April 6, 2013
LOS ANGELES - No. 25 Stanford smacked a season-high 17 hits and Logan James turned in a tremendous relief effort during Saturday's 10-3 win over USC to clinch a three-game Pac-12 Conference series. The three-game set wraps up at 1 p.m. (PT) on Sunday at Dedeaux Field.
Stanford (16-9 overall, 5-3 Pac-12) reached double digits in the hit column for the 10th time on the season to down USC (11-19, 4-7) for the second straight day.
Marcus Brakeman surrendered a double and lost control of a curveball to send Adam Landecker to third in the opening frame. Landecker scored on Blake Lacey's infield hit.
In the top of the second, three two-out walks were issued by Wyatt Strahan. What should have been the third out turned into a pair of Cardinal runs when Wayne Taylor grounded to first and Kevin Swick lost his footing and overthrew to the covering Strahan to give Stanford a 2-1 lead.
USC loaded the bases without one out and Timmy Robinson's second-inning single tied it at 2-2.
Brakeman gave way for James (1-2), who struck out the first batter he faced and induced a double-play to prevent further damage.
Danny Diekroeger, Brian Ragira and Alex Blandino singled in the fifth to load the bases for Lonnie Kauppila. Stanford regained the lead when Kauppila lined a single to center.
Austin Slater added a two-out double in the sixth. Slater moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Diekroeger's single to left. Diekroeger stole second and got two bags when Whiting blooped a single into shallow center.
Taylor drove in Stanford's sixth run with a single in the seventh. Blandino, who sent the first pitch of the inning to left for one bag, scored for the second time as Stanford doubled up the Trojans, 6-3.
USC put two in scoring position and Garrett Hughes replaced James with one out and got the next two to close the seventh.
James tossed 5.1 frames of four-hit ball with four strikeouts and one earned run in relief.
Slater doubled and scored in the eighth. Blandino drove in two with a one-out single down the rightfield line as the Cardinal ran its lead to 9-3.
Jonny Locher doubled and scored in the ninth.
Six Cardinal had multi-hit outings with Blandino and Diekroeger leading the team with three apiece. Taylor had a team-high three RBI.
Landecker had three of USC's nine hits.
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