April 6, 2007
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Tempe, Ariz. - No. 15 Arizona State (25-10, 6-2 Pac-10) scored six runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to key a wild 12-8 victory over Stanford (13-14, 0-5 Pac-10) despite Sean Ratliff's first collegiate two-homer game and a career-high seven RBI for the Cardinal. Pinch-hitter C.J. Retherford had the key hit in the six-run Sun Devil seventh with a one-out bases loaded three-RBI double to break a 5-5 tie.
Arizona State's win was its second straight over the Cardinal in the Pac-10 series on a warm Friday night before a season-high crowd of 4042 that waited for a game that lasted three hours and 48 minutes before being treated to a post-game fireworks show at Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark.
Brett Wallace (3-4, HR, 3 RBI) and Petey Paramore (3-4) had three hits each to lead Arizona State's offense.
Brent Milleville (3-5, 2 2B) and Joey August (3-5, 3B) joined Ratliff (2-4, 2 HR, 7 RBI) with multiple-hit games for Stanford, who outhit Arizona State by a 13-12 count. Ratliff had a one-out inside-the-park grand slam in a four-run Cardinal seventh that tied the game at 5-5 and then hit a long three-run blast down the right field line in his next at bat in the eighth inning to pull Stanford to within 11-8. Adam Sorgi extended his hit season-high hit streak to 10 games with a first inning double.
Arizona State reliever Joey Parigi (3-1) was credited with the victory. Parigi (1.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB) came into the contest with runners on second and third base and two outs with four runs already home in the Cardinal seventh and induced Brian Juhl into a groundout to end the inning and keep the score tied at 5-5.
Stanford had trailed 5-1 until Ratliff's heroics in the seventh after back-to-back one-out singles by August and Jeff Whitlow, and a walk to Adam Gaylord had loaded the bases. Ratliff sent a 1-1 pitch from Arizona State starter Josh Satow (6.2 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 7 SO) into the gap in right center field and when a diving Smith failed to come up with it the ball rolled to the wall and Ratliff was off to the races. Ratliff stumbled about 15 feet from home plate but a relay throw was off line, allowing him to get up and reach the plate.
Arizona State immediately answered with its six-run seventh as the Sun Devils sent 11 batters to the plate in the inning off five Cardinal pitchers. David Stringer (1.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 SO) suffered the loss in his first decision of the season when Arizona State loaded the bases against him with one out in the seventh on a Sorgi error on a hard-hit grounder hit to the Cardinal second baseman by Ike Davis, a single by Paramore and an intentional walk to Kiel Roling. Tom Stilson (0.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER) came on and gave up Retherford's bases clearing three-RBI double to the rightcenter field gap and an RBI double to Andrew Romine to plate pinch-runner Rocky Laguna before being removed in favor or Andrew Clauson (0.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER). Clauson had a rough start, hitting Hall and allowing back-to-back RBI singles to Tim Smith and Wallace before finally retiring Eric Sogard. Kyle Thompson (0.2 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB) came on in his collegiate debut and retired Davis to finally get the Cardinal out of the inning.
Parigi had problems in the Stanford eighth, allowing Ratliff's three-run blast that cut the Arizona State margin in half to 11-8 after issuing a two-out walk to Whitlow and giving up a single to Gaylord. Parigi walked Sorgi before being relieved by Jason Jarvis (1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 SO), who gave up a single to Michael Taylor to allow Milleville to come to the plate as the tying run before retiring the Cardinal cleanup hitter on a grounder to Hall at third base.
Arizona State picked up one more in the bottom of the eighth without the benefit of a hit to make the final score 12-8. Thompson walked three of the four batters he faced in the inning to load the bases and was relieved by Brandt Walker (0.2 IP, 1 BB), who walked Hall to force in a run before getting Smith to bounce into an inning-ending double play.
Jarvis retired Stanford quietly in the ninth to earn his third save of the season, allowing just a two-out single to August before striking out pinch-hitter Grant Escue to end the game.
The early portions of the game gave little sign of the wild later innings.
Arizona State led 2-0 after four innings with a two-run second frame off Stanford starter Jeffrey Inman (5.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 3 SO) the only runs. Inman issued a two-out walk to Romine to start the rally before Hall doubled him home and gave up another free pass to Smith before Wallace came through with a clutch two-out RBI single up the middle to plate Hall.
Joey August (3-5, 3B) tied a career-high with three hits and had a season-high two runs scored, while stroking his first career triple on Friday at Arizona State |
Stanford got on the scoreboard in the fifth when August hit his first career triple to lead off the inning and scored on Whitlow's subsequent sacrifice fly.
Arizona State quickly turned around any potential Stanford momentum with three runs in its half of the fifth to extend its lead to 5-1 with two errors contributing to two unearned runs. Wallace got the run back the Cardinal had scored in the top of the fifth when he led off the inning with an opposite field solo homer for his 12th long ball of the season. Inman then walked Sogard but he was immediately erased from the base paths when he was thrown out stealing. Inman retired Davis on a fly out to August in left field for the second out before Paramore kept the inning going with a two-out single. The Cardinal should have been out of the inning without any further damage but Cord Phelps booted Roling's routine grounder for what would have been the final out. Pinch-hitter Matt Spencer followed with an RBI single to plate Paramore and Roling came all the way around to score when August failed to come up with the ball cleanly in leftcenter field for the second Cardinal error of the inning.
Stanford has now lost its first five Pac-10 games for its worst conference start since the club began with an 0-6 league mark in 1977.
Stanford will try to avoid being swept when the two teams conclude the three-game series Saturday (1 pm, MT/PT) in a game scheduled to be televised live by Fox Sports Net Arizona. Stanford is slated to send RHP Nolan Gallagher (2-2, 6.69) to the mound versus Arizona State LHP Brian Flores (5-1, 3.06).
Stanford will conclude its current four-game road trip with a non-conference game at Nevada (Tuesday, April 10, 2 pm, PT) before returning home to Sunken Diamond to host Arizona in a three-game Pac-10 series Friday-Sunday, April 13-15 (6 pm, 1 pm, 1 pm, PT).
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.