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April 22, 2004
vs.
No. 2 Stanford (30-5)
Friday, April 23, 6 pm (at Stanford)
LHP Marshall Hendon (1-3, 9.17) vs. LHP Mark Romanczuk (7-1, 4.16)
Saturday, April 24, 2 pm (at Sacramento State)
RHP Ethan Katz (6-4, 4.16) vs. Jeff Gilmore (6-1, 4.57)
MEDIA COVERAGE
Gametracker: Friday
Live Audio: gostanford.com ... Sam Stefanki and Mike Etchepare will handle the broadcasts on Friday and Saturday ... A Gametracker with live stats will be available for Friday's game from a link at gostanford.com ... There will be no Gametracker available for Saturday's game at Sacramento State.
QUICK TEAM NOTES
Stanford reached the 30-win mark in its first 35 games for only the second time in 111 seasons of baseball on The Farm in its most recent contest with a 10-5 victory over Saint Mary's on Tuesday ... Only the 1967 club (30-3-2) posted a better record after 35 games ... The Cardinal, who has an off-week from Pac-10 action this week, sits atop the conference standings by two full games with a 7-2 league mark after recording the first sweep by any Pac-10 team in a conference series last Friday-Sunday ... Arizona, USC and Washington all sit a pair of games behind the Cardinal tied for second-place, each with 5-4 conference marks ... Stanford is the No. 2 team in the latest of all four major college baseball national polls released on Monday, April 19 (Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, NCBWA and Sports Weekly/ESPN) for the second consecutive week ... Stanford spent two weeks (March 22 - 29) as the nation's unanimous No. 1 team and seven weeks (February 23 - April 5) as the No. 1 team in the Baseball America poll ... The Cardinal has won all 10 of its regular season series this year, 14 in a row overall and 22 of its last 23 dating back to last season ... Stanford has swept five of its 10 series this season and eight during its current 14-series win streak ... Stanford is scheduled to play 13 of its remaining 21 regular season games at home, where the Cardinal has won 25 of its last 26 games and has a 16-1 record this season ... Stanford has also won 28 of its last 32 true road games, finishing last year with a 14-game win streak in true road games and beginning this season with a 14-4 mark away from Sunken Diamond ... All told, the Cardinal has a 53-9 record in its last 62 games dating back to the 2003 campaign ... Stanford has come from behind in 13 of its 30 wins this year and is 4-5 when either tied or trailing heading into the ninth inning (2-1 tied, 2-4 trailing) ... Stanford is 5-1 this season against ranked teams ... Stanford has been errorless in 14 of its first 35 games ... Stanford has more than doubled its opponents scoring (317-151) as 26 of its 30 wins have been by three or more runs and is 17-0 in games decided by five or more runs ... Stanford is leading the Pac-10 in all three major team categories with a season-high .330 batting average, 3.94 ERA and .974 fielding percentage ... Offensively, Stanford is averaging 9.1 runs per contest and has posted double-digit runs 16 times this year ... The Cardinal has also reached double digits in hits on 28 occasions, including a season-high 11 in a row ... Stanford is looking to extend its school record string of consecutive appearances at the College World Series to six, as well as its string of 40-win season to 10, while Stanford has won 50 or more games in three of the last four seasons ... Stanford has captured 11 Pac-10 titles in the last 21 years and finished either first or second in the conference 21 times in last 23 seasons.
QUICK INDIVIDUAL NOTES
National Player of the Year candidate Jed Lowrie has raised his team-leading batting average back to an even .400 and leads the Cardinal in nearly every other offensive category - runs scored (45), doubles (8, shares team lead), triples (4), homers (11), RBI (49), extra-base hits (23), total bases (101), slugging percentage (.777), bases on balls (31), on-base percentage (.512), sacrifice flies (5, co-leader), multiple-hit games (16, shares team lead) and multiple-RBI games (15) ... Jonny Ash shares the team-lead with 16 multiple-hit games, while ranking second with a .374 batting average and tied for second with 52 hits ... Danny Putnam, who is the reigning Pac-10 Player of the Week, has taken over the team lead in hits (53) and is one of four players with 16 multiple-hit contests, while ranking second on the club in homers (10), as well as third in RBI (36) and fourth in batting average (.353) ... Brian Hall has moved up to third on the club with a .372 average during a current career-high 20-game hit streak (3/5 - 4/20) ... Hall's hit streak is the longest by a Stanford player this year as his average has risen 164 points during the streak from a season-low .208 ... Hall also leads the team with 10 stolen bases, while sharing the club's lead with eight doubles and 16 multiple-hit games, and contributing two triples, seven homers and 35 RBI ... John Mayberry is also having a solid season with a .345 batting average, while ranking second on the club in RBI (39) and third in homers (9) despite going just 5-for-25 (.200) over his last seven games ... Donny Lucy (.336) and Ryan Seawell (.333) are the team's other players hitting better than .300, while Chris Minaker (.299) and Sam Fuld (.293) are just under the mark ... Lucy (career-high) and Fuld (season-high) both have current career-high 11-game hit streaks going ... Fuld broke Stanford's all-time runs record versus California last Saturday and now has 249 for his career, while moving into a tie for second-place on Stanford's all-time hit list with 331 for his career when he collected a three-hit game versus Saint Mary's on Tuesday ... Fuld also ranks among Stanford's all-time leaders in hits at bats (969, #3), triples (16, #3T), doubles (58, #6T) and games played (235, #7) ... Mark Romanczuk (7-1) leads the team with seven wins, while David O'Hagan is 5-0 with a team-high four saves and the lowest ERA (2.20) among pitchers with at least one inning per team game played ... Jeff Stimpson has an 0.87 ERA in 20.2 frames over 11 relief appearances.
