May 10, 2007
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STANFORD CARDINAL (19-26, 4-14 Pac-10)
2007 SERIES
Friday, May 11 (6 pm, PT) - RHP Jason Erickson (3-1, 3.18) vs. RHP Jeffrey Inman (4-2, 5.10)
Live Game Coverage: Gametracker
| PC Webcast | Mac Webcast
Saturday, May 12 (1 pm, PT) - RHP Elliott Cribby (1-1, 5.59) vs. LHP Jeremy Bleich (1-8, 6.07)
Live Game Coverage: Gametracker | PC Webcast | Mac Webcast
Sunday, May 13, (1 pm, PT) - RHP Jorden Merry (6-6, 4.61) vs. TBA
Live Game Coverage: Gametracker
STANFORD-WASHINGTON SERIES HISTORY
All-Time Series: Stanford 38-14
2006 Results: Series - Stanford 3-0 (at Washington, May 12-14) - Stanford 5-0, Stanford 14-6, Stanford 10-2
Last Meeting at Stanford: Series - Stanford 3-0 (April 22-24, 2005) - Stanford 2-1, Stanford 10-6, Stanford 6-3
Current Game Win Streak: Stanford - 6 (April 22, 2005 - May 14, 2006)
Current Series Win Streak: Stanford - 2 (April 22-24, 2005 - May 12-14, 2006)
Current Season Series Win Streak: Stanford - 2 (2005-06)
Series Notes: Stanford has won six straight games against Washington with back-to-back series sweeps in 2005 and 2006 after the Huskies had won two-of-three in Seattle in 2004. Stanford has a current five-game home win streak against Washington with the last Huskies victory at Sunken Diamond coming in the opener of a three-game set on March 28, 2003. Stanford has actually won 13 of the last 15 games between the teams at Sunken Diamond and five consecutive series at home over the Huskies since Washington took the final two games of a best-of-three Pac-10 Championship Series over the Cardinal at Sunken Diamond in 1998.
LAST PAC-10 SERIES WIN: WASHINGTON
Stanford's last Pac-10 series win came nearly a year ago when the Cardinal swept a three-game set at Washington (May 12-14, 2006). Stanford's seven straight Pac-10 series losses since are the most consecutive conference series defeats in the school's recorded history. Stanford has also lost seven straight series overall since its last series victory in a non-conference sweep of California earlier this season from March 2-4. The seven-series overall losing skid is the longest since Stanford dropped eight straight series overall from April 13, 1978 - March 31, 1979.
PAC-10 SERIES OPENER SKID SNAPPED
Stanford's 6-4 win in Saturday's series opener at Washington State on May 5 ended a streak of six straight losses in Pac-10 series-openers. Stanford had actually lost seven straight series-openers dating back to its last series-opening win over California on March 2.
BACK-TO-BACK WINS HARD TO COME BY
Stanford has not recorded back-to-back wins since the Cardinal won at Sacramento State and at San Jose State on March 25 and 27, marking a span of 23 contests.
PLAYING WELL ON CAMERA
Stanford will welcome CSTV's cameras for the live television broadcast versus Washington this Sunday, May 13. Stanford has won each of its last two TV games over Oregon State (April 28) and at Washington State (May 5) after losing its first two TV games of the campaign at Arizona State (April 7) and versus Oregon State (April 27).
FINAL MONTH OF REGULAR SEASON
Stanford is in its final month of the 2007 regular season and has a 1-3 record in its first four games of the month. The Cardinal has 11 more games scheduled in May with its next series versus Washington (May 11-13), followed by games at Santa Clara (May 15), versus Pacific (May 18, 20), at Pacific (May 19), versus UC Davis (May 22) and at USC (May 25-27).
TRYING TO STAY OUT OF THE CELLAR
Stanford is currently in last place in the Pac-10 with a 4-14 conference record that is two games behind eighth-place Washington State's 6-12 mark. Stanford has finished at the bottom of the Pac-10 just twice in 30 previous seasons under current head coach Mark Marquess, tying for fifth in a six-team league with a 1-17 conference record in 1979 and taking sixth of six teams with a 10-20 mark in 1993.
TOUGH STARTS
Stanford started 2007 Pac-10 play with an 0-8 league mark that was the worst in recorded school history before winning its first conference game against Arizona on April 15. Stanford also started the season with an 0-3 record to mark the first time since 1989 the Cardinal had lost its first three games of the season. In addition, the sweep at Cal State Fullerton was also the first time Stanford had been swept in a three-game season-opening series in the school's recorded history.
