April 9, 2002
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
San Jose State (26-11, 6-6) at No. 2 Stanford (22-7, 2-1)
Tuesday, April 9, 6 pm, PT - RHP Mike Malott (5-1, 2.94) vs. Drew Ehrlich (0-2, 4.94)
USC (18-14, 5-1) at No. 2 Stanford
Friday, April 12, 6 pm, PT - RHP Anthony Reyes (1-0, 1.38) vs. RHP Jeremy Guthrie (6-0, 3.08)
*Saturday, April 13, 1 pm, PT - RHP Matt Chico (4-3, 5.24) vs. LHP Tim Cunningham (5-1, 2.67)
Sunday, April 14, 1 pm, PT - TBA vs. RHP John Hudgins (5-0, 4.70)
*Saturday's Stanford-USC game will be televised by FOX Sports (check your local listings for time of broadcast) ... A live audio broadcast of all four Stanford Baseball games this week will be available on KZSU (90.1 FM) as well as online at gostanford.com ... Chad Goldberg (play-by-play) and Nick Kapur (color analysis) will call all the action ... Live stats will also be available for all four games at gostanford.com.
STANFORD BASEBALL QUICK TEAM NOTES
Stanford heads into tonight's game versus San Jose State with 14 wins in its last 17 games ... Stanford has also won 11 consecutive regular season series and 28 of its last 30 ... The Cardinal is 9-0 in series-openers and won two-of-three games in its most recent series at Arizona last Friday-Sunday (5-4, 18 inn., 19-1, 13-15, 8 inn.) ... Stanford's 19 runs and 26 hits versus Arizona last Saturday were both season-highs ... Stanford's team batting average has jumped .013 points to .328 after collecting 43 hits in the last two games, snapping a 10-game stretch in which the Cardinal hit just .255 and saw its team batting average fall .036 points from .351 to .315 ... Stanford continued its big inning threat this season versus Arizona when the Cardinal posted a pair of seven-run innings in the series giving the Cardinal 15 innings in which it has scored five or more runs in an inning ... Stanford is averaging 8.4 runs per game and has reached double figure hits in 21 of its first 29 games ... Stanford's ERA currently sits at 3.81 (.031 percentage points higher than last year's final 3.50) ... The Cardinal has raised its fielding percentage to .970 (.007 behind last year's school record and nation-leading .977) after going errorless in six of the last 11 games ... Stanford has hit 12 triples and had held its opponents with a triple until Arizona's Chris Cunningham recorded one in the final game of the series (4/7) ... Stanford's 22-7 record this season is two games behind the team's 24-5 mark through 29 games a year ago ... Stanford is now the nation's No. 2 team behind Clemson in all four major national polls by Baseball America, Baseball Weekly/ESPN, Collegiate Baseball and NCBWA ... Stanford is attempting to qualify for the College World Series for the fourth consecutive season as the 2002 senior class is looking to become the first class of Stanford Baseball players to reach Omaha in each of its four years ... Stanford has qualified for the CWS title game in each of the last two seasons ... Stanford is coming off three straight 50-win seasons for the first time in school history and has compiled a record of 173-55 (.759) since 1999.
STANFORD BASEBALL QUICK INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Jason Cooper continues to lead the team with a .400 batting average and 29 RBI, while co-leading the club (along with Ryan Garko) with six homers ... Sam Fuld leads the team in both hits (44) and doubles (12), while Brian Hall paces the club with seven stolen bases and Carlos Quentin has a team-high three triples ... Stanford's regular starting rotation of Jeremy Guthrie, Tim Cunningham and Hudgins is a combined 16-1 with a 3.36 ERA ... Guthrie has won 11 consecutive decisions, while leading the team in strikeouts (58) and innings pitched (64.1) ... Chris O'Riordan (.359) currently ranks tied for second on Stanford's career batting average list, while Sam Fuld (.347) and Carlos Quentin (.347) are tied for 10th ... Fuld (6 RBI), O'Riordan (2 HR) and Tobin Swope (5 hits) all set new career-bests in a 19-1 win at Arizona (4/6), while Carlos Quentin tied a career-high four hits.
