May 2, 2001
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No. 7 Stanford Cardinal (35-12, 12-6 PAC-10) vs. Sacramento State Hornets (19-29, 3-9 BIG WEST)
Wednesday, May 2, 6:30 pm - RHP Jeremy Guthrie (8-3, 2.05) vs. RHP Jeffery Groeger (4-7, 4.67)
A live audio broadcast of the Stanford-Sacramento State baseball game will be available on KZSU (90.1 FM) as well as at www.gostanford.com and realaudio.stanford.edu ... Chad Goldberg will call the action.
ESSENTIAL STANFORD BASEBALL NOTES
Stanford will be playing its second and final game this week when the club squares off with Sacramento State in a non-conference game at Raley Field on Wednesday, May 2 (6:30 pm) ... Stanford will be off from Pac-10 action this weekend and will return next week to play five games, beginning with a non-conference game at Sunken Diamond versus Cal Poly on Tuesday, May 8 (6 pm) ... The Cardinal opened the short week by erupting for 20 hits in a 15-8 win over Santa Clara on Tuesday, May 1 ... The freshman trio of Jonny Ash, Carlos Quentin and Brian Hall had three hits each ... Stanford is currently in second-place in the Pac-10 (1.0 games behind first-place USC) for the first time this season after losing the first two games of the California series last weekend, 7-4 and 4-0 ... Stanford has dropped two straight series for the first time since 1997 when the club dropped two-of-three to Washington in the Pac-10 championship series and two-of-three to UCLA in the final regular season series ... Stanford has dropped four of its last six games to open the second half of the Pac-10 schedule after posting a 10-2 mark in the first half of league play ... Stanford has dropped to No. 7 in the Baseball America poll this week, while being ranked No. 4 by Baseball Weekly/ESPN and No. 6 by Collegiate Baseball ... The Cardinal sat at the top of the Baseball America poll for six consecutive weeks (3/12 - 4/16) and had been the nation's unanimous No. 1 team for two weeks (4/9 - 4/16) ... Stanford had won 17 consecutive regular season series dating back to over a year ago before losing two-of-three games in series the last two weekends at USC (4/20 - 4/22) and California (4/27 - 4/29) ... Stanford has had four winning streaks of five or more games this season, including a season-best 10-game winning streak from March 7-31, and did not lose consecutive games all season until dropping three in a row from April 17-21 ... The Cardinal is attempting to win its fifth straight Pac-10 baseball title (includes Southern Division and co-titles) ... Stanford is 21-3 at Sunken Diamond this year, while posting a 14-9 road mark ... The team's current 35-12 overall record is one game under the 36-11 record that the 2000 CWS runner-up squad had posted through 47 games ... Eight of Stanford's 12 losses this season have been by one run ... Stanford is 11-4 against ranked teams this year (according to Baseball America) but has no more regular season games scheduled against teams currently ranked in the national polls... Stanford leads the Pac-10 in both ERA (3.28) and fielding percentage (.976) ... The last time the Stanford staff had a lower ERA for the season was the 2.64 mark posted by the 1973 club ... The starting trio of Jeremy Guthrie (8-3, 2.05), Jeff Bruksch (8-2, 2.91) and Mike Gosling (5-0, 2.76) has combined for a 21-5 record and a 2.54 ERA ... Gosling (5-0 Pac-10) has won five consecutive Pac-10 games, including four consecutive Pac-10 starts ... Gosling has recorded a pair of career firsts in his last two outings with his first shutout at California (4/29) and his first complete game at USC (4/22) ... Guthrie leads the team in strikeouts (93) and Bruksch in innings pitched (96.0) ... The Cardinal has been errorless in 23 of 47 games ... Stanford's team batting average currently sits at .308 ... Ryan Garko leads the team in batting average (.356) ... Chris O'Riordan is the club's leader in homers (8), RBI (54), stolen bases (15), hits (67) and total bases (102).