TBA
ALL-TIME SERIES
Stanford holds an all-time series advantage of 16-9 over Sacramento State (since 1977). The Cardinal swept a pair of games between the teams last year, winning 9-1 at Stanford (4/11/03) and 5-1 at Sacramento State (4/22/03). Stanford also won the only game played between the teams in 2002 by a score of 6-5 at Sunken Diamond (4/24/02). The Hornets came up with a big victory in the second game between the clubs at Raley Field in 2001, winning 12-3 (5/2/01). Stanford has won the last eight games played between the teams at Sunken Diamond with the last Hornet victory on The Farm coming by a score of 8-5 on April 30, 1994.
2003 VERSUS SACRAMENTO STATE
at Stanford 9, Sacramento State 1 (April 11, 2003) - John Hudgins pitched 8.0 scoreless two-hit innings and struck out 11 batters to lead Stanford to a 9-1 victory over Sacramento State. Hudgins retired 20 of the 22 batters he faced and did not allow a hit over his final 6.0 innings before he was relieved by Kodiak Quick to start the ninth inning. Ryan Garko (3-4, 2 RBI) had three hits, while Danny Putnam (2-3, HR, 2 RBI) hit the game's only homer and drove in a pair of runs for the Cardinal.
Stanford 5, at Sacramento State 1 (April 22, 2003) - Carlos Quentin and Danny Putnam each homered to lead Stanford to a 5-1 win over Sacramento State. Jonny Dyer, the second of four Stanford pitchers, was credited with his first victory of the season despite allowing a run and two hits in 1.2 innings of work. Matt Manship picked up a save by retiring all four batters he faced with a pair of strikeouts after coming on with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning.
THIS WEEK
at Stanford 10, Saint Mary's 5 (April 20, 2004) - Stanford reached the 30-win mark after its first 35 games for only the second time in 111 years of baseball on The Farm with a 10-5 victory over Saint Mary's. Greg Reynolds earned the win in his first collegiate start, striking out four while scattering two runs and five over the first 5.0 innings. Chris Lewis (2-2, 2B, HR, 2 RBI) hit his first homer and drove in a pair of runs, while Chris Minaker (3-5, 2B, 2 RBI) and Sam Fuld (3-6, RBI) had three hits each as all nine Stanford starters contributed at least one hit in the Cardinal's season-high-tying 18-hit attack. The victory was Stanford's 19th in a row over Saint Mary's dating back to the last Gael win in the all-time series by a score of 1-0 at Sunken Diamond on February 1, 1994.
LAST WEEK
at Stanford 12, Santa Clara 3 (April 13, 2004) - Sam Fuld scored twice to tie the school's all-time runs scored record in Stanford's 12-3 non-conference victory over Santa Clara. The Cardinal scored five times in the bottom of the first inning as Danny Putnam's three-run homer keyed the outburst. Jed Lowrie (3-4, 2B, HR, 3 RBI) and John Hester (3-5, 3 RBI) added three hits and three RBI each for the Cardinal with Lowrie blasting a two-run shot in the second inning for his team-leading 10th long ball of the season. Brian Hall extended his career-high hit streak to 16 games and stole his team-leading ninth base. Matt Leva - the first of five Stanford pitchers that combined on a six-hitter - was credited with the victory. Nathan Faulkner (2-4, HR, 2 RBI) homered and had a pair of hits for the Broncos.
