March 28, 2013
PULLMAN, Wash. - For the fifth straight outing, Mark Appel shelved double-digit strikeouts as No. 23 Stanford blanked Washington State at Bailey-Brayton Field, 3-0. Appel scattered four hits and worked his way out of a number of jams to strand nine Cougars for the complete-game victory. Eight of the Washington State runners stood in scoring position
Appel (4-2) walked one of the 36 batters faced Thursday evening to help Stanford (12-8 overall, 2-2 Pac-12 Conference) snap a three-game skid. His 10 strikeouts brought his career total to 306, moving him into eighth place on the Cardinal's all-time chart.
Since striking out three in his Feb. 15 season debut at Rice, Appel has fanned 61 in his last five starts while permitting three earned runs over the 42.0 inning stretch. The win was his third complete-game victory in 2013.
Washington State entered the week ranked second in the NCAA with a .335 batting average and third in slugging pct. (.486). The Cougars led the Pac-12 in doubles (54), home runs (17), extra-base hits (78) and on-base pct. (.406). Stanford held the home team without an extra-base hit.
Prior to Appel's start against Washington State (15-9, 2-2), the Cardinal had outscored opponents by a slim 14-13 margin in the All-American's decisions. Stanford used nine hits, including three in a three-run third, to pick up the league win while giving Appel ample room to work.
Brian Ragira and Alex Blandino had three hits apiece for the Cardinal. Each of Blandino's hits were of the two-bag variety.
Singles by Ragira and Danny Diekroeger in the first went for naught. The pair advanced a bag on Austin Slater's sacrifice bunt before Jose Pistorese (3-2) retired the next two Cardinal batters to get out of the fix.
Pistorese held strong while going head-to-head with Appel and shouldered the complete-game loss while giving up two earned runs in 9.0 innings.
The Cougars got a soft one-out infield single in their half of the first and Appel hit a batter to put to another base. A wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position, though Appel got out of the inning unscathed.
Blandino dropped a leadoff double down the leftfield line to start the second. Wayne Taylor drew a one-out walk in front of Brant Whiting's single through the left side. With the bases loaded, Ragira lined a two-RBI single back up the middle to start a three-run rally.
The Cougars got another infield single in the second and managed only two more hits on the evening.
Ragira's third hit came in the fourth and Blandino added another double in the sixth. Blandino cranked his third double to start the ninth.
The series continues at 6 p.m. (PT) on Friday. Live video, audio and stats will be available at GoStanford.com.
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