STANFORD-SAN JOSE STATE PREVIEW AND HISTORY
Stanford and San Jose State are a pair of teams on a roll. Stanford has won 14 of its last 17 games, while San Jose State has won nine of 11 and beat No. 3 Rice in its most recent game. Stanford is hitting .328, fielding at .970 and has posted a 3.81 ERA. San Jose State is hitting .299 with a .974 fielding percentage and a 4.00 ERA. Stanford picked up a pair of narrow victories last year, winning 5-3 in 10 innings at San Jose State (4/3/01) and 4-3 at Stanford (4/24/01). Stanford leads the all-time series, 71-29, and has won three straight in the series with the last Spartan victory coming with a 4-1 win at Sunken Diamond on February 29, 2000.
A CLOSER LOOK AT LAST YEAR'S STANFORD-SAN JOSE STATE GAMES
at Stanford 4, San Jose State 3 (April 24, 2001) - Ryan Garko hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the third inning to lift Stanford to a 4-3 victory over San Jose State. Garko (2-3, 2B, HR, 3 RBI) and Sam Fuld (2-3) had a pair of hits each for the Cardinal. Starter Mike Wodnicki (4-1), the first of five Stanford pitchers, held the Spartans hitless in the first three innings and was credited with the victory. J.D. Willcox pitched two hitless innings to earn his third save of the season. Junior Ruiz (2-3, 3B) had a pair of hits for the Spartans, while Brandon Macchi and Zack Zwissig both homered.
San Jose State......... 000 300 000 - 3 5 0 Stanford............... 103 000 00x - 4 8 2Win-Wodnicki(4-1) Loss-Malott(2-1) Save-Willcox(3) T-2:46 A-1957
BATTERIES: San Jose State - Malott, Cook (4), Rogelstad (8) and Shorsher. Stanford - Wodnicki, Cunningham (4), Ehrlich (4), McCally (7), Willcox (8) and Garko, Tirpack (9). HRs: San Jose State - Macchi (2-run in 4th), Zwissig (3rd, solo in 4th), Stanford - Garko (3rd, 3-run in 3rd).
Stanford 5, at San Jose State 3 -- 10 innings (April 3, 2001) - Scott Dragicevich's two-out, two-RBI single in the top of the 10th inning led Stanford to a 5-3 10-inning victory over San Jose State. Dragicevich singled through the left side of the Spartans' infield on a 0-1 pitch from losing pitcher Jeremy Rogelstad (2-3) to score Chris O'Riordan and Sam Fuld. Stanford reliever Mike Wodnicki picked up the victory with 3.1 innings of scoreless two-hit relief, striking out three. O'Riordan (3-5, HR, RBI), who homered on the first pitch of the game, led the Cardinal offense. VanZandt (2-4, RBI, SB), Dragicevich (2-5, 2 RBI) and Fuld (2-5, 2B) added two hits each as the Cardinal totaled 13 hits. Zack Zwissig (2-3, 2B), Junior Ruiz (2-4, RBI) and Kevin Frandsen (HR, 2 RBI) led the Spartans' offense.
Stanford............... 101 001 000 2 - 5 13 0 San Jose State......... 000 000 300 0 - 3 10 2Win-Wodnicki(2-1) Loss-Rogelstad(2-3) Save-None T-3:02 A-528
BATTERIES: Stanford - Gosling, Luker (6), Wodnicki (7) and Garko, Tirpack (9). San Jose State - Adinolfi, Cook (4), Malott (5), Kauffman (6), Rogelstad (7) and Shorsher, Bautista (9). HRs: Stanford - O'Riordan (6th, solo in 1st), San Jose State - Frandsen (2nd, 2-run in 7th).