at Stanford 7, California 4 (April 16, 2004) - Brian Hall (4-4, 2B, RBI) tied a career-high with four hits to lead Stanford to a 7-4 victory over California. Mark Romanczuk picked up the win by allowing just five hits and four runs over the first 7.0 innings, while Jeff Stimpson came on to pitch 2.0 hitless innings of relief with two strikeouts to earn his first collegiate save. Danny Putnam (2-3, 3B, RBI) and Chris Carter (2-3, RBI) had two hits each for the Cardinal, while Chris Minaker drove in a pair of runs. California scored all four of its runs by hitting three home runs. Jeff Dragicevich and Brian Horwitz had solo shots in the third and fourth innings for the first two Golden Bear runs, while a two-run homer by David Weiner with no outs in the eighth chased Romanczuk. California starter Adam Gold (5.0 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO) suffered the loss.
at Stanford 9, California 2 (April 17, 2004) - Danny Putnam (3-4, 2 HR, 5 RBI) and Donny Lucy (2-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI) each homered twice to lead Stanford a 9-2 win over California. Sam Fuld also broke Stanford's all-time record for runs scored, while Jeff Gilmore pitched the first complete game of his career and the first by a Stanford pitcher this season by allowing just two runs and five hits with a walk and four strikeouts. Chris Minaker (3-4, 2B, SB) and Jed Lowrie (3-4, RBI) added three-hit games for the Cardinal. Allen Craig was the only California player with more than one hit, while Chris Grossman drove in a pair of runs. California starter Mike Padgett (2.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO) took the loss.
at Stanford 8, California 3 (April 18, 2004) - David O'Hagan pitched 5.1 one-hit innings of scoreless relief with five strikeouts to earn the victory and help Stanford to a come-from-behind 8-3 win over California. Jed Lowrie (2-4, HR, 2 RBI) hit his team-leading 11th homer of the season to lead the Cardinal offense. Danny Putnam (2-4, RBI) and Donny Lucy (2-4) also had two hits each, while Brian Hall drove home a pair of runs with a double to cap Stanford's four-run third inning that helped the Cardinal erase an early 2-0 deficit. James Holder accounted for the first two California runs with a two-run homer in the top of the second, while Jeff Dragicevich (2-4) was the only Golden Bear with more than one hit. California starter Matt Brown (2.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 1 SO) was tagged with the loss.
STANFORD REMAINS NO. 2 IN ALL FOUR NATIONAL POLLS
Stanford remained the No. 2 team behind top-ranked Texas for the second consecutive week in the latest of all four major national collegiate baseball polls -- Baseball America's, Collegiate Baseball, NCBWA, Sports Weekly/ESPN released Monday, April 19. Stanford had been the No. 1 team in the Baseball America poll for seven consecutive weeks (February 23 - April 5), as well as the nation's unanimous No. 1 team for two weeks (March 22 - 29) before falling from the top spot to second on April 5 in both the NCBWA and Sports Weekly/ESPN polls and dropping from No. 1 to No. 2 in the Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball polls on April 12. Stanford has been ranked No. 1 at some point in the season for seven of the last eight campaigns. The Cardinal had a string of six consecutive seasons (1997-2002) with a top ranking going but never reached the top of the Baseball America poll in 2003. However, Stanford did finish the 2003 season ranked second in all four polls.
2004 CARDINAL ONLY SECOND TEAM IN SCHOOL HISTORY TO WIN 30 OF FIRST 35
The 2004 team has become only the second club in 111 years of baseball on The Farm to win at least 30 of its first 35 gamers. The team's 30-5 is second only to the 30-3-2 mark posted by the 1967 club that finished 36-6-1 overall record and in third-place as only the second Stanford team to ever qualify for a College World Series.
CURRENT SIX-GAME WIN STREAK JUST THE LASTEST
Stanford's current six-game win streak is just the latest of four winning streaks of six or more games posted by the team this season. The Cardinal won six in a row from February 7-20, six more from February 22 - March 6 and eighth straight from March 23 - April 3 before its current stretch that has run from April 10-20.
STANFORD INCREASES PAC-10 LEAD TO TWO FULL GAMES
Stanford (7-2 Pac-10) increased its lead in the Pac-10 race to two full games by sweeping California (April 16-18) in its most recent Pac-10 action after opening its league schedule with two-of-three series victories at both UCLA (4/2 - 4/4) and Oregon State (4/8 - 4/10). Arizona, USC and Washington are all tied for second with 4-3 league marks. Oregon State, UCLA and Washington State are all 4-5 and tied for fifth, while Arizona (5-7) and California (6-9) hold the final two spots. The Cardinal is off from Pac-10 action this week and returns to conference play by hosting Washington State in a three-game series next Friday-Sunday, April 30 - May 2.