WINNING/POSTSEASON STREAKS IN JEOPARDY
Stanford's current strings of 13 straight winning seasons and the same number of consecutive appearances in the NCAA Division I Baseball Championships from 1994-2006 are in serious jeopardy. The Cardinal has a current 19-26 overall record that is seven games under .500 and will need to go 9-2 over its final 11 regular season games to avoid only its second losing season in the past 43 years. The last time Stanford had a losing season and did not qualify for the postseason was in 1993 when the club missed the postseason with a 27-28 overall mark.
FIFTH ALL-TIME WINNINGEST PROGRAM
Stanford is the fifth all-time winningest program in college baseball history with a record of 2509-1576-32 (.613) in 4116 games over 114 seasons including 2007. Fordham, Texas, USC and Michigan are the top four.
WINNING THE CLOSE ONES
Stanford has a 6-3 record in one-run games this season and has also won both of its extra-inning contests this season at San Jose State (March 27) and versus Oregon State (April 28).
TEAM STATS
OFFENSE - Stanford is sixth in the Pac-10 in home runs (29), as well as seventh in batting average (.287), runs (250) and hits (453), and last (9th) in stolen bases (20).
PITCHING - Stanford has struggled tremendously on the mound with an uncharacteristically high 6.31 ERA that is last in the Pac-10 by 121 points over eighth-place Washington State (5.10 ERA) and 95 points higher than the highest ERA in the school's recorded history when the 1979 pitching staff posted a 5.36 mark. The team's .315 opponents' batting average is also last in the Pac-10.
FIELDING - Stanford also ranks last in the Pac-10 in fielding percentage (.959) despite seven errorless games in its last 16 contests. Stanford's errors of late have come in bunches with 11 multiple-error contests in the last 22 games.
TEAM LEADERS
OFFENSE - Sean Ratliff is having a big season and has arguably been the team's most consistent hitter in 2007. Ratliff is leading the Cardinal in nearly every offensive category, including home runs (9, #6T Pac-10), stolen bases (9), triples (3, co-leader, #6T Pac-10), runs scored (48, #3T Pac-10), hits (59, #10T Pac-10), total bases (101, #9 Pac-10), slugging percentage (.546), at bats (185, #3T Pac-10), hit by pitches (5, co-leader), games played (45) and games started (45). Joey August has the team's top batting average (.328) and on-base percentage (.395) among those with the minumum 2.5 at bats per team game needed to qualify, while also leading the club with four sacrifice bunts. Other offensive team leaders or co-leaders include Michael Taylor (38 RBI; 5 HBP, co-leader), Cord Phelps (13 2B, #8T Pac-10; 3 3B, co-leader, #6T Pac-10; 18 BB), Brian Juhl (5 HBP, co-leader; 3 SF, co-leader) and Brent Milleville (3 SF, co-leader). Adam Sorgi is notably hitting .396 (44-111) and has a .468 on-base percentage and has moved to within just 1.5 at bats of reaching the 2.5 minimum number of at bats per game to qualify for the team lead, as well as the Pac-10 and NCAA stat leaders in both categories.
PITCHING - Jeffrey Inman (4-2, 5.10, 65.1 IP, 56 SO) paces the club in wins and strikeouts, co-leads the team with one complete game and has also posted the lowest ERA among any pitcher with at least one inning pitched per team game played. Jeremy Bleich (1-8, 6.07, 75.2 IP, 45 SO) has the team-lead in innings pitched (#10 Pac-10) and starts (13, #7T Pac-10). Nolan Gallagher (3-6, 7.36, 55.0 IP, 40 SO) has the club's only other complete game and the team's only shutout. Gallagher had been in the team's rotation along with Inman and Bleich for most of the season before coming out of the bullpen in each of his last four appearances and going 1-1 with a save in those four outings. David Stringer (0-2, 6.31, 7 SV, 41.1 IP, 28 SO) paces the club with 26 appearances and seven saves, ranking second and seventh in the Pac-10 in those two categories.
HOT BATS COOL A LITTLE
Stanford is currently on its best offensive run of the season and had posted a season-high nine consecutive double-digit hit games before failing to reach the mark in either of the final two games of its most recent series versus Washington State on May 6 and 7. Stanford hit .350 (121-346) over the nine-game stretch with Adam Sorgi (.543, 19-35, 3 2B, 1 3B, 10 RBI) the club's top hitter during the period.