NO. 7 STANFORD FINISHES SHORT WEEK VERSUS SACRAMENTO STATE AT RALEY FIELD BEFORE TAKING THE WEEKEND OFF IN PAC-10 ACTION
Stanford will play Sacramento State for the only time this season in a game at Raley Field on Wednesday, May 2 (6:30 pm, PDT). The Cardinal defeated the Hornets twice last year. Stanford was a 4-2 winner in the first meeting at Sacramento State (2/21). Jason Luker earned his first collegiate victory, while Mike Gosling earned his first collegiate save. Stanford erupted for an 18-2 victory in the second meeting between the clubs last year at Sunken Diamond (4/4). John Gall (4-4, 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI) led the Cardinal's 19-hit attack. Stanford leads the all-time series between the clubs, 13-8 (since 1977). Stanford has won eight straight meetings between the teams dating back to 1995. Sacramento State's last victory over the Cardinal was an 8-6 triumph in Sacramento on May 8, 1995.
STANFORD BEGINS THE WEEK WITH 15-8 NON-CONFERENCE WIN OVER SANTA CLARA AFTER LOSING TWO-OF-THREE AT CALIFORNIA LAST WEEK
Stanford opened its week with by erupting for 20 hits in a 15-8 victory over Santa Clara on Tuesday, completing a four-game sweep of the Broncos this season and extending its winning streak over Santa Clara to 19 straight games dating back to 1997. The freshman trio of Jonny Ash (3-3, 2 RBI), Brian Hall (3-4, 2B, 3 RBI) and Carlos Quentin (3-6, 2B, RBI) had three hits each and all nine Stanford starters had at least one hit. Ash's three hits were a new career-high. Ryan Garko (2-3, 2B, RBI), Andy Topham (2-5, 3 RBI), Sam Fuld (2-5, SB) and Chris O'Riordan (2-6, 2 RBI) had two hits each for Stanford. The 20 hits marked the team's second-highest hit total of the season. Ryan McCally (2-1) earned the victory with 3.0 innings of relief. The Cardinal scored nine times in the third inning, the most runs the Cardinal has scored in an inning this season. The Cardinal also had nine hits in the frame, all singles. Stanford dropped two-of-three games at California last weekend, marking the first since 1993 that the Golden Bears had defeated the Cardinal in a series and snapping Stanford's 12-series winning streak against California. The Golden Bears used sixth-inning homers by Brad Smith and Ben Conley to key Friday's 7-4 comeback win. Stanford was shutout for the second time in a week on Saturday as Jason Dennis and Matt Brown scattered nine Cardinal hits, three of the by Chris O'Riordan (3-4). The Cardinal avoided its first sweep to California since 1992 with an 8-0 win in Sunday's series finale. Mike Gosling picked up his first career shutout and won his fifth consecutive Pac-10 game, including four consecutive starts. Stanford scored six times in the seventh inning to expand a slim 1-0 lead. Quentin (3-5, 2 2B) and Scott Dragicevich (2-3, 2 2B) each had a pair of Stanford's season-high six doubles.