STANFORD-USC BASEBALL SERIES PREVIEW AND HISTORY
Stanford will host USC in a key Pac-10 series this Friday-Sunday, April 12-14 (6 pm, 1 pm, 1 pm, MT) with Saturday's game scheduled to be televised by FOX Sports. Stanford (22-7, 2-1 Pac-10) currently sits 1.5 games behind the first-place Trojans (18-14, 5-1 Pac-10) but is equal in the loss column with one less conference series played. USC has rebounded from a difficult preseason to win five of its first six league games and six of its last seven overall. Stanford swept USC in a non-conference series between the clubs last month in Los Angeles. The Cardinal swept a rare doubleheader (3/23 - 9-6, 12-10 in 11 inn.) on the first day of the series before picking up a 5-4 victory (3/24) to close out the sweep. Last year, Stanford won four of the six games played between the teams. The Cardinal swept a non-conference series at Sunken Diamond (3/9, 2-0, 3/10, 15-3, 3/11, 9-5 - 10 innings) that included Andy Topham's memorable walk-off grandslam homer in the 10th inning of the final game and Jeremy Guthrie's complete game victory over Mark Prior in the opener to give Prior his only loss of the season. USC won two-of-three conference games in Los Angeles (4/20, 2-1, 4/21, 7-0, 9-5 Stanford, 4/22). USC leads Stanford in the all-time series, 196-141-3.
A CLOSER LOOK AT 2002 STANFORD-USC GAMES
Stanford 5, at USC 4 (March 24, 2002) - Stanford completed its first three-game sweep at USC since 1997 with a 5-3 victory. Jason Cooper, Chris O'Riordan and Ryan Garko hit solo homers, while John Hudgins (4-0) picked up his third victory in as many starts. Chris O'Riordan led the Cardinal, going 3-for-4 with a double, homer and RBI, while Sam Fuld was 2-for-5 with a double. USC had two hits from Alberto Concepcion (2-3, 2B, RBI) and Bill Peavey (2-4, 2B, HR, 2 RBI).
Stanford............. 021 100 100 - 5 9 0 USC.................. 100 200 100 - 4 6 2Win-Hudgins(4-0) Loss-Bt. Bannister(1-2) Save-Ehrlich(2) T-2:41 A-867
BATTERIES: Stanford - Hudgins, Ehrlich (7) and Garko. USC - Bt. Bannister, Howell (5) and Concepcion. HRs: Stanford - Cooper (5th, solo in 2nd), O'Riordan (2nd, solo in 3rd), Garko (6th, solo in 7th), USC - Peavey (4th, solo in 4th).
Stanford 9, at USC 6 -- Game 1, Stanford 12, at USC 10 -- Game 2 (March 23, 2002) - Scott Dragicevich singled home Carlos Quentin in the top of the 11th inning of the second game with the eventual game-winning run to cap a doubleheader sweep for Stanford with a 12-10 victory over USC. The Cardinal won the opener, 9-6, after coming back from a 5-0 deficit after the first two innings. Jeremy Guthrie picked up the victory, scattering eight hits and six runs (three earned) with six strikeouts over the first 6.0 innings. Jason Cooper was 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI in the first game, before going 2-for-4 with two RBI in the second game to extend his career-high hit streak to 13 games. VanZandt had the only home run of the day for either team, his first of the season and a two-run shot to key a five-run Cardinal rally in the sixth inning of the first game.
Game 1 Stanford............. 220 321 000 02 - 12 19 2 USC.................. 000 331 030 00 - 10 12 4Win-McCally(1-0) Loss-Campos(0-1) Save-None T-4:25 A-1154
BATTERIES: Stanford - Cunningham, Ehrlich (7), Naatjes (8), Willcox (8), McCally (8) and Lucy. USC - Reyes, Olson (4), Campos (7) and Concepcion. HRs: None.
Game 2 Stanford............. 003 005 100 - 9 11 0 USC.................. 410 000 100 - 6 10 1Win-Guthrie(6-0) Loss-Chico(3-2) Save-Rich(1) T-303 A-1154
BATTERIES: Stanford - Guthrie, Rich (7) and Garko. USC - Chico, Butler (6), Howell (6), Rummonds (8) and Concepcion. HRs: Stanford - VanZandt (1st, 2-run in 6th).
