Feb. 24, 2008
Stanford, Calif. - Stanford (2-1) scored four runs with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning in a 4-2 victory over Nebraska (1-2) on another wet and rainy and day at Klein Field at Sunken Diamond to win a game that had started on Saturday but completed Sunday due to weather conditions. Zach Jones tied the contest with an RBI double and then scored the eventual winning run on a play in which the Huskers committed two errors.
The seventh inning rally started when Cord Phelps drew a two-out walk off Aaron Pribanic (2.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO) that ended the Nebraska reliever's outing. Jones greeted new reliever and eventual losing pitcher Erik Bird (0-1) with an RBI double to the deep rightcenter field gap tie the score at 1-1. Sean Ratliff followed by grounding a slow roller between first and second base that Husker second baseman Jake Optiz got to but made an errant throw trying to retire Ratliff at first base. Zach Herr, who had entered the game as the third pitcher of the inning to face Ratliff, backed up the play and caught Optiz' overthrow but made his own costly error when he threw wildly trying to get Jones at the plate. Jason Castro capped the rally when he followed a two-run shot well over the right field wall.
Other than the wet weather, the game had featured little drama prior to the bottom of the seventh.
The teams played two and a half scoreless innings on Saturday as Stanford's Max Fearnow (3.0 IP, 1 BB, 4 SO) and Nebraska's Dan Jennings (4.0 IP, 1 H, 4 SO) had been engaged in a pitcher's duel before heavy rain suspended the game in the middle of the third inning.
The contest was resumed in the bottom of the third on Sunday with Johnson coming back to pitch two more scoreless innings, while a Cody Neer RBI double in the top of the fourth would score Optiz and give Nebraska a 1-0 advantage.
After the four-run Cardinal seventh, Nebraska did manage to score a run and get the tying and go-ahead runs to the plate off reliever David Stringer (2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB) in the top of the eighth. Optiz singled with two outs and scored on an RBI double by Jeff Tezak to cut the Stanford lead to 4-2. Stringer then walked Neer before striking out go-ahead run Mitch Abeita to end the threat.
Stringer retired the Huskers in order in the ninth to record his first save of the season and the ninth of his career.
Jeffrey Inman (1-0) recorded the win in the contest with an impressive outing, allowing just one hit and three runs with three strikeouts over 4.0 innings as the first Stanford pitcher of the day on Sunday.
Four Stanford players - Joey August (2-2), Castro (2-4, HR, 2 RBI), Jones (2-4, 2B, RBI) and Jeff Whitlow (2-4, SB) - combined for all eight of Stanford's hits.
"This was a good win for us today under tough weather conditions," said Stanford head coach Mark Marquess. "We had a lot of people come through for us."
Nebraska did not have a player with a multiple-hit or multiple-RBI contest.
Stanford will play again on Monday at Klein Field at Sunken Diamond against Saint Mary's in a contest that was added to replace the game missed in the scheduled four-game series versus Nebraska. First pitch is set for 5:00 pm, PT.