TOP OF THE PAC
Stanford has won 19 conference championships and 17 Pac-10 crowns in school history (includes Southern Division and shared titles). The Cardinal won its most recent Pac-10 crown in 2003 when the club finished with an 18-6 conference mark. Stanford had finished second in the league standings behind two-time defending conference champion USC in 2001 and 2002 prior to its previous Pac-10 title when it shared the championship with Arizona State and UCLA in 2000. Stanford has been among the top two in the conference standings (includes Pac-10 Southern Division) for 10 straight seasons and 21 times in the last 23 years.
STANFORD PICKED AS FAVORITE IN 2004 PRESEASON PAC-10 COACHES POLL
Stanford was picked as the favorite in the 2004 Preseason Pac-10 Coaches Poll, picking up seven first-place votes. Arizona State and Arizona each garnered one first-place vote, while finishing second and third in the poll. USC, Washington, California, UCLA, Oregon State and Washington State rounded out the poll.
STANFORD UNBEATEN IN 2004 SERIES, EXTENDS SERIES WIN STREAK TO 14
Stanford's sweep of California (4/16 - 4/18), the first in a Pac-10 series this season by any conference team, kept the Cardinal unbeaten in 10 regular season series this year and extended the team's series win streak to 14 in a row dating back to last year. The Cardinal has swept five of its nine series this season and eight during the streak. Stanford has also won 22 of its last 23 regular season series, including 10 in a row on the road and seven straight at home. Stanford lost just two series in 2003, dropping two-of-three at home to Arizona (4/25 - 4/27) and being swept at Cal State Fullerton (1/31 - 2/2).
HOME SWEET HOME
Stanford plays 13 of its remaining 21 regular season games at home, where the Cardinal has won 25 of its last 26 contests dating back to last season and is 16-1 this year. Stanford had a 16-game home win streak broken earlier this year when now top-ranked Texas came up with a 9-6 victory over the Cardinal on February 21 to salvage one game of a three-game series by handing the Cardinal its first and only home loss of 2004. Stanford has won nine straight games at Sunken Diamond (Texas, 2/22; Cal Poly, 3/26 - 3/28; Santa Clara, 4/13; California, 4/16 - 4/18; Saint Mary's, 4/20) since the loss to the Longhorns. Stanford's school record home win streak is 27 in a row from April 30, 1982 - April 15, 1983.
STANFORD HAS ALSO WON 28 OF LAST 32 GAMES ON THE ROAD
Stanford, which concluded a stretch of 15 of 18 games on the road by winning two-of-three at Oregon State from April 8-10, has also won 28 of its last 32 true road contests dating back to last year. Stanford finished the 2003 season by winning its final 14 true road games (at Arizona State 3/23 - 3/24; at Washington State 4/4 - 4/5, 4/7; at Santa Clara, 4/8; at Sacramento State, 4/22; at USC 5/3, DH - 5/4; at San Jose State 5/6; at California, 5/11). The Cardinal is 14-4 on the road this year, winning two-of-three at Fresno State (2/6 - 2/8), sweeping a three-game road set at California (2/27 - 2/29), taking two-of-three at USC (3/5 - 3/7), returning from a 15-day break with three consecutive wins at Saint Mary's (3/23), Santa Clara (3/24) and San Jose State (3/30), taking two-of-three at UCLA (4/2 - 4/4) and winning two-of-three at Oregon State (4/8 - 4/10).
CARDINAL 53-9 IN LAST 62 GAMES OVERALL
Stanford's success both at home and on the road has led to an incredible run as the Cardinal is a combined 53-9 over its last 62 games dating back to May 5, 2003. The Cardinal was 23-4 in its final 27 games last year and has jumped out to a 30-5 start this season.
POWER SURGE
Stanford is making a run at the school's all-time home run record of 102 by the 1997 club as the 2004 Cardinal has hit a Pac-10 leading 55 homers in its first 35 games. The Cardinal has hit 22 of the dingers in its first nine conference contests as half of them came when Stanford banged out a series season-high 11 long balls in a three-game set at Oregon State (4/8 - 4/10). The power surge during Pac-10 play is part of the team's offensive explosion since returning from a 15-day break at Saint Mary's on March 23 as the Cardinal has hit 35 homers over its last 17 games. Stanford has homered at least once in 15 of those 17 games and in 27 of its 35 games overall this season.