2002 STANFORD-ARIZONA GAME REVIEWS
at Arizona 15, Stanford 13 -- 8 inn. (April 7, 2002) - Administrators from Arizona and Stanford consulted with Pac-10 officials and declared a 15-13 victory in favor of the Wildcats. The contest was suspended after eight innings on Sunday in order to accommodate Stanford's travel plans. Stanford led the contest 10-1 after two and a half innings before Arizona rallied to score 14 of the next 15 runs in the game. Chris Goodman (2-2) picked up the victory with 4.2 innings of relief, holding the Cardinal to one run and four hits with three strikeouts. Wes Zlotoff was credited with his first save of the season by pitching a scoreless eighth inning. J.D. Willcox (1-1) suffered the loss for the Cardinal. Chris O'Riordan (4-5, RBI, SB) tied a career-high four hits in the contest, while Jason Cooper (3-5, 2B, HR, 2 RBI) and Carlos Quentin (3-4, 2B, 3 RBI, SB) had three hits for the Cardinal. Andy Topham (2-4, HR, 2 RBI, SB) and Tobin Swope (2-4, 2B, RBI, SB) collected two hits each. Pat Reilly (3-6, 2B, 2 RBI) led the Arizona attack with three hits. Seven other Wildcats had two hits each - John Hardy (2-3, 3 RBI), Marc Kaiser (2-4, 2B), Ken Riley (2-4, RBI), Brad Hassey (2-5, 2 RBI), Brian Anderson (2-5, HR, RBI), Chris Cunningham (2-5, 3B), Justyn St. Clair (2-6, HR, 2 RBI).
Stanford............ 172 001 02 - 13 17 1 Arizona............. 011 063 40 - 15 18 2Win-Goodman(2-2) Loss-Willcox(1-1) Save-Zlotoff(1) T-3:23 A-1098
Stanford - Hudgins, Ehrlich (5), Naatjes (5), Willcox (6), O'Hagan (7) and Garko. Arizona - Kaiser, Goodman (3), Sulser (8), Zlotoff (8) and Riley. HRs: Stanford - Topham (4th), Cooper (6th), Arizona - B. Anderson (3rd), St. Clair (1st).
Stanford 19, at Arizona 1 (April 6, 2002) - Stanford exploded for a 19-1 victory over Arizona by producing season-highs in both runs and hits (26). Sam Fuld (3-5, 2B, 3B, HR, 6 RBI) drove in a career-best six runs, while Chris O'Riordan (3-5, 2 HR, 3 RBI) had the first two-homer game of his career and Tobin Swope (5-5, 2B, 3 RBI) picked up a career-high five hits. Carlos Quentin (4-6, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI) also tied a career-best with four hits. Tim Cunningham (5-1) earned the victory by limiting the Wildcats to five hits and one run over the first 7.0 innings.
Stanford............ 042 300 721 - 19 26 1 Arizona............. 000 001 000 - 1 6 2Win-Cunningham(5-1) Loss-Little(5-3) Save-None T-2:44 A-980
BATTERIES: Stanford - Cunningham, Dyer (8) and Garko. Arizona - Little, Miller (4), Wersel (7), Sears (9) and Riley. HRs: Stanford - Fuld (2nd, 3-run in 2nd), O'Riordan 2 (4th, solo in 2nd, 5th, solo in 4th).
Stanford 5, at Arizona 4 -- 18 inn. (April 5, 2002) - Chris Carter raced home from third base on a passed ball with two outs in the top of the 18th inning as Stanford outlasted Arizona by a final score of 5-4 in an 18-inning marathon that lasted 5:19. Carter doubled to lead off the top of the 18th inning, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on the passed ball by Wildcat catcher Chris Cunningham. Andy Topham (5-8, HR, RBI) led Stanford's offensive attack with a career-high five hits. Ryan McCally (2-0) picked up the victory. Moises Duran (3-5, HR, RBI) and Brad Hassey (3-7) had three hits each for the Wildcats. Arizona's Pat Reilly set a new NCAA Division I single-game record with 29 putouts.