MOST RECENT SERIES STATS (WASH STATE)
OFFENSE - Stanford struggled offensively at Washington State, scoring just 14 runs (4.7 per game) in the series and struggling with a .276 batting average although the Cardinal did homer four times in the three games. Brendan Domaracki (.667, 2-3, 3 RBI), Adam Sorgi (.455, 5-11, 3 2B, 2 RBI), Sean Ratliff (.429, 6-14, 2 HR, 5 RBI), Cord Phelps (.375, 3-8) and Joey August (.375, 3-8) have been the team's top hitters in the series.
PITCHING - Stanford posted a respectable 4.68 ERA in the series, as well as an outstanding opponents' batting average of only .260. Jeffrey Inman (1.00, 1-0, 1 APP, 1 GS, 1 CG, 9.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO) and Erik Davis (3.86, 0-1, 1 APP, 1 GS, 7.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO) both had excellent starts, while Cory Bannister (0.00, 0-0, 1 APP, 0.2 IP, 1 BB) notched a scoreless relief outing.
FIELDING - Stanford fielded at a .956 clip with five errors in the series but had just one in the final game of the set after making four in the opener with Adam Gaylord making three of those.
SEAN RATLIFF'S OFFENSIVE FOCUS PAYS OFF
Sean Ratliff has a current career-best 11-game hit streak (.373, 19-51, 15 R, 3 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 10 RBI) and is leading the Cardinal in nearly every offensive category, including home runs (9, #6T Pac-10), stolen bases (9), triples (3, co-leader, #6T Pac-10), runs scored (48, #3T Pac-10), hits (59, #10T Pac-10), total bases (101, #9 Pac-10), slugging percentage (.546), at bats (185, #3T Pac-10), hit by pitches (5, co-leader), games played (45) and games started (45). He has also contributed a .319 batting average and 27 RBI that both rank second on the club among regulars. Ratliff was 0-for-14 with 10 strikeouts in limited offensive action last season and has still struggled with his strikeouts in 2007 with a Pac-10-high 57.
ADAM SORGI MAKING A RUN AT .400
Adam Sorgi is currently hitting .396 and is looking to become only the seventh Stanford player to hit .400 or better in a season. He also boasts a .468 on-base percentage. Sorgi has successfully returned from a shoulder injury that caused him to miss the entire 2006 season and limited his action early in 2007. Sorgi did not play his first game in the field since 2005 against California on March 4 but has started 28 of the 30 games at the position since, including all 26 since the Cardinal returned from a 12-day break on March 24. He also had the team's longest hitting streak of the season when he hit safely in 12 straight contests from March 4 - April 10 and just had a red-hot 10-game run from April 21 - May 6 (.564, 22-39) with multiple hits in eight of the 10 games snapped when he was 0-for-3 in his most recent contest at Washington State (May 7).
CORD PHELPS DOING SOMETHING EXTRA
Cord Phelps ranks third on the club with 16 extra base hits, leading the team in doubles (13, #8T Pac-10) and tied for the club lead along with Sean Ratliff in triples (3, #6T Pac-10). Last year, all 18 of Phelps' hits were singles. However, Phelps has not had an extra-base hit in his last eight games since doubling twice at San Jose State on March 27.
DAY AND NIGHT
Stanford is a respectable 15-15 during day games but just 4-11 at night.
LONG GAMES, BUT NOT IN LAST SERIES
Stanford has clocked in at 3:00 or over in 27 of its first 45 games this season, gone 3:40 or longer 13 times and more than 4:00 on three occasions, including a season-long 4:12 against UCLA on March 31. Stanford played 11:36 over three games for an average game time of 3:52 in a three-game against Oregon State (April 27-29) but played three relatively short games (2:41, 3:07, 2:39) in its most recent series at Washington State (May 5-7) to total just 8:27 of playing time.
COMEBACK WINS
Stanford has come from behind in 13 of its 19 wins this season. Stanford's biggest comeback of the year came versus USC (March 11) when the Cardinal was down 8-4 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning before scoring four times to the game at 8-8 and six more in the eighth in an eventual 14-9 win.
EARLIER LOSING SKIDS
Stanford dropped six straight home games (March 24 - April 14) earlier this season and nine consecutive Pac-10 contests (May 21, 2006 - April 14, 2007) that dated back to the final conference contest of last year that were both the longest in recorded school history.
TROUBLE IN RUBBER GAMES
Stanford has had the opportunity to snap its current seven-series overall and Pac-10 losing skids in the rubber games of each of its last three series at California (April 22), versus Oregon State (April 29) and at Washington State (May 7) but has lost each contest. Stanford had not played a rubber game all season prior to its last three series.