MULTIPLE-HIT MADNESS
Stanford has four players that have 16 multiple-hit games each this season in Jonny Ash, Brian Hall, Jed Lowrie and Danny Putnam, as well as three others (John Mayberry, Jr., 15; Donny Lucy, 13; Sam Fuld, 13) that have double-digits in multiple-hit contests.
LOWRIE AND ROMANCZUK APPEAR ON WATCH LISTS
Jed Lowrie (Baseball America, USA Baseball Golden Spikes) and Mark Romanczuk (Roger Clemens Award) appear on current high profile Player and Pitcher of the Year Watch Lists, respectively. Lowrie has emerged as the team's top offensive player as he leads the club in nearly every offensive category; including batting average (.400), homers (11, co-Pac-10 leader), RBI (49), runs scored (45), triples (4), total bases (101), slugging percentage (.777), bases on balls (31), sacrifice flies (5, co-leader), multiple-hit games (16, shares team lead) and multiple-RBI games (15). Defensively, Lowrie has made just six errors in his first 164 chances for a .963 fielding percentage while starting all 35 games at either shortstop or second base. Romanczuk leads the team in wins (7-1) and strikeouts (56) in 62.2 innings, while posting a 4.16 ERA that is the best among Cardinal starters. Lowrie (NCBWA Co-Hitter of the Week, March 2) and Romanczuk (Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week, March 9) have already earned weekly recognition for their achievements this season.
SEVERAL OTHERS ALSO MAKING ALL-AMERICAN BIDS
Several other Stanford players -- Jonny Ash, Sam Fuld, Brian Hall, Donny Lucy, John Mayberry, Jr., David O'Hagan and Danny Putnam -- are all making strong cases for All-American honors along with Player/Pitcher of the Year Watch List selections Jed Lowrie and Mark Romanczuk. Ash ranks second on the club in batting average (.374) and tied for second in hits (52), adding four homers and 25 RBI. Fuld (.293, 1 HR, 19 RBI, 4 SB) is a two-time All-American and three-time All-Pac-10 choice, that is coming on after a slow start. Hall has moved up to third on the club with a .372 batting average and has a current career-high 20-game hit streak (3/5 - 4/20; .476, 40-84, 5 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 21 RBI, 7 SB) that has raised his average 164 points from a season-low .208 prior to the streak. Hall also leads the club with 10 stolen bases and shares the team lead with eight doubles and five sacrifice bunts, while contributing seven homers and 35 RBI. Lucy, who is in the midst of a career-high 11-game hit streak, has put up some of the best numbers by any catcher in the country with a .336 batting average, seven homers and 27 RBI. Mayberry ranks second on the club with 39 RBI, as well as third in homers (9) and fifth in batting average (.345). O'Hagan has put up amazing numbers out of the bullpen, posting a 5-0 record and saving a team-high four games with a 2.20 ERA in a team-high 13 appearances. He has struck out 44 batters in 41.0 innings and allowed just 26 hits with opponents hitting only .184 against him. Putnam has caught fire of late and now ranks second on the club with 10 homers, as well as third in RBI (36) and fourth in batting average (.353).
FULD MOVES INTO TIE FOR SECOND ON ALL-TIME HIT LIST
Sam Fuld, who broke Stanford's all-time record for runs scored versus California on April 17 and has 249 for his career, has also moved into a tie for second-place on Stanford's all-time hit list. Fuld has 331 hits in his career, equaling the 331 by Paul Carey (1987-90) and within 37 of the Stanford and Pac-10 record of 368 recorded by John Gall (1997-2000). Fuld is also among Stanford's all-time leaders in hits at bats (969, #3), triples (16, #3T), doubles (58, #6T) and games played (235, #7).
PUTNAM EARNS PAC-10 PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Danny Putnam earned Pac-10 Player of the Week honors for the second time in his career on April 20 when he became the third Stanford player in two weeks to earn one of the Pac-10's two weekly honors. Putnam hit .500 (8-16) with three home runs, five runs scored, a stolen base and an RBI in four Stanford wins last week (4/13 - 4/18). He also added a 1.188 slugging percentage and a .579 on-base mark, while fielding all 11 of his chances defensively. Putnam highlighted the week by going 3-for-4 with his fourth career two-homer game and a season-high five RBI in a 9-2 victory over California on April 17.
FIRSTS FOR LEWIS AND REYNOLDS
Chris Lewis and Greg Reynolds both picked up firsts in Stanford's most recent game versus Saint Mary's (4/20). Lewis had both his first hit and first homer of the season when he went deep to snap out of a season-long 0-for-16 skid. Reynolds made his first collegiate start and earned the victory, setting new career-highs in both innings pitched (5.0) and strikeouts (4).