Stanford............ 010 001 000 001 001 001 - 5 15 1 Arizona............. 101 000 000 001 001 000 - 4 16 7Win-McCally(2-0) Loss-Snyder(1-1) Save-None T-5:19 A-1243
BATTERIES: Stanford - Guthrie, McCally (11) and Garko, Lucy (8). Arizona - Rierson, Zlotoff (9), Sulser (12), Snyder (15) and Cunningham. HRs: Arizona - Duran (6th, solo in 3rd), Stanford - Topham (3rd, solo in 12th).
STANFORD REMAINS AT NO. 2 IN ALL FOUR MAJOR POLLS
Stanford remains at No. 2 for the second consecutive week in the latest national polls released April 8 by Baseball America, Baseball Weekly/ESPN, Collegiate Baseball and NCBWA. Stanford began the season as the nation's unanimous No. 1 team and stayed on top of the Baseball America poll for the first seven weeks of the season. Stanford spent two weeks (4/9 - 4/16) last year as the nation's unanimous No. 1 team and six weeks as Baseball America's top team (3/12 - 4/16) before finishing the year at No. 2 in all four polls. Stanford has been ranked No. 1 at one point during each of the past six years (including 2002). 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). Arizona State (No. 23 Baseball America, No. 16 Baseball Weekly/ESPN, No. 20 Collegiate Baseball, No. 25 NCBWA) is the only other Pac-10 team currently ranked.
STANFORD EXTENDS REGULAR SEASON SERIES WIN STREAK TO 11
Stanford has extended its regular season series win streak to 11 after defeating Arizona (4/5 - 4/7) two-of-three games to begin its Pac-10 season in its most recent series. The Cardinal began the streak last season with series victories over Arizona (5/11 - 5/13/01) and at Washington State (5/18 - 5/20/01). This year, the Cardinal has won its first nine regular season series versus Cal State Fullerton (2/1 - 2/3), at Florida State (2/8 - 2/10), at Fresno State (2/15 - 2/18), versus Santa Clara (2/22 - 2/24), versus Cal Poly (3/1 - 3/3), at California (3/8 - 3/10), at USC (3/23 - 3/24), versus Texas (3/28 - 3/30) and at Arizona (4/5 - 4/7). Stanford has three sweeps (first Arizona series, Cal Poly, USC) during the stretch and has won two-of-three games in the other eight series. Stanford had previously won 17 consecutive series before being defeated two-of-three in back-to-back series at USC (4/20-4/22/01) and California (4/27-4/29/01) last season and has now 28 of its last 30 overall.
REGULAR STARTING PITCHING ROTATION NOW 16-1 WITH 3.36 ERA
Stanford's regular starting pitching rotation of Jeremy Guthrie (6-0, 3.08, 64.1 IP, 58 SO), Tim Cunningham (5-1, 2.67, 60.2 IP, 33 SO) and John Hudgins (5-0, 4.70, 44.0 IP, 33 SO) has improved to a combined 16-1 with a 3.36 ERA.
JEREMY GUTHRIE KEEPS WIN STREAK ALIVE AT 11
Jeremy Guthrie has picked up no decisions in each of his last two starts at Arizona (4/5) and versus Texas (3/28) to keep his 11-game win streak on the mound alive. Guthrie was taken off the hook for the loss versus Texas when Chris O'Riordan hit a grandslam with a two outs in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game, which the Cardinal eventually won, 7-6 in 10 innings. Guthrie pitched a career-high 10.0 innings at Arizona, holding the Wildcats to two runs and nine hits, but received no decision as the Cardinal eventually won the contest 5-4 in 18 innings. Guthrie has picked up six victories and three decisions in his nine starts this year. Guthrie was 8-4 at one point last season before winning his final five decisions of 2001. Guthrie was last defeated at Sacramento State on May 2, 2001.
CHRIS O'RIORDAN JUMPS BACK TO TIE FOR SECOND IN CAREER BATTING AVERAGE
Chris O'Riordan jumped back into a second place tie on Stanford's career batting average list (.359, 217-605) after going 8-for-18 (.444) with two homers, three RBI and a stolen base in the three-game series at Arizona (4/5 - 4/7).
