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Seasons At Stanford: 2001-04 2004 All-American Candidate Complete Updated Career Stats 5/28/04 Feature: Competitive Spirit 4/1/03 Feature: Going The Extra Mile 5/8/01 Feature: Moving His Game Across The Bay
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General - A fourth-year veteran who became the team's starter at third base early in his junior season One of the team's top defensive infielders An excellent contact hitter that also has gap power and showed the ability to go deep late last season at the College World Series, hitting the first two home runs of his collegiate career Known for coming through in clutch situations Handles the bat well and gives the team lots of offensive options when he is at the plate with his ability to bunt, and hit and run Tough to strike out Gained a significant amount of strength in the offseason.
Cardinal Career - Has posted a .337 career batting average with 27 doubles, eight triples, seven homers, 96 RBI, 166 hits, 98 runs scored and a stolen base Has struck out just 42 times in 492 at bats (once every 11.7 at bats) Known for his clutch play in the postseason with one All-CWS selection and two All-Regional honors Has career averages of .400 (38-95) in the postseason and .396 (19-48) at the College World Series, ranking just five hits behind teammate Sam Fuld on the all-time CWS hit list Has 40 career multi-hit games, 14 three-hit contests and two four-hit outings, as well as 25 multiple-RBI efforts Has played in 167 games with 112 starts Has had tremendous success during his career versus local rival California, going 23-for-53 for a .434 batting average.
2004 Season Notes (Senior) - Ranks third on the club with a .384 batting average, while hitting safely in 34 of the 40 games (all starts) he has played in (missed 15 games due to an injury) Has added six doubles, three triples, five homers, 33 RBI and 52 runs scored Ranks second on the team with nine hit-by-pitches Posted a career-high 12-game hit streak (2/7 - 3/6; 20-53, .377, 1 HR, 10 RBI) Has struck out just 13 times in 164 at bats (once every 12.6 at bats) Ranks third on the team with 93 assists.
2004 Individual Game Highlights/Notes (Senior)
5/29: Arizona State - 2-5, HR, 2 RBI ... first HR since 4/8 at Oregon State
5/28: Arizona State - 2-3
5/23: USC - 3-4, 3B, 4 RBI ... career-high-tying RBI
5/21: USC - 3-5, 2 2B ... first game back in the lineup after missing 15 contests due to an injury
4/17: California - 2-4, RBI
4/10: at Oregon State - 4-6, RBI, 4 runs ... career-high-tying runs scored
4/4: at UCLA - 2-3
4/3: at UCLA - 4-6, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 3 runs ... first career two-homer game, career-high four RBI ... hit a two-run homer in 9th to lift Cardinal to 15-13 win
3/28: Cal Poly - 2-4, RBI
3/27: Cal Poly - 2-4
3/26: Cal Poly - 2-5, 2B, RBI, 4 runs scored ... career-high runs scored
3/24: at Santa Clara - 2-5, 2B
3/23: at Saint Mary's - 3-5
3/6: at USC - 2-7, HR, 2 RBI ... hit a 2-run HR in top of 9th to key a four-run rally that tied the game and sent it into extra inning before the Cardinal won 8-7 in 13 frames
2/29: at California - 2-4
2/28: at California - 2-5
2/27: at California - 3-5, 2 RBI, 3 runs
2/14: Kansas - 2-5, RBI
2/13: Kansas - 3-4, 3B, 2 RBI
2/1: Cal State Fullerton - 2-4
1/31: Cal State Fullerton - 2 RBI
1/30: Cal State Fullerton - 3B, 3 RBI