SAVE DROUGHT
After logging 10 saves in its first 19 wins to threaten the pace of the school record 23 saves recorded in 2001, Stanford has logged just one save in its last 10 victories and 12 games. David O'Hagan leads the way with four, while Blake Holler has picked up a pair. Jonny Dyer, Jeff Gilmore, Matt Manship, Kodiak Quick and Jeff Stimpson have one each.
THE NEW NINE
Nine players have made their first appearances in a game for the Cardinal this season. Blake Holler has been in the starting rotation for the last nine weekend series and is 3-2 with a 4.89 ERA, adding two saves in 10 appearances and eight starts while striking out 29 batters in 42.1 innings of work. Jeff Stimpson has become one of the team's top relievers, allowing just two runs and 11 hits in his first 20.2 collegiate innings for an 0.87 ERA as well as a team-low .159 batting average while striking out 18. Stimpson won his first collegiate game when he struck out a career-high six batters in 2.2 hitless innings at Oregon State on April 10 and picked up his first collegiate save with 2.0 innings of hitless relief work versus California on April 16. Ryan Seawell has 10 hits in his first 30 collegiate at bats for a .333 batting average in 14 games played and five starts, while also contributing two doubles and seven RBI. Adam Sorgi has started 14 of the team's first 30 games at shortstop and appeared in 18. Sorgi has a .220 batting average, a double and four RBI. Jim Rapoport has played in 17 games with five starts, contributing a .259 batting average, one triple and four RBI. Matt Leva has a 3-0 record and a 4.76 ERA in seven appearances and two starts. Greg Reynolds is 2-0 with a 4.38 ERA in 12.1 innings over five relief appearances and won his first collegiate start in his most recent appearance versus Saint Mary's on April 20. Ben Summerhays is hitting .200 with two hits in 10 at bats over eight games played off the bench and former student manager Cameron Matthews has played in five games, four as a pinch-runner and one as a defensive replacement.
COMEBACK CREW
Stanford has come from behind at some point in 13 of its first 30 victories this season, coming back to win games when trailing by three or more runs heading into the eighth inning on three occasions. Brian Hall provided arguably the most dramatic moment of the season when his first career grand slam capped a seven-run Stanford ninth inning rally for a 10-6 victory over Kansas (2/15). Stanford trailed 7-3 at USC (3/6) before scoring four times in the top of the ninth inning to extend the game into extra innings and eventually take home an 8-7 win in 13 frames. Most recently, the Cardinal trailed 7-4 after seven innings at Oregon State (4/8) before scoring three runs in the eighth to tie the game and four more times in the ninth to win the contest.
WINNING BY A BUNCH
Despite having to come from behind in 13 of its 30 wins, 26 of the team's victories have come by three runs or more and the team is a perfect 17-0 in games decided by five or more runs. Stanford has more than doubled its opponents' run production this season by a count of 317-151 and is averaging 9.1 runs per contest.
ERRORLESS EFFORTS
Stanford has played errorless baseball in 14 of its first 35 games this season, including a string of five straight errorless games from January 31 - February 8; three in a row in a series at California (2/27 - 2/29); three straight against three different teams in Cal Poly (3/28), San Jose State (3/30) and UCLA (4/2); and a current string of two in a row versus California (4/18) and Saint Mary's (4/20). Stanford is currently leading the Pac-10 with a .974 fielding percentage that would rank second on the school's all-time list, three percentage points behind the school record .977 mark posted by the 2001 club.
STANFORD TRAVELS TO SANTA CLARA BEFORE HOSTING WASHINGTON STATE NEXT WEEK
Stanford will end a string of four consecutive non-conference games by traveling to Santa Clara next Tuesday, April 27 (6 pm, PT). Stanford has won both games it has played against the Broncos this season, winning 18-4 at Santa Clara on March 24 and taking a 12-3 decision over the Broncos at Sunken Diamond on April 13. Stanford leads its all-time series over Santa Clara, 172-153-7, and has dominated in recent years by taking 27 of the last 29 meetings between the clubs. The Cardinal then returns to Pac-10 action by hosting Washington State in a three-game series Friday-Sunday, April 30 - May 2 (6 pm, 1 pm, 1 pm, PDT). Stanford has also fared very well against the Cougars of late with 15 straight victories over the Cougars since the teams began playing again on a regular basis when the Pac-10 welcomed the Northern schools (Oregon State, Washington, Washington State) in 1999. Stanford leads the all-time series, 23-13.