SAM FULD AND CARLOS QUENTIN TIED FOR 10TH IN CAREER BATTING AVERAGE
Sam Fuld and Carlos Quentin are tied for 10th on Stanford's career batting average list with identical .347 career batting averages. Both players have 125 career hits in 360 at bats. In addition, both players have participated in 95 games at Stanford.
BIG INNING BONANZA
Stanford continued to show its proficiency for big innings this season by posting a pair of seven-run scoring outbursts during the Arizona series (4/6, 4/7). The Cardinal has already scored five or more runs in an inning 15 times in 2002. Following is a complete list of innings in which the Cardinal has scored five or more runs this season ...
* Cal State Fullerton (2/2, 17-1, 9 runs in 4th) * at Florida State (2/8, 9-3, 7 runs in 1st) * at Florida State (2/9, 15-11, 5 runs in 5th, 5 runs in 8th) * Brigham Young (2/12, 8-1, 5 runs in 5th) * at Santa Clara (2/23, 9-13, 6 runs in 1st) * Cal Poly (3/2, 18-5, 8 runs in 2nd, 6 runs in 6th) * Cal Poly (3/3, 7 runs in 2nd) * California (3/8, 15-4, 7 runs in 7th, 8 runs in 8th) * at USC (3/23 - Game 1, 9-6, 5 runs in 6th) * Texas (3/28, 7-6 in 10 innings, 5 runs in 9th) * at Arizona (4/6 - 7 runs in 7th) * at Arizona (4/7, 13-15, 7 runs in 2nd).
CARDINAL IMPROVES TO 9-0 IN SERIES-OPENERS
Stanford improved to 9-0 in series-openers after outlasting Arizona for a 5-4 victory in 18 innings (4/5). Stanford also has series-opening victories this season versus Cal State Fullerton (2/1, 7-4), at Florida State (2/8, 9-3), at Fresno State (2/15, 6-2), versus Santa Clara (2/22, 5-4), versus Cal Poly (3/1, 8-6), at California (3/8, 15-4), at USC, 9-6 (3/23 - Game 1) and versus Texas (3/28, 7-6 in 10 innings).
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
Jeremy Guthrie (4/5 - 10.0 IP), Ryan McCally (4/5 - 8.0 IP), Sam Fuld (4/6 - 6 RBI), Chris O'Riordan (4-6, 2 HR), Tobin Swope (4/6 - 5 hits) all posted career-highs during the Arizona series ... Swope started two of the three Arizona games at shortstop and went 7-for-12 (.583) with two doubles, five RBI and a stolen base ... Stanford is averaging a paid crowd of 2499 through its first 13 home games compared to an average of 1912 last year ... John Hudgins tossed the first complete game of his career and the only complete game by a Stanford pitcher this year in a 7-2 win over Texas (3/30) ... Carlos Quentin set a new NCAA Division I single game record when he was hit by five pitches at Florida State (2/9) ... Stanford is 11-2 at home and 11-4 on the road ... Stanford was picked first in the 2002 Preseason Pac-10 Coaches Poll.
STANFORD BASEBALL HISTORY
Stanford's storied baseball program has had many highlights as the program is in its 109th season with an all-time record of 2301-1455-32 (.612). The Cardinal won NCAA titles in 1987 and 1988 before returning to the CWS championship game in each of the last two years (2000, 2001). The program has had winning seasons in 36 of its last 37 campaigns (also 53 of the last 55), has recorded three straight 50-win seasons for the first time in school history (1999-2001) and reached the 40-win mark in seven consecutive campaigns (1995-2001). Just a few of the other highlights have included 13 College World Series appearances, 18 conference titles and 22 NCAA Tournament berths. Stanford has boasted a total of 43 All-Americans who have earned a total of 50 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 96 All-Conference players earning a total of 121 All-Conference honors, 57 major league players and 12 first round draft picks in the last 15 years.