40-HOMER STREAK
Stanford hit four three homers in its most recent series against Washington State (May 5-7) to increase its season total to 29 in its first 45 games this season but will still need to average one long ball a game in its final 11 regular season contests to extend the team's string of consecutive 40-homer seasons to 20.
PLAYING THE BEST
Stanford has already played some of the best teams both in the nation and the Pac-10. The Cardinal has played seven of its first 11 three-game series and 21 of its first 45 games against teams ranked in at least one national poll at some point in the season.
SUNKEN DIAMOND
Sunken Diamond has served as a host site for 13 NCAA Regionals, as well as NCAA Regionals on five occasions. Stanford has clinched 10 of its 15 trips to the College World Series at Sunken Diamond. Stanford has also made Sunken Diamond a tough place for opponents in recent years, winning at least 17 games at home in each of the last 11 seasons prior to 2007 with an amazing 305-97 (.759) record during the stretch. However, Stanford is just an even .500 (13-13) at home this season and will need three victories in its remaining six regular season home games to avoid the first home losing season in recorded school history. Stanford's worst home record ever came in 1964 when the Cardinal was 13-13 at Sunken Diamond.
STANFORD CAREER STATS VERSUS WASHINGTON
Jeremy Bleich (2.57, 1-0, 1 APP, 1 GS, 7.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO)
Jason Castro (.364, 3 GP, 3 GS, 4-11, 3 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 1 SO, 1 SB)
Brendan Domaracki (.167, 3 GP, 1-6, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 3 SO, 1 SB)
Grant Escue (.417, 3 GP, 3 GS, 5-12, 4 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 2 SO)
Max Fearnow (9.00, 0-0, 1 APP, 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER)
Nolan Gallagher (4.00, 2-0, 2 APP, 9.0 IP, 11 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 7 SO)
Brian Juhl (.182, 3 GP, 3 GS, 2-11, 2 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 3 SO, 1 SAC)
Brent Milleville (.000, 2 GP, 0-3, 1 HBP, 1 SO)
Randy Molina (.200, 3 GP, 3 GS, 2-10, 2 R, 2 RBI, 4 BB)
Michael Taylor (.500, 6 GP, 6 GS, 9-21, 6 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 4 BB, 2 SO, 1 SF, 2 SAC, 1 SB)
Ryan Seawell (.467, 7 GP, 3 GS, 7-15, 6 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 3 SO)
Adam Sorgi (.188, 5 GP, 4 GS, 3-16, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 5 SO, 1 SAC, 1 SB)
2006 STANFORD-WASHINGTON GAMES
May 12, 2006 - Stanford 5, at Washington State 0
Greg Reynolds pitched his first career complete game shutout to lift Stanford to a season-high-tying fourth straight victory with a 5-0 win over Washington. Reynolds struck out nine while scattering eight hits and walking just one batter to out pitch Washington's Tim Lyncecum in the highly anticipated match up between two of the nation's top pitchers. Michael Taylor (2-5, 2B, 2 RBI) had a pair of hits and RBI for the Cardinal, while Jim Rapoport (2-4, RBI) and Chris Minaker (2-5, 2B) each added a pair of hits. The victory moved Stanford out of the Pac-10 cellar and was its fifth conference win in its last seven contests.
Quote of the Day ... "It was exciting to pitch in this type of a game. I was very happy with the way I pitched and the outcome for both myself and more importantly our team." - Greg Reynolds
May 13, 2006 - Stanford 14, at Washington 6
Stanford scored nine runs in the top of the second inning after Washington had scored four in the bottom of the first and then cruised to a 14-6 victory over Washington that was the 1250th in the illustrious career of Stanford head coach Mark Marquess. Chris Minaker (3-6, 2B, HR, 4 RBI) and Chris Lewis (2-5, 2B, HR, 3 RBI) both had three-run homers in the Cardinal second, while Ryan Seawell (3-5, 2B, RBI) added a three-hit game and also scored three runs. All nine Stanford starters scored at least one run. Nolan Gallagher held Washington to just one run over 7.0 innings of relief to earn the win after entering the contest to start the second frame. Matt Lane (2-5, 2 HR, 4 RBI) and Matt Stevens (2-4, HR, RBI) both homered to lead the Huskies' offense.