STANFORD HEAD COACH MARK MARQUESS
One of the nation's premier collegiate coaches, Mark Marquess is now in his 25th season as the Stanford head coach. Marquess has a career record of 1030-510-5 (.668) at Stanford, including an impressive 423-279 (.603) mark in Pacific-10 Conference action, arguably the toughest league in the nation. The 1969 Stanford graduate has led the Cardinal to two NCAA titles (1987, `88), 10 College World Series appearances (1982, `83, `85, `87, `88, `90, `95, `97, `99, `00), 10 Pac-10 regular season titles (1983, `84, `85, `87, `90, `94, `97, `98, `99, `00) and 18 NCAA Tournament showings. Marquess became the 23rd head coach in the history of NCAA Division I baseball to reach the 1000-career win mark when the Cardinal defeated Florida State earlier this season on February 9, 2001. He began the 2001 season ranked 14th in victories and 19th in winning percentage among active Division I baseball coaches. He has been named NCAA Coach of the Year three times and has received Pacific-10 Coach of the Year honors on eight occasions, including three of the last four seasons. Marquess was named the Pac-10 Southern Division Coach of the Year seven times before being named the first Pac-10 Coach of Year in the newly aligned conference (1999). Last season, Marquess coached the Cardinal to its first trip to the College World Series title game since winning the 1988 CWS championship. His teams have won NCAA Super Regionals each of the last two seasons, as well as at least a share of a Pac-10 baseball championship (includes Southern Division championships) for a school-record four straight seasons. Nearly as eye-opening as the number of titles won by the Cardinal is the consistent level of success Marquess has brought to the program. The Cardinal has suffered just one losing season during his tenure and has finished either first or second in the prestigious Pacific-10 (formerly Six-Pac) 18 times in the last 20 seasons. Stanford has had 95 professional baseball draft picks in the past 16 seasons, including 12 first-round selections in the last 14 years. A member of the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, Marquess was the head coach of the 1988 United States Olympic baseball team that captured the Gold Medal. Marquess was an accomplished football and baseball standout on The Farm and is a member of the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame. He is one of only six collegiate head baseball coaches to have both played and coached in the College World Series. Marquess was the starting first baseman on Stanford's 1967 College World Series squad and played five years of minor league baseball with the Chicago White Sox organization.
COMMENTS FROM MARK MARQUESS
(On the last six games of Pac-10 play) "I think it's really hard to predict what's going to happen in the entire Pac-10. There are a lot of capable teams. I am more concerned with how we're playing than how the other teams are doing. I think we need to really pick it up offensively. We haven't swung the bats very well in the last two or three weeks with the exception of one or two games."
(On the team's approach for the last three weeks of the regular season) "We don't need to do that much different except swing the bats better. We'll work on that during our off-time this weekend and make an effort for the final push."
(On the resurgence of Mike Gosling) "Mike Gosling has really pitched well for us in his last two outings. Those were both very big games for us."
(On the Pac-10 race and the post-season) "Your goal is to win the league title. But, it does you no good to win the league title and not be playing well for post-season. It's great to win a league title, but the thing you remember is how a team did in the post-season. Hopefully, you can win the league and do well in post-season."
STANFORD COACHING STAFF
Dean Stotz is in his 25th campaign with Stanford Baseball. Stotz was promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2000 season after 23 years as an assistant. Stotz currently coaches third base while also handling various offensive and defensive aspects of the game. Mark O'Brien (3rd season) and Tom Kunis (2nd season) complete the Cardinal coaching staff. O'Brien assists with all aspects of the game and serves as the Cardinal's first base coach. Kunis is the team's pitching coach.
STANFORD DROPS TO NO. 7 IN BASEBALL AMERICA POLL
Stanford fell to No. 7 in this week's Baseball America poll, the team's lowest ranking since moving from No. 10 to No. 1 after a three-game sweep of USC March 9-11. Stanford is still ranked No. 4 this week by Baseball Weekly/ESPN and No. 6 by Collegiate Baseball. The Cardinal spent two weeks (4/9 - 4/16) as the nation's unanimous No. 1 team but has managed only a 3-5 record in the last two weeks. The Cardinal spent six weeks as Baseball America's top team (3/12 - 4/16). Stanford has been ranked No. 1 at one point during each of the past five years. Stanford opened the 2001 season ranked No. 9 by Baseball Weekly/ESPN, No. 11 by Collegiate Baseball and No. 14 by Baseball America. USC (No. 5 Baseball America, No. 5 Collegiate Baseball, No. 5 Baseball Weekly/ESPN) and Arizona State (No. 20 Baseball America, No. 16 Collegiate Baseball, No. 15 Baseball Weekly/ESPN) are the Pac-10's other ranked clubs. The Cardinal finished the 2000 campaign ranked No. 2 in all three polls after opening the season at No. 1 before dropping out of the top spot on February 14, 2000. Stanford's poll history includes a run as "king of the polls" in 1998 when the team held the top spot in the Baseball America poll for the entire regular season (a record 14 consecutive weeks).