2003 Season Notes (Junior) - Came on late in the campaign to establish himself as one of the team's top offensive threats and finished the campaign with a .314 batting average, two homers, 33 RBI and a stolen base Added 11 doubles and five triples (tied for third on the team), while second on the squad and fourth in the Pac-10 with nine sacrifice bunts Played in 60 games with 47 starts after becoming the team's starter at third base early in the season Posted a season-high 11-game hit streak during the postseason (5/31-6/22), hitting .440 with four three-hit games and seven multiple-hit contests during the streak Had a tremendous postseason, ranking second on the team with a .393 average while adding a pair of homers and 16 RBI (second on the club) to earn spots on the All-CWS and All-Regional squads Led the team with a .400 batting average (14-35), 14 hits and 10 RBI at the CWS, while adding a pair of homers, the club's only triple and a stolen base Hit .500 (6-12) with five RBI in three NCAA Regional games Hit .313 with 10 RBI in Pac-10 action, playing in all 24 games with 20 starts Doubled and drove in a pair of runs in Stanford's 8-3 victory over Rice in the second game of the CWS Championship Series (6/22) Hit both of his homers in back-to-back games at the College World Series with his first career homer to lead Stanford to a 7-5 10-inning comeback victory over Cal State Fullerton (6/19) in a CWS bracket final and a longball in his first at bat of the CWS Championship Series opener against Rice (6/21) The homer versus Cal State Fullerton ranks as one of the most memorable homers in Stanford Baseball history as he took ace Cal State Fullerton reliever Chad Cordero deep to tie the second CWS Bracket One final (6/19) at 5-5 in an eventual 7-5 victory in 10 innings Posted the fourth three-hit game of his career-high 11-game hit streak in a CWS elimination game versus South Carolina (6/17), going 3-for-5 with a triple, a career-high three runs scored and a career-high-tying three RBI Posted a three-hit game in the CWS opener versus South Carolina (6/13), going 3-for-5 with double and a pair of RBI Tied the NCAA Super Regional game versus Long Beach State (6/7) at 2-2 when he singled home Sam Fuld with two outs in the top of the seventh inning before stealing his first career base and scoring the eventual game-winning run on Danny Putnam's two-out, two-run single Posted back-to-back three-hit games versus UC Riverside (5/31 - 3-5, 2B, RBI) and Richmond (6/1 - 3-4, double, career-high-tying 3 RBI) in the final two games of the NCAA Regional Had two RBI in both the series opener (5/23) and series finale (5/25) versus Cal Poly, driving in three of the runs on a pair of sacrifice flies and Stanford's first successful suicide squeeze of the season (5/23) The first Stanford player of the season with a pair of sacrifice bunts in a game during the Cal Poly opener (5/23) Had his second three-hit game of the season versus UCLA (5/16 - 3-5) Named Pac-10 Player of the Week (5/12) for the first time in his career after hitting .545 (6-11) with a pair of hits in all three games of a sweep at California (5/9-5/11) Registered a six-game hit streak (5/4-5/16), going 11-for-21 (.524) with two doubles, a triple and three RBI Had a key RBI single with two outs in the top of the ninth inning at Washington State (4/7) to tie the game and send it into extra innings in a contest Stanford eventually won, 8-5 in 11 innings Picked up his first three-hit game of the season versus Washington (3/28 - 3-4) Honorable mention Pac-10 All-Academic.
2002 Season Notes (Sophomore) - Hit .250 in limited action, collecting six hits in 24 at bats while playing in 23 contests (all off the bench) Scored a run at the College World Series versus Texas (6/17) after walking as a ninth inning pinch-hitter in an 8-7 Stanford loss Led the team with four pinch-hits (4-20, .200) Had his biggest pinch-hit of the season versus San Francisco (4/2) with a two-RBI single to cap a four-run Cardinal sixth in a 4-1 Stanford win Had a game-winning RBI infield single versus Texas (3/28) in his second at bat of the game to lift the Cardinal to a 7-6, 10-inning victory.