OFFENSIVE REPORT
Stanford has averaged 9.1 runs per contest, while hitting a season-high and Pac-10 leading .330 through its first 35 games. Stanford has been even better in Pac-10 action, hitting .368 in nine conference games and averaging 9.6 runs per contest. The team also has 22 of its Pac-10 leading 55 homers in its nine conference games, as well as 35 in 17 games since returning from its 15-day break at Saint Mary's on March 23. National Player of the Year candidate Jed Lowrie leads the club in nearly every offensive category - batting average (.400), runs scored (45), doubles (8, co-team leader), triples (4), homers (11, co-Pac-10 leader), RBI (49, Pac-10 leader), total bases (101, co-Pac-10 leader), slugging percentage (.778, Pac-10 leader), bases on balls (31), on-base percentage (.512), sacrifice flies (5, co-team leader), extra-base hits (23), multiple-hit games (16, shares team lead) and multiple-RBI games (15). Lowrie is also tied for second on the club with 52 hits. Danny Putnam now leads the team with 53 hits, while ranking second in homers (10), as well as third in RBI (36) and fourth in batting average (.353). Putnam became the second consecutive Stanford player to win Pac-10 Player of the Week honors when he picked up the honor for the second time in his career on April 20 after hitting .500 (8-16) with a triple, three homers and 10 RBI in four Cardinal wins last week. Jonny Ash is second on the squad in batting average (.372) and tied for second in hits (52). Brian Hall, who leads the club with eight doubles (co-leader), 10 stolen bases, five sacrifice bunts, is on a current career-high 20-game hit streak (3/5 - 4/20; .476, 40-84, 5 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 21 RBI, 7 SB) that has raised his average 164 points from .208 to its current season-high .372 that ranks third on the club. Hall is also fourth on the club with 35 RBI and tied for fourth with seven homers. John Mayberry co-leads the team with five sacrifice flies, ranks second on the team in RBI (39) and third in homers (9), as well as fifth in batting average (.345) despite a current 5-for-25 (.200) slump over his last seven games. Donny Lucy is on a current career-high 11-game hit streak that has raised his average to .336 and has hit been hit by a team-high nine pitches, while Ryan Seawell (.333) is also above the .300 mark with Chris Minaker (.299) and Sam Fuld (.293) knocking on the door with Fuld on a current season-best 11-game hit streak. Stanford scored a season-high 18 runs at Santa Clara (3/23), and has posted a season-high 18 hits three times (at USC, 3/6; vs. California, 4/17; vs. Saint Mary's, 4/20), including twice in its last three games. Stanford had season-highs of five homers at Fresno State (2/7) and Oregon State (4/10). Stanford has scored in double figures 16 times and has 10 or more hits in 28 of its first 35 games, including 11 in a row and 20 of its last 23.
PITCHING REPORT
Stanford leads the Pac-10 with a 3.94 ERA after posting a 3.50 ERA in its last six games and allowing just nine earned runs for a 3.00 ERA in its most recent series versus California (4/16 - 4/18). Mark Romanczuk leads the club in victories (7-1) and strikeouts (56), while co-leading the team along with Jeff Gilmore with 10 games started. Romanczuk also has the lowest ERA (4.16) among starters. Gilmore, who tossed the first complete game of his career and the first by a Stanford pitcher this season in his most recent start versus California (4/17) is 6-1 with a 4.57 ERA, while leading the team with 63.0 innings of work and striking out 39. David O'Hagan has been stellar out of the bullpen with a 5-0 record and four saves, while leading the Pac-10 with a 2.20 ERA and posting an opponents batting average of just .184. O'Hagan has struck out 44 batters in 41.0 innings and leads the Cardinal with 13 appearances. Blake Holler and Matt Leva have contributed three wins each, while Greg Reynolds has two. Jonny Dyer, Mark Jecmen, Matt Leva, Kodiak Quick and Jeff Stimpson have one each. Stimpson (1-1, 1 SV) has an 0.87 ERA with 18 strikeouts in his 20.2 innings of work over 11 appearances out of the bullpen, allowing just 11 hits for a team-low opponents batting average of .159. Holler has added two saves, while Dyer, Gilmore, Matt Manship and Quick have one each.