STANFORD BASEBALL HISTORY
Stanford's storied baseball program has had many highlights as the program is currently in its 108th season and has an all-time record of 2263-1442-32 (.610). Last year's trip to the College World Series championship game was only the latest chapter in the success story of Stanford Baseball. The program has produced 35 winning seasons over the last 36 campaigns (also 52 of last 54), including six consecutive years with 40 or more wins. Just a few of the highlights have included back-to-back NCAA titles (1987, 1988), 12 College World Series appearances, 18 conference titles and 21 NCAA Tournament berths. Stanford has boasted a total of 40 All-Americans who have earned a total of 47 All-American honors. Stanford has also garnered three NCAA Player of the Year choices in Jeff Austin (1998), David McCarty (1991) and Steve Dunning (1970). Other numbers for the Cardinal Baseball program include 93 all-conference players earning a total of 118 honors, 55 major league players (including seven that are currently playing Major League Baseball) and 12 first round draft picks in the last 14 years. Eight members of the 2000 Stanford Baseball team signed professional contracts following the 2000 collegiate season, including first-round draft picks Justin Wayne and Joe Borchard.
CARDINAL DROPS TWO STRAIGHT REGULAR SEASON SERIES AFTER WINNING 17 IN A ROW
Stanford has lost two consecutive regular season series at USC (4/20/01 - 4/22/01) and at California (4/27/01 - 4/29/01), dropping two games in each three-game set. The Cardinal had not lost two straight series since 1998 when the Cardinal lost two-of-three to USC in the final regular season series of the year (5/9/98 - 5/11/98) and two in a row to Washington in the Pac-10 Championship series (5/14/98 - 5/15/98). Stanford hadn't lost two straight regular season series since 1997 when Stanford was swept by Arizona State (4/11/97 - 4/13/97) and dropped two-of-three against UCLA (4/19/97 - 4/20/97).
RECORD BOOK UPDATE
Stanford has a few players looking to enter the Cardinal record books or move up from their current spots. The team is making its biggest run for a school record in team fielding percentage (.976), currently .004 than the record set three times in the last 11 years (1990, 1995, 2000). The club is also nearing the record book's top five in double plays (48), shutouts (7) and saves (14). Individually, Mike Wodnicki (.917, 11-1) currently ranks second on the school's all-time won-loss percentage list. Mike Gosling (10.44) is second on the strikeouts per nine innings list, Chris O'Riordan (.357, 141-395) ranks fourth on the career batting average list and Jeff Bruksch (13) is tied for the fifth on the all-time save list. No Stanford player is making a serious run at entering the record book for single-season records in 2001.
TOPSY TURVY
Stanford has had seven different players (Jason Cooper, Scott Dragicevich, Sam Fuld, Ryan Garko, Chris O'Riordan, Carlos Quentin, Jason VanMeetren) lead the team in batting average at one time or another this season. Garko (.356) currently leads the club in batting average. All seven players still have averages better than .300 and Brian Hall (.310) has joined them.