UP NEXT FOR THE CARDINAL
After hosting San Jose State (Tuesday, April 9, 6 pm, PT) and USC (Friday-Sunday, April 12-14) this week, the Cardinal will conclude its five-game homestand with a non-conference game versus Saint Mary's next Tuesday, April 16 (6 pm, PT). Stanford will then visit Washington for its first of two consecutive trips to the Northwest for a Pac-10 series Friday-Sunday (April 19-21, 6:30 pm, 1 pm, 1 pm, PT). Stanford defeated Saint Mary's by a final score of 8-3 at Sunken Diamond last season (3/27) and leads the all-time series, 44-8. Stanford swept Washington in a three-game Pac-10 series at Sunken Diamond last season (3/25, 9-3, 3/26, 9-0, 3/27, 13-4) and has won eight in a row overall. Stanford won two-of-three games the last time the teams played in Seattle during the 1999 season (4/9, 3-2 Washington, 4/10, 7-4, 4/11, 13-10). Stanford leads Washington in the all-time series, 28-9.
OFFENSIVE REPORT
Stanford's team batting average currently sits at .328 after collecting 43 hits in the last two games, snapping a 10-game stretch in which the Cardinal hit just .255 and saw its team batting average fall .036 points from .351 to .315. The recent two-game surge included season-highs of 19 runs and 26 hits in a 19-1 win at Arizona (4/6). Stanford has jumped back into range of the school record of .337 set in 1981. Stanford has posted double-digit hits in 20 of its first 29 games and is averaging 8.4 runs per game, while posting double digit runs in eight games. Jason Cooper continues to lead or co-lead the regular starters in batting average (.400), homers (6, co-leader), RBI (29), total bases (69), slugging percentage (.657) and on-base percentage (.443). Sam Fuld paces the club in hits (44), doubles (12) and at bats (133). Ryan Garko co-leads the team with six homers and 35 runs scored. Chris O'Riordan leads the club with 17 bases on balls and co-leads the club with 35 runs scored. Carlos Quentin paces the squad with three triples and has been hit by a team-high 11 pitches. Brian Hall leads the team with seven stolen bases. Tobin Swope has recently moved into a starting role at shortstop and is hitting .500 (12-24) with two doubles, five RBI and a stolen base in three starts and 14 games played. Quentin (.351), O'Riordan (.344), Garko (.333), Fuld (.331), Andy Topham (.329), Scott Dragicevich (.313) and Arik VanZandt (.303) are other regulars hitting above .300.
PITCHING REPORT
Stanford's ERA currently sits at 3.81 through its first 29 games, 0.31 higher than last year's final 3.50 mark. Stanford's regular starting rotation of Jeremy Guthrie (6-0, 3.08, 64.1 IP, 58 SO), Tim Cunningham (5-1, 2.67, 60.2 IP, 33 SO) and John Hudgins (5-0, 4.70, 44.0 IP, 33 SO) is a combined 16-1 with a 3.36 ERA. Guthrie leads the club in victories, innings pitched and strikeouts. Cunningham is second in innings pitched and tied with Hudgins for second in both victories and strikeouts. Guthrie had the team's longest performance of the year with a career-high 10.0 innings pitched at Arizona (4/5). Hudgins has the staff's only complete game in a 7-2 win over Texas (3/30). Several other pitchers have also been effective out of the bullpen, including Jonny Dyer (1-0, 0.00, 4.2 IP, 5 SO), Dan Rich (0-0, 1.93, 1 SV, 9.1 IP, 12 SO), Ryan McCally (2-0, 2.88, 4 SV, 25.0 IP, 24 SO). McCally has allowed just two runs in 23.2 innings of relief work this year and pitched a career-high 8.0 innings of relief at Arizona (4/5).
DEFENSIVE REPORT
Stanford is playing its best defense of the season, going errorless in six of its last 11 games and raising its fielding percentage to .970, just .007 below last year's .977 school record and nation's best mark. The Cardinal had made at least one error in 10 straight games before going errorless at California (3/10) to start its current fielding stretch. Stanford has now been errorless a total of nine times this year. Ryan Garko leads the club with 178 putouts, while Chris O'Riordan has a team-high 100 assists. The Cardinal has turned 37 double plays, including a season-high four at Fresno State (2/18). Arik VanZandt posted a team season-best 15 putouts at Arizona (4/6), while O'Riordan had a team season-best 10 assists at Arizona (4/5).