DEFENSIVE REPORT
Stanford leads the Pac-10 with a .974 fielding percentage, which would rank second on the school's all-time list and just .003 percentage points behind the school record of .977 posted by the 2001 club. Stanford has played errorless baseball in 14 of its first 35 games. The Cardinal made just three errors in its first eight games as its fielding percentage reached as high as .991 after a five-game errorless string (1/31 - 2/8). Stanford also played an errorless contest versus Kansas (2/14), as well as three straight errorless contests with a perfect defensive series at California (2/27 - 2/29), three more in consecutive games versus Cal Poly (3/28), San Jose State (3/30) and UCLA (4/2), and most recently two in a row against California (4/18) and Saint Mary's (4/20). John Mayberry, Jr. leads the club with 331 putouts and has made just two errors in his team-high 346 defensive chances for a .994 fielding percentage. Mayberry also had a single-game team-high of 17 putouts at USC (3/6). Jed Lowrie has a team-high 106 assists and has made just six errors in his first 164 chances and 35 starts at either shortstop or second base for a .963 fielding percentage. Jonny Ash and Adam Sorgi had team-high-tying seven-assist games versus Cal State Fullerton (2/1) and Cal Poly (3/27), respectively. Stanford has turned 33 double plays this season, including a season-high three at Fresno State (2/8), versus Kansas (2/15) and versus Texas (2/22).
STANFORD HAS PICKED UP THREE 50-WIN SEASONS IN THE LAST FOUR YEARS
Stanford has won 50 or more games in three of the last four years to run its total of 50-win campaigns in school history to six. The Cardinal won a school record 59 contests in 1990. The 1987 CWS championship squad posted 53 victories, while the 2001 and 2003 teams picked up 51 wins. The Cardinal won an even 50 games in 1999 and 2000.
CARDINAL LOOKING TO EXTEND RECORD STRING OF 40-WIN SEASONS TO 10
Stanford will be looking to extend its school record string of 40-win seasons to 10 in 2004. The last time Stanford didn't win 40 games was when the club finished 27-28 in 1993.
2004 PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN HONORS
Four Stanford players have earned 2004 Preseason All-American honors. Sam Fuld picked up a pair of First Team honors (Baseball America, NCBWA), as well as Second Team (Baseball America) and honorable mention (CollegeBaseballInsider.com). John Mayberry, Jr. earned Second Team recognition from Baseball America. Danny Putnam was a First Team selection by Baseball America and CollegeBaseballInsider.com, as well as Third Team NCBWA selection, while Mark Romanczuk was named a Third Team Preseason All-American by Baseball America and the NCBWA and received honorable mention recognition from CollegeBaseballInsider.com.
WEEKLY EMAIL LIST
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STANFORD HEAD COACH MARKMARQUESS
One of the nation's premier collegiate coaches and the winningest coaching in Stanford Baseball history, Mark Marquess is in his 28th season at the helm of the Cardinal in 2004 with a 1174-556-5 (.679) record in 1735 career games, as well as even more impressive marks in the postseason (105-46, .695), and Pac-10 (466-296, .613). Marquess entered the 2004 season ranked 19th on the NCAA's all-time Division I victory list and 46th on the all-time winning percentage list for Division I coaches. For active coaches, he began the season ninth in victories and 15th in winning percentage. He became the 23rd coach in the history of NCAA Division I baseball to reach the 1000-win mark with a victory over Florida State on February 9, 2001. Just over two years later, he picked up win No. 1100 versus Nevada on February 17, 2003. He won his 100th career postseason game in Stanford's NCAA Super Regional clinching victory over Long Beach State (6/7/03). The 1969 Stanford graduate has led the Cardinal to two CWS titles and three runner-up showings in five CWS championship appearances, as well as 13 College World Series trips, five NCAA Super Regional titles, 13 NCAA Regional championships and 11 Pac-10 crowns (includes Southern Division and shared titles). Stanford has also qualified for the NCAA Tournament 21 times in the first 27 years under Marquess. He has been named NCAA Coach of the Year three times and has received Pac-10 or Pac-10 Southern Division Coach of the Year honors on nine occasions, most recently with his selection in 2003. The Cardinal has had 26 winning campaigns in 27 seasons prior to this season under his leadership and finished either first or second in the prestigious Pacific-10 (formerly Pac-10 Southern Division) 21 times in the last 23 years. Stanford has had 112 players drafted by professional baseball in the past 19 seasons, including 14 first round selections in the last 17 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 CWS squad and played four seasons of minor league baseball with the Chicago White Sox organization.
COMMENTS FROM MARKMARQUESS
(on sweeping California and the team's 16-game win streak over the Golden Bears)
"We've had good games with California and have been very fortunate. To get a sweep against any team in our league is huge."
(on Stanford's 30-5 overall record and 7-2 league mark)
"It's a great start for us, but there is a long way to go. Every team in our conference is capable of beating each other."
(on the team's home run power)
"It's great that we've hit as many home runs as we have, but you have to be very careful with that. If you try to hit a lot of home runs, you can get yourself into problems."
(on Sam Fuld tying Stanford's all-time