April 7, 2007
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Tempe, Ariz. - No. 15 Arizona State (26-10, 7-2 Pac-10) finished a three-game sweep of Stanford (13-15, 0-6 Pac-10) with a 14-1 victory in the finale of a Pac-10 series Saturday at Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark. Kiel Roling (2-5, 2 HR, 4 RBI), Tim Smith (2-4, 2 2B, 4 RBI) and Petey Paramore (2-3, 3 RBI) combined to drive in 11 runs, while Matt Hall (2-2, 2B) and Eric Sogard (2-4) also had a pair of the Sun Devils' 16 hits.
Brian Flores (7-1) earned the victory with a spectacular outing on the mound, limiting the Cardinal to just one unearned run on four hits and two walks with seven strikeouts over the first 8.2 innings before Matt Spencer (0.2 IP, 1 BB) came on to get the final two outs. Flores retired 15 hitters in a row between a one-out first inning single by Adam Sorgi and a two-out Adam Gaylord single in the sixth.
Sorgi (3-4, RBI) had three of Stanford's four hits and drove in the Cardinal's only run with an RBI single to score Gaylord in the sixth after Gaylord's two-out single started the mini-rally and accounted for Stanford's only other hit.
Stanford starter Nolan Gallagher (2-4) suffered the loss, allowing five runs (three earned) on four hits and three walks without striking out a batter over a 2.0 inning outing that was his shortest of the year.
The outcome of the contest was never seriously in doubt as Arizona State scored in each of the first five innings and led 13-0 after five frames.
Arizona State scored twice in its first turn at the plate without a hit to take an early 2-0 lead. Gallagher was wild from the start, walking Smith and Brett Wallace to start the game before hitting Sogard to load the bases with no outs. Gallagher managed to get Ike Davis to hit into a potential double play but Stanford first baseman Brent Milleville bounced his throw to Cardinal catcher to allow Smith to score and leave the bases still loaded with no outs. Paramore brought home Wallace with a sacrifice fly before Gallagher was able to escape a bigger inning when he induced Roling into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.
The Sun Devils picked up three more runs in the second as Stanford's defense woes were once again a major factor. Rocky Laguna started the inning with a leadoff single but should have been out on the next play when Gallagher got Andrew Romine to hit into what seemed to be a routine 4-6-3 double play ball. However, Sorgi's lead throw from second base to Gaylord covering the bag was wide, leaving runners on first and second with no outs. Hall then moved the runners to second and third with a sacrifice bunt before a two-RBI double by Smith scored both. Wallace finished the scoring in the inning with an RBI single to plate Smith. The Sun Devils had a chance for an even bigger inning but Stanford third baseman Cord Phelps came up with a diving grab of a hard-hit grounder by Roling with the bases loaded and threw him out at first to finally get the Cardinal out of the inning.
Arizona State was right back at it again in the third off Stanford reliever Erik Davis (2.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 SO). Davis hit Laguna to start the inning and the Sun Devils were able to manufacture a run with small ball. Romine's beautiful push bunt single by Davis and Hall's second sacrifice bunt of the game moved the runners to second and third before Smith brought Laguna home with an RBI groundout.
Sogard started a two-run Arizona State fourth with a leadoff bunt single and scored two batters later when Roling launched the first of two homers in back-to-back innings.
Hall became the fifth consecutive Sun Devil hitter to lead off an inning by reaching safely when he doubled off Max Fearnow (1.0 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 1 ER, 1 SO) to start a five-run fifth. Smith followed with an RBI double to plate Hall before Sorgi made his second error of the contest on a grounder by Wallace to put runners on first and third still with no outs. Wallace would move to second on a wild pitch but Fearnow retired the next two hitters before Arizona State took advantage of Sorgi's error by bringing home four unearned runs after two were out. Paramore drove in the first two when he singled through the right side to score Smith and Wallace, before Roling unloaded with a monster two-run shot over the left field wall for his 10th long ball of the season and second in as many innings.
Flores faced the minimum 15 batters over the first five innings, giving up just a first inning single to Sorgi that was immediately erased when Michael Taylor hit into an inning-ending double play.
Stanford was able to keep Arizona State off the scoreboard in the sixth and seventh inning before the Sun Devils added one run for good measure in the eighth off Blake Hancock (1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 SO) when pinch-hitter Brett Bordes singled with one out, moved to third on a double by pinch-hitter Jason Jarvis and scored on CJ Retherford's RBI groundout.
Flores got Brent Milleville to fly out to right field to start the ninth before being removed from the game to a loud ovation. Matt Spencer came in and got the final two outs when Min (Brian) Moon hit into a game-ending 6-4-3 double play.
Stanford's 0-6 start in Pac-10 play is its worst since the 1977 club also lost its first six conference games.
Stanford will conclude its current four-game road trip with a non-conference contest at Nevada this Tuesday, April 10 (2 pm, PT) before returning home to Sunken Diamond to host league leader Arizona (28-6, 6-0 Pac-10) in a three-game conference series Friday-Sunday, April 13-15 (6 pm, 1 pm, 1 pm, PT). Saturday's game will be Commuity Day.
Tickets for the upcoming Arizona series and all regular season Stanford Baseball home contests 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.