HITTING REPORT
Stanford's team batting average currently sits at .308, just .001 percentage point lower than its season-high of .309, and fifth in the Pac-10. Stanford's team batting average has been at .300 or better for the last 11 games (since 4/13). Stanford's 20 hits against Santa Clara (5/1) were the team's second-highest total all season and the Cardinal now has double-digit hits in more than half of its games (24 of 47). Stanford picked up a season-high 22 runs versus Oregon State (4/14) and a season-high 23 hits at Nevada (4/10) during a six-game stretch (4/8 - 4/17) that raised the team's batting average from .289 to .309. Stanford is hitting .316 in 18 Pac-10 games. Seven different players have led the Cardinal in batting average at one point this season. Ryan Garko is the current leader with a .356 batting average and co-leads the team with Sam Fuld in on-base percentage (.441). Chris O'Riordan is second with a .347 mark and also paces the squad with career-highs in homers (8), RBI (54) and stolen bases (15). He also leads the team in hits (67) and total bases (102). Jason VanMeetren is the team leader in doubles (13) and triples (3), while Arik VanZandt has a team-high 40 runs scored. Jason Cooper leads the club with a .596 slugging percentage and Carlos Quentin has been hit by a team-high nine pitches. Fuld leads the team in bases on balls (24). Quentin (.339), Fuld (.338), Scott Dragicevich (.335), VanMeetren (.317), Brian Hall (.310) and Cooper (.309) join Garko and O'Riordan with batting averages at .309 or better. Quentin and Cooper both have hit seven homers to rank tied for second on the club. Stanford has totaled 44 home runs, 294 RBI and 68 stolen bases for the season, compared to 30 home runs, 149 RBI and 21 stolen bases for its opponents.
PITCHING REPORT
The Stanford pitching staff leads the Pac-10 with a team ERA of 3.28 and has been even better in 18 Pac-10 games with a 3.08 ERA. The last time the Cardinal finished a season with a lower ERA was when the 1973 club posted a final ERA of 2.64. Opponents are hitting only .228 off Cardinal pitching. The current starting rotation of Jeremy Guthrie (8-3, 2.05), Jeff Bruksch (8-2, 2.91) and Mike Gosling (5-0, 2.76) has combined for a 21-5 record and a 2.54 ERA. Gosling has been the team's hottest pitcher with five consecutive Pac-10 victories, including four starts. He also has a current string of 15.0 straight scoreless innings and has tossed his first two career complete games in his last two starts. Guthrie picked up seven straight victories and Bruksch five in a row earlier in the year. Guthrie (NCBWA Pitcher of the Week, 2/13) and Bruksch (Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week, 2/26) have both earned one national honor this year. In addition, both have been named Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week twice (Bruksch - 2/27, 4/9, Guthrie - 3/6, 3/13). Bruksch has had separate scoreless inning streaks of 19.0 and 15.0 during the period. Tim Cunningham (4-0, 3.95) had been the team's third starter for most of the season before Gosling's return to the starting rotation. Mike Wodnicki (4-1, 4.54, 4 SV) and J.D. Willcox (2-0, 0.47, 3 SV) have been the team's leaders out of the bullpen. Wodnicki has a team-high 19 appearances (three starts), while Willcox has given up just one earned run in 19.1 innings. John Hudgins (1-5, 6.15, 4 SV) has four saves as well but also has five of the team's 12 losses. Ryan McCally (2-1, 3.08, 2 SV) has also been effective out of the bullpen. Guthrie leads the club in strikeouts (93 in 92.0 IP), while Bruksch paces the club in innings pitched (96.0). The Cardinal staff has seven shutouts and seven complete games. Bruksch has three complete games, while Guthrie and Gosling have two each. All three players have one shutout.
FIELDING REPORT
Stanford's defense is currently fielding at a .976 clip that would rank as the best fielding percentage in school history, .004 percentage points above the school record of .972 reached three times between 1991-2000. Stanford has been errorless in three straight games and 23 of 47 overall. Stanford was also perfect defensively for four consecutive games from March 25-31. Chris O'Riordan leads the Pac-10 in assists (163). O'Riordan has recorded a team-high seven assists three times, while shortstop Scott Dragicevich has also reached the figure once. First baseman Arik VanZandt has committed just two errors in 463 chances for a .996 fielding percentage, while backup catcher Ken Tirpack (138 chances) remains flawless. The starting infield of O'Riordan, Dragicevich, VanZandt and third baseman Andy Topham has made just 21 errors between them for a fielding percentage of .980. Dragicevich had a stretch of 12 consecutive games (1/26-2/18) without an error at shortstop and only one over a 23-game period (1/26-3/23).