2001 Season Notes (Freshman) - Had an outstanding rookie campaign, establishing himself as the team's designated hitter late in the regular season Finished the year with a .327 batting average and 24 RBI in only 110 at bats, playing in 44 games with 25 starts Led all regulars in the postseason with a .410 batting average, adding four doubles and nine RBI Finished 5-for-13 (.385) in four CWS games Stanford's top pinch-hitter (7-16, .438) Tied a career-high three hits (fourth time of the season) with a 3-for-4 (2B, 2 RBI) performance in the CWS opener versus Tulane (6/8) Was 4-for-10 (.400) with a double and four RBI in three games of the NCAA Super Regional against South Carolina, including a 3-for-4 (2B, 2 RBI) performance in an 11-1 win over the Gamecocks in the Super Regional opening game (6/1) and a key RBI-double in a 4-3 victory in the final game of the series (6/3) to help send the Cardinal to the CWS Earned a spot on the NCAA All-Regional team by going 7-for-16 (.438) and hitting safely in all four of the games he played in Knocked in a career-high-tying three runs versus Texas (5/26 - 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI) and tied a career-high three hits versus Marist (5/26 - 3-5, 2B) on the second day of the NCAA Regional Put together a season-high seven-game hit streak (4/21-5/11), going 11-for-25 (.440) with a double and five RBI during the stretch Tied a career-high with three hits (3-3, 2 RBI) versus Santa Clara (5/1) Reached base six consecutive times during games versus Santa Clara (5/1) and at Sacramento State (5/2), going 5-for-5 and being hit by a pitch over six straight at bats Walked with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to force in the winning run and cap Stanford's dramatic 11-10 comeback win over Cal Poly (5/8) Had a pair of memorable pinch-hit two-RBI doubles versus Washington (3/25) and at Arizona State (3/31) Hit .257 with eight RBI in Pac-10 action.
High School - A 2000 graduate of Bishop O'Dowd High School Led his team to consecutive Hayward Area Athletic League championships (1999, 2000) as his club was selected Division III Team of the Year by Cal-Hi Sports (2000) Named HAAL Player of the Year, selected First Team Cal-Hi Sports All-State and named a First Team All-County player by the Alameda Newspaper Group as a senior Earned First Team All-HAAL honors his junior and senior seasons, as well as Second Team All-HAAL honors in his sophomore year Batted .410 in his sophomore year, .381 as a junior and .598 in his final prep campaign Had 58 hits, 58 runs scored, 43 RBI and two home runs in his senior season Named his school's Student-Athlete of the Year in 2000, receiving recognition as a National Achievement Scholar and graduating with a 3.86 GPA Coached by Joel Kaufman.
Amateur Summer Baseball - Played his second consecutive summer with the Mankato Moondogs of the Northwoods League in 2003, hitting .256 with six RBI and two stolen bases Had an excellent summer in 2002 with the Moondogs, hitting .333 and stealing 10 bases Played during the summer of 2001 for the Anchorage Bucs of the Alaska Baseball League, hitting .195 with eight RBI Competed for three consecutive summers with the AAU NorCal Baseball Club, winning a championship in 1998, runner-up in 1999 and taking third in 2000 Participated in the USA Junior National Team Trials (2000) and the Team One Showcase (1999) Played in the Friendship Series in Beijing, China (1998), earning MVP and batting title honors.
Personal - Political Science major Son of Wil Ash and Carol Pancho-Ash Father was a catcher on the baseball team at California (1971-74) and has also coached the Oakland Rattlers, a 16-year-old Babe Ruth team that was the first United States youth team to play in Cuba Contemplating a profession as a lawyer Spent the summers of 2000 and 2001 working as a manager at Triple Play Batting Cages in Emeryville Represents the baseball team on Cardinal Council, a committee comprised of Stanford student-athletes from all teams who work with administrators from the athletic department to improve the relationship between student-athletes and faculty A member of the CAPER Committee for 2001-02 Hobbies include playing cards and listening to music Favorite sports team is the Oakland Athletics, while favorite athlete is Michael Vick of the Atlanta Falcons Would advise youngsters wanting to play collegiate baseball to "work hard in the classroom and on the field, and follow your dreams" Earliest baseball memory is swinging a plastic bat in the living room when he was four years old A member of the Tohono O'odham Nation with a heritage that is one-quarter Native American.
Career Game Highs
AB - 7, at USC (3/6/04)
R - 4, vs. Cal Poly (3/26/04)
H - 4, twice, last at Oregon State (4/10/04)
HR - 2, at UCLA (4/3/04)
RBI - 4, twice, last vs. USC (5/23/04)
SB - 1, vs. Long Beach State (6/7/03)
Hit Streak - 12 games (2/7/04 - 3/6/04)
2004 Season Highs
AB - 7, at USC (3/6/04)
R - 4, vs. Cal Poly (3/26/04)
H - 4, twice, last at Oregon State (4/10/04)
HR - 2, at UCLA (4/3/04)
RBI - 4, twice, last vs. USC (5/23/04)
SB - None
Hit Streak - 12 games (2/7/04 - 3/6/04)
Last Updated: 9/30/04