Quote of the Day ... "The coaches just kept tell us that it was a long game. Once we got that momentum rolling, we knew we could come back." - Nolan Gallagher on the mood in the dugout after Washington's four-run first
May 14, 2006 - Stanford 10, at Washington 2
Stanford completed a three-game game sweep of Washington with a 10-2 victory as the Cardinal scored seven runs in the top of the fourth inning and then rode the arms of winning pitcher Jeremy Bleich and reliever Matt Manship to the win. Bleich pitched 7.0 innings, allowing just two runs while scattering eight hits and a walk with three strikeouts. Manship closed out the game by giving up just one hit with a strikeout in 2.0 scoreless frames. Michael Taylor (3-4, HR, RBI), Jason Castro (2-4, HR, 3 RBI) and Ryan Seawell (2-6, HR, RBI) all homered for the Cardinal, while Grant Escue (3-5, RBI) had a three-hit contest. Stanford's three-game road sweep was its first since winning three in a row at Washingon State from April 1-3, 2005.
Quote of the Day ... "We're playing well now, and we feel like we have the ability to beat anyone. It's important to just take care of things one game at a time and that means our next game at Santa Clara on Tuesday. We've been through a lot of really rough times this year, but our guys have stuck with it and here we are on the other end looking to do something special." - Michael Taylor
STANFORD HEAD COACH MARK MARQUESS
One of the nation's premier collegiate coaches and the winningest coach in Stanford Baseball history, Mark Marquess is in his 31st season at the helm of the Cardinal and his 39th associated with the program in 2007. Marquess has won more games than any coach in any sport ever at Stanford with the amazing numbers he has posted during his long tenure on The Farm. Marquess has a 1276-643-5 (.665) all-time record in 1924 career games, as well as equally impressive marks in postseason (112-52, .683), NCAA Regional (68-25, .731), NCAA Super Regional (10-4, .714), CWS (34-23, .596) and Pac-10 (505-341, .597) action. He is currently ranked sixth among all active NCAA Division I coaches in victories and 11th on the all-time list among Division I coaches. Marquess became the 23rd coach in the history of NCAA Division I baseball to reach the 1000-win mark with a victory over Florida State on February 9, 2001. Just over two years later, he picked up win No. 1100 versus Nevada on February 17, 2003. He became the 16th NCAA Division I head baseball coach to win 1200 collegiate games just over another two years after that when the Cardinal defeated California at Sunken Diamond on March 5, 2005. He also won his 100th career postseason game in Stanford's NCAA Super Regional clinching victory over Long Beach State (June 7, 2003). The 1969 Stanford graduate has led the Cardinal to two CWS titles and three runner-up showings in five CWS championship appearances, as well as 13 College World Series trips, five NCAA Super Regional titles, 14 NCAA Regional championships and 12 Pac-10 crowns (includes Southern Division and shared titles). Stanford's two CWS championships under Marquess came in back-to-back fashion in 1987 and 1988 as the Cardinal is just one of four teams to have ever won back-to-back Division I College World Series titles. The three runner-up showings have all come this decade with the Cardinal taking second in Omaha in 2000, 2001 and 2003. Maybe even more amazing, all 13 teams that Marquess has taken to the College World Series have won at least one game. Stanford has qualified for the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship 24 times in the first 30 seasons under Marquess with a current school record run of 13 straight appearances in postseason play. He has been named NCAA Coach of the Year three times and has received Pac-10 or Pac-10 Southern Division Coach of the Year honors on nine occasions, most recently with his Pac-10 selection in 2003. The Cardinal has also recorded 29 winning seasons in the first 30 campaigns under his leadership. His clubs have finished either first or second in the prestigious Pacific-10 (formerly Pac-10 Southern Division) 22 times in the last 26 seasons including 2006. Stanford has had 134 players drafted by professional baseball in the past 22 campaigns, including 18 in the last 20 years that were drafted either in the first round or as a Compensation A pick. Stanford has had more first round picks (6) since 2000 than any other school in the nation, most recently with the selection of Greg Reynolds as the No. 2 overall pick in 2006. A member of the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, Marquess was the head coach of the 1988 United States Olympic baseball team that captured the gold medal. He was also an accomplished football and baseball standout on The Farm, and is a member of the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame. He is one of only 10 people to have ever both played and coached in the College World Series. Marquess was the starting first baseman and a First Team All-American on Stanford's 1967 CWS squad and played four seasons in the minor leagues with the Chicago White Sox organization.
STANFORD COACHING STAFF
Dean Stotz is in his 31st season with Stanford Baseball and his eighth as the team's associate head coach after he was promoted to the position prior to the 2000 season following 23 years of service as an assistant. Stotz currently coaches third base while also handling various offensive and defensive aspects of the game. Tom Kunis is in his eighth season as Stanford's pitching coach, while Dave Nakama is also in his eighth campaign over two stints as an assistant.