REGULAR STARTING PITCHING ROTATION NOW 21-5
Despite four losses in the last two weeks of Pac-10 play, Stanford's current regular starting pitching rotation of Jeremy Guthrie (8-3, 2.05), Jeff Bruksch (8-2, 2.91) and Mike Gosling (5-0, 2.76) has a combined 21-5 record with a 2.54 ERA this season. Tim Cunningham (4-0, 3.95) was the third starter for most of the season before the return of Gosling to the starting rotation. The foursome has a 25-5 record.
MIKE GOSLING WINS FIFTH STRAIGHT PAC-10 GAME
Mike Gosling has won five straight Pac-10 games and four consecutive Pac-10 starts after returning to the starting rotation on April 8 versus UCLA. Gosling has a 2.88 ERA during the stretch. He has allowed 20 hits and 11 earned runs in 34.1 innings pitched, while striking out 33 and walking eight.
BULLPEN SHOULD BE RESTED
Stanford used its bullpen for just 1.0 inning in last weekend's three-game series at California (4/27 - 4/29). Jeff Bruksch and Mike Gosling both tossed complete games, while Jeremy Guthrie lasted 7.0 innings in his start. Drew Ehrlich was the only reliever to appear. Three Stanford relievers (Ehrlich, Ryan McCally, John Hudgins) appeared in Stanford's 15-8 over Santa Clara on May 1.
SLOWING DOWN ON THE BASEPATHS
One of the most notable changes in this year's Cardinal team is its success on the base paths. Stanford has 68 stolen bases in 93 attempts through its first 47 games, already surpassing its season total of 55 a year ago. The Cardinal is still averaging 1.4 steals per contest, compared to the 0.8 steals per game the club averaged a year ago. However, Stanford has slowed down lately with only six stolen bases in its last 14 games. Stanford was averaging 2.0 steals per game through its first 28 contests but has stolen only 12 bases in 19 games since. Chris O'Riordan leads the team with a career-high 15 stolen bases, while Arik VanZandt, Andy Topham and Sam Fuld are tied for second with eight each. Jason VanMeetren has seven steals, followed by Scott Dragicevich and Brian Hall with five.
CHRIS O'RIORDAN CURRENTLY FOURTH ON CAREER BATTING AVERAGE LIST
Chris O'Riordan currently ranks fourth on Stanford's career batting average list with a mark of .357 (141-395). O'Riordan had threatened to enter the list ahead of current leader Jack Shepard (.362, 1951-53) before a midseason slump. He dropped to as far as 10th at one point before moving back up to fourth by hitting safely in 15 of his last 17 games, going 30-for-72 (.417) during the stretch.
BEATING THE BEST
Stanford's 35-12 record includes an 11-4 mark against teams ranked among the nation's Top 25 in the Baseball America poll at the time the Cardinal faced them. Stanford has no more games scheduled against teams currently ranked among BA's Top 25.
TOUGH LUCK IN ONE-RUN GAMES
Stanford has a 3-8 overall in one-run games this season. Stanford did beat San Jose State, 4-3, in its most recent one-run contest (4/24). The Cardinal has fared a little better in extra inning games with a 3-2 mark in those games, including three straight victories. Stanford's record in games decided by three or more runs this year is 27-3.
CARDINAL SHUTOUT TWICE IN EIGHT DAYS AFTER 167-GAME STREAK
Stanford's 4-0 loss at California (4/28) marked the second time in eight days that the Cardinal suffered a shutout. Stanford's 7-0 loss at USC a week earlier (4/21) marked the first time the Cardinal had been shutout since February 5, 1999 (8-0 at Cal State Fullerton). Stanford had scored at least one run in 167 consecutive games.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
* The Pac-10 coaches picked Stanford to finish third in their annual preseason poll.
* Stanford has drawn better than 2,000 fans in nine of its last 15 home games, including a season-best 2,973 versus USC on March 11 and the season's best weeknight crowd (2249) against USF. The Cardinal has also been a big draw on the road, drawing 2,000 or more spectators for 12 of 23 road contests.