May 25, 2007
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Los Angeles, Calif. - Ryan Seawell's three-run homer with two outs in the top of the 11th inning lifted Stanford (26-28, 7-15 Pac-10) to a 10-7 victory over USC (27-27, 8-14 Pac-10) in the opener of a three-game Pac-10 series at Dedeaux Field on Friday. Seawell crushed a 1-1 offering from losing pitcher Robert Stock (2-2) over the left field wall to send the Stanford dugout and a sizeable group of Cardinal fans in the Southland into pandemonium.
"It definitely felt good, especially with the type of game I was having," said Seawell, who had been the only Stanford starter without a hit prior to his game-winning homer. "My teammates had been picking me up all game, so it felt good to pick them up for once."
"We battled well tonight," added Stanford head coach Mark Marquess. "We got a lot of hits, and we got the big one with Seawell's home run. He got a pitch he could handle, and he hit it well."
Joey August (6-7, 2B, RBI) had six of Stanford's season-high 20 hits and recorded the first six-hit day by a Stanford player since Jed Lowrie accomplished the feat at Arizona on May 16, 2004. Sean Ratliff (3-5, 4 RBI) and Cord Phelps (3-6) had three hits each, while Michael Taylor (2-6, RBI) and Brian Juhl (2-6) also posting multiple-hit games with Taylor extending his hit streak to a new career-high-tying 10 games.
Joey August (6-7, 2B, RBI) had Stanford's first six-hit game since 2004 in a 10-7 win in 11 innings at USC on Friday |
"I'm just glad we found a way to pull out the game," said August. "It [his six-hit game] wouldn't have really meant anything at all if we would have lost. I'm just glad we're playing a little better as a team. We're kind of proving ourselves after the frustrating season and the rocky start. Even though it's too little, too late, it's a pride thing to know that we are playing better."
"The biggest thing for us lately is really just a change in attitude," responded Seawell about the team's recent hot hitting. "We've just taken it upon ourselves to win big spots. We've been winning more big spots than the other team, and that's why we've been winning and hitting as well as we are. It feels good when things are clicking."
Stanford reliever Nolan Gallagher (5-6) picked up his team-leading fifth win with 4.0 innings of scoreless relief. Gallagher allowed just two hits and two walks while striking out five in relief of Stanford starter Jeremy Bleich (7.0 IP, 12 H, 7 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO).
Stock allowed six runs (five earned) on nine hits and two walks with five strikeouts in his losing outing in relief of USC starter Brad Boxberger (5.2 IP, 11 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO).
Hector Estrella (3-6, 2B) had a team-high three hits for the Trojans. Robert Lopez (2-3, 3 RBI), Johnny Bowden (2-4, RBI) and J.J. Owen (2-4) added two hits each for a USC team that also had all nine of its starters with at least one hit.
The game was scoreless until USC took a 3-0 lead with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Owen and Lucas Duda started the inning with back-to-back singles and when Estrella's well-placed sacrifice bunt attempt turned into a single the Trojans had the bases loaded with no outs. Bleich made the situation worse by walking Bowden to force in a run and then gave up a two-run single to Lopez before setting down and getting out of the inning without any more damage, leaving runners stranded at second and third.
Stanford answered right back with four runs in the top of the fifth to take a 4-3 advantage. The Cardinal had six consecutive hitters reach safely after Boxberger struck out Phelps to start the inning. Juhl beat out an infield single to start the rally before Seawell walked and August came through with an RBI single to plate Juhl with the first Cardinal run of the game. Domaracki then singled home August and Ratliff followed with a two-run single to give Stanford its first lead of the contest.
USC went back ahead, 6-5, with two unearned runs in the sixth as a key error by Seawell and a passed ball on Juhl led to the runs. Bowden started the rally with a one-out infield single before a Lopez single put runners on first and second still with just one out. Juhl's passed ball moved the runners to second and third before a Hector Rabago RBI single plated Bowden. Spencer Pabst then hit a routine bouncer to Stanford first baseman Jason Castro, who went over to step on the bag for the second out of the inning and then discovered that Rabago had started to move over to third base while Lopez had stayed there, leaving the Trojans with a pair of runners in the vicinity of the third base bag. When Castro threw across the diamond to Seawell at third, Rabago made a break back to second while Lopez took off for home. Seawell chased Rabago all the way back to second and applied a tag with the ball in his bare hand for what would have been the third out but dropped the ball in the process, allowing Lopez to score and leaving Rabago safe at second.
Stanford took advantage of a critical USC error in the top of the seventh inning to tie the score. Ratliff hit a routine fly ball to left field as the leadoff hitter but ended up on third base when Duda fell down while in pursuit and was charged with a three-base error. Taylor followed with an RBI single to even the score at 5-5.
USC went back ahead by a 7-5 count with two runs in its half of the seventh. Grant Green and Owen started the inning with a double and an infield single, before scoring later in the frame on an RBI groundout from Duda and a sacrifice fly by Lopez.
Ratliff came through with his second two-run single of the game in the top of the eighth to tie the contest at 7-7 after Seawell and August had reached second and third base with one out after a walk, a single and a sacrifice bunt from Brendan Domaracki.
The victory was Stanford's fourth in a row and seventh in the last eight games with the four consecutive victories establishing the team's second longest in streak of the season. Stanford can still finish the 2007 campaign with an even .500 record with victories in each of the final two games of its current season-ending series at USC on Saturday (1:30 pm, PT) and Sunday (1 pm, PT) to extend its string of non-losing seasons to 14.
Stanford can also get out of the Pac-10 cellar and move ahead of USC in the league standings with wins in both contests.
Stanford will continue its final series of the 2007 season at USC on Saturday (1:30 pm, PT) and Sunday (1 pm, PT). Stanford is scheduled to pitch RHP Erik Davis (4-2, 3.86) versus USC RHP Ryan Cook (7-3, 4.64) on Saturday. Stanford has not announced a probable starting pitcher for Sunday's series and season finale, while the Trojans are slated to go with LHP Tommy Malone (3-6, 5.85).