans lead to 7-3 when Molina singled with one out, moved to second on a two-out walk to Jason Castro and scored on Lewis' clutch two-out single that foreshadowed what would happen in his next at bat in the seventh.
Singles by Rapoport and Taylor ended the day for USC starter Ian Kennedy (6.1 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO) and put Cardinal runners on first and third with one out to start Stanford's six-run seventh. Molina and Hester greeted Dunn (0.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER) with back-to-back RBI singles to pull the Cardinal within 7-5 before David Parrow (0.1 IP) got the second out by forcing pinch-hitter Brent Milleville into flying out. The Trojans then brought in Koss to face Lewis, who deposited the second pitch he saw on an 0-1 count over the left field wall for his three-run shot. Stanford got another run when J.J. Jelmini doubled, moved to third on a single by August and scored when Rapoport welcomed the fourth Trojan reliever of the inning Shawn Olsen (0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB) with an RBI single.
In the nightcap, Dunn (2.2 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 1 SO) stranded six Stanford runners in his winning outing after starter Tommy Milone (8.0 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO), Koss (0.2 IP, 1 H) and Parrow (0.2 IP, 1 SO) did not allow a Cardinal run after the first inning.
Duda (3-5, 2 2B), Estrella (2-5, 2B, RBI) and Sharpe (2-5) had multiple-hit games for the USC offense.
Stanford reliever Nolan Gallagher (6.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 6 BB, 4 SO) took the loss in the second game despite not giving up an earned in the longest outing of his career in relief of starter David Stringer (5.2 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 SO).
Molina (3-5), Hester (2-5, 2B, RBI), Taylor (2-6, 2 2B) and Lewis (2-6) had multiple-hit games for the Cardinal in a contest where both teams left 14 runners on base and combined for 23 hits (USC 12, Stanford 11).
USC got on the scoreboard in the top of the first inning for a 1-0 lead when Sharpe singled with one out before scoring after back-to-back two out singles from Perales and Frost.
Stanford took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first when August led off with a single and scored on a one-out double by Minaker, who then came home on Hester's two-out RBI double.
USC tied the score at 2-2 in the fourth on a pair of doubles from Duda and Estrella but neither team would tally again until the Trojans broke the tie in the 12th inning.
USC got a runner into scoring position in the sixth, seventh, ninth and 11th innings.
In addition to the 11th and 12th innings, the Cardinal also left the bases loaded in the fifth, while stranding a runner in scoring position in the sixth, eighth and ninth frames.
The teams are scheduled to conclude the series with the rubber game on Sunday (1 pm, PT). USC is slated to send RHP Ryan Cook (2-3, 5.68) to the mound, while the Cardinal has yet to announce a starter.