June 2, 2012
NCAA Stanford Regional Central
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Quote Sheet | Pepperdine | Stanford
STANFORD, Calif.-- Kenny Diekroegerdelivered a two-out, go-ahead double in the top of the eighth as top-seeded Stanford (40-16) advanced to the regional title game following a 5-4 win over second-seeded Pepperdine (34-22) Saturday night.
The Cardinal will play Sunday night at 6 p.m. for the chance to advance to next weekend's Super Regional round. Stanford will take on the winner of Sunday's 1 p.m. elimination game between Pepperdine and Fresno State, which eliminated Michigan State earlier Saturday.
Diekroeger chased Waves starter Scott Frazier (7-5) from the game following a seeing-eye double that bounced over the third base bag and scored Tyler Gaffneyfrom first.
Frazier gave up five runs on nine hits over seven and two-thirds innings, striking out five and walking one. One of his two wild pitches though would prove costly, however.
Leading 4-1 in the sixth, that untamed, uncorked toss led to a bases clearing, three-run wild pitch and error that tied the game at 4-4.
With the bases loaded, Frazier's wild pitch would score Brian Ragira from third with the first run. Pepperdine catcher Miles Silverstein retrieved the ball at the backstop, but lost control of the ball when he pump-faked a throw bluffing a pick-off throw to third. That error allowed Alex Blandino to race home with the second run, and things went from bad to worse for the Waves when the rolling ball hit an unaware Ragira, who was trotting back into the Cardinal dugout, and careened out of play. The bounce out of play led to Eric Smith, who was pulling into third, being awarded a base to tie the game at 4-4.
A.J. Vanegas(4-0) closed the game for the Cardinal with three and two-thirds scoreless innings and struck out a career-high eight batters to pick up the win. The Cardinal closer gave up only one hit and stranded three Waves in scoring position, striking out the final batter of the sixth, and two in the seventh and eighth innings.
In the ninth, Vanegas struck out the side to finish the contest.
Stanford starter Brett Mooneyham would struggle through two and a third innings, giving up four runs in the third before being relieved by Dean McArdle. McArdle got the Cardinal back in the game with three shutout innings, before Vanegas came on to get the final two outs of the sixth. The first of those outs came on a fine defensive play from second baseman Danny Diekroeger, who threw Pepperdine's Bryan Langlois out at home on a fielder's choice to preserve the 4-4 tie.
Mooneyham allowed four hits over 2.1 innings, walking two, hitting another and striking out two.
Brian Ragiraaccounted for Stanford's first run, blasting a solo shot off the batter's eye in straight-away center field in the fourth to make it 4-1.
NOTES:Fresno State awaited the loser of the Saturday's winner's bracket game after eliminating Michigan State, 8-2,, earlier Saturday ... Stanford has reached the Regional Championship in 11 of 12 tries since 1999 ... the Cardinal has moved on to eight Super Regionals, with five 3-0 sweeps ... the Cardinal is 10-3 in regional championship games and 32-9 over its 12 Regionals, including this year.
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FSU - MSU Box
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Michigan St.
Fresno St.
STANFORD, Calif. -Fresno State lived to play another day at the Stanford Regional, defeating Michigan State, 8-2, in Saturday's elimination game at Klein Field at Sunken Diamond.
The Bulldogs (31-27) scored five times over the final four innings to break a 2-2 deadlock and advance.
Fresno State will return to action Sunday at 1 p.m., taking on the loser of Saturday night's winner's bracket contest between No. 1 Stanford and No. 2 Pepperdine.
Michigan State finishes the 2012 season 37-23.
Fresno's Trent Garrison went 3-for-4 with three RBI Saturday, and drove in what would be the game-winning run with a two-out, sixth-inning double that plated Patrick Hutcheson to break a 2-2 tie.
Starter Thomas Harlan combined with Gene Escat and closer Taylor Garrison to hold the Spartans to two runs on seven hits. Escat picked up the win, his fourth, after relieving Harlan with one out in the fifth inning. Garrison worked the final two and a third innings to pick up his 11th save.
Andrew Waszak gave up four runs on eight hits over seven innings to take the loss, his fourth, for Michigan State.
Fresno tacked on three insurance runs in the top of the ninth thanks to four consecutive singles from Jordan Brink, Hutcheson, Jake Alvarez and Aaron Judge.
Both schools scored twice in the first inning. A two-out double by Judge was followed by RBI singles from Trent Garrison and Kenneth Wise to get the Bulldogs on the board. The Spartans answered right away on Blaise Salter's two-out, two-run double that plated Ryan Jones and John Martinez.
But from there the Fresno staff would take over, keeping the Spartans off the board the rest of the way. Michigan State would get runners on first and second with two outs in the seventh, but Garrison was called from the bullpen and promptly got Jones to ground out to first to end the threat.
The contest also featured a triple play turned by Michigan State in the top of the eighth. With runners on first and second, Wise laced a drive into right-center field that Michigan State centerfielder Anthony Cheky snagged with a full-extension diving catch. As the Fresno runners were off on contact and around third and second when Cheky made the catch, the Spartans doubled off each Bulldog runner to complete the play.