March 24, 2007
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Stanford, Calif. - Alvaro Orozco tossed a complete-game seven-hit shutout to lead Sacramento State (9-15) to a 6-0 victory over Stanford (11-9) in the opener of a two-game home-and-home non-conference series between the clubs at Sunken Diamond on Saturday. Orozco, who struck out two and walked two, allowed a Cardinal runner to second base in only three of his nine frames and gave up more than one hit in an inning only once as Stanford was blanked for the first time this season. Blake Crosby (4-4, 2B, RBI), David Flores (3-4, HR, RBI), Montana Dye (2-4, 3B, 2 RBI) and Travis Kirkman (2-4, 2 2B) all had multiple-hit games as the Hornets' offense pounded out 13 hits.
Adam Sorgi (2-3, 2B) and Brent Milleville (2-4) combined for four of Stanford's seven hits, while Joey August extended his career-high hit streak to six games with a fourth inning single and Milleville increased his career-best hit streak to five. Michael Taylor (10 games) and Sean Ratliff (six games) both had career-high hit streaks snapped.
Stanford starter Jeremy Bleich (1-3) took the loss, allowing a pair of runs and seven hits with two walks and two strikeouts over 5.2 innings.
Flores gave the Hornets the only run the club would need with his first homer of the season when he blasted a two-out solo shot over the left field wall in the top of the second.
The Hornets held on to their slim 1-0 lead until picking up another run in the fifth. Kirkman led off the inning with his first of his two doubles and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt from Tim Wheeler before Patrick Cummins singled him home. Crosby followed with another single but Bleich got Gabe Jacobo to hit into a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play to avoid a potential big inning.
Sacramento State made the score 4-0 in the seventh when Dye connected for a two-out, two-RBI opposite field triple down the right field line just out of the reach of Taylor. Crosby and pinch-hitter Jeff Hannah, who had reached base in front of Dye with one-out and two-out singles, respectively, scored on the play.
The Hornets closed out the scoring with two more runs in the eighth. Flores and Kirkman singled and doubled off Stanford reliever Jeffrey Inman (1.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB) to start the inning. Inman got Wheeler on a lineout to Sorgi at second base before issuing an intentional walk to Cummins to load the bases. Andrew Clauson (1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 SO) came into the game with the bases loaded and one out, and allowed two of the runners he inherited to score when he gave up an RBI single to Crosby and a sacrifice fly to Jacobo before Cummins was caught stealing third to end the inning.
Stanford had a pair of runners on base in both the sixth and seventh frames but Orozco got out of both jams. In the sixth, he retired August on a fly out to left for the final out to strand Sorgi on second and Taylor on first after the duo had singled and walked earlier in the frame. Back-to-back one-out singles by Brian Juhl and Milleville put the Cardinal in business in the seventh before pinch-hitter Austin Yount hit into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.
Orozco's best stretch came when he retired 15 of 17 Cardinal hitters between Sorgi's first inning double and his single in the sixth.
"We weren't very competitive," concluded Stanford head coach Mark Marquess. "Orozco pitched a good game, but we just couldn't get much going offensively at all."
The teams will conclude the abbreviated two-game non-conference series in Sacramento on Sunday, March 25 (2 pm, PT). Stanford is scheduled to start RHP Nolan Gallagher (1-2, 7.92) on the mound, while the Hornets have not announced a probable starter.
The Cardinal will also be on the road at San Jose State for a non-conference game at San Jose State on Tuesday, March 27 (6 pm, PT), before returning home to open Pac-10 play with a three-game series against UCLA next Friday-Sunday, March 30 - April 1 (6 pm, 1 pm, 1 pm, PT). Tickets for the UCLA series at Sunken Diamond and all regular season Stanford Baseball home games are available online at gostanford.com or by calling 1-800-STANFORD. On game days, tickets may be purchased at the Sunken Diamond Ticket Office window beginning one hour before first pitch. For group ticket information (groups of 10 or more), call 650-725-2876.