STANFORD HEAD COACH MARK MARQUESS
One of the nation's premier collegiate coaches, Mark Marquess is in his 26th season at the helm of Stanford Baseball in 2002. Marquess has a career record of 1068-522-5 (.671), all at Stanford. Last year, he became the 23rd coach in the history of NCAA Division I baseball to reach the 1000-win mark with a 6-2 victory over Florida State in a game played on February 9, 2001. The 1969 Stanford graduate has led the Cardinal to two NCAA titles (1987, '88) and two other CWS title game appearances (2000, '01), as well as 11 College World Series appearances (1982, '83, '85, '87, '88, '90, '95, '97, '99, 2000, '01), 11 NCAA Regional titles (1982, '83, '85, '87, '88, '90, '95, '97, '99, 2000, '01), 10 Pac-10 or Pac-10 Southern Division regular season titles (1983, '84, '85, '87, '90, '94, '97, '98, '99, 2000) and three NCAA Super Regional championships (1999, 2000, '01). The Cardinal has qualified for the NCAA Tournament 19 times under Marquess. He began the 2002 season ranked 12th in victories and 16th in winning percentage among active Division I baseball coaches, while ranking 23rd on the all-time victory list and 42nd on the all-time winning percentage list. He has been named NCAA Coach of the Year three times (1985, '87, '88) and has received Pac-10 or Pac-10 Southern Division Coach of the Year honors on eight occasions (1983, '85, '87, '90, '94, '97, '98, '99). The Cardinal has suffered just one losing season during his tenure and has finished either first or second in the prestigious Pacific-10 (formerly Pac-10 Southern Division) 19 times in the last 21 seasons. Stanford has had 99 professional baseball draft picks in the past 17 seasons, including 12 first round selections in the last 15 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 also 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 baseball head coaches to have both played and coached in the College World Series. Marquess was the starting first baseman and a First Team All-American on Stanford's 1967 College World Series squad and played four seasons of minor league baseball with the Chicago White Sox organization.
COMMENTS FROM MARK MARQUESS
(on the upcoming USC series) "USC is off to a good start in Pac-10 play, and that doesn't surprise me. A lot of that has to do with them being healthier now. They are a solid team and were picked high in the preseason polls. I wish they weren't playing as well as they are now, but they are. It should be a good series, and its a great rivalry. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate and we will have great crowds. It should be college baseball at its finest. It will be big for whichever team wins the series."
(on the Arizona series) "It was a really unusual series to say the least with an 18-inning game on Friday, the wind conditions on Saturday and Arizona's big comeback on Sunday. They were three really wild games."
(on playing three of the first four Pac-10 series on the road) "You prefer not to do that, but that's the way the schedule broke for us. When you play nine of the first 12 games on the road, you have a chance to get down. The first 12 games will be tough for us with USC being our only home series in the group."
(on the team's offensive performance at Arizona) "Normally, there's a lot of offense at Arizona with their hard surface and winds. But, we swung the bats well in the last two days of the series."
(on the balance in the Pac-10) "Anybody is capable of beating another Pac-10 team in a series. All the teams have enough talent to do that. The league is very unpredictable. The team that's going to win the league is one that can get a couple of sweeps and not get swept, but that will be difficult to do. I would be surprised if anybody ran away with the league title."
STANFORD COACHING STAFF
Dean Stotz is in his 26th campaign with Stanford Baseball and his third season as associate head coach after he was promoted to the position prior to the 2000 campaign. Stotz served for 23 years as an assistant. Stotz currently coaches third base while also handling various offensive and defensive aspects of the game. Tom Kunis (3rd season) handles the Cardinal pitching staff, while Dave Nakama (3rd season) returns as an assistant coach after three seasons as the head coach at San Francisco State. Nakama, also a Cardinal assistant in 1997 and 1998, assists with all aspects of the game and serves as Stanford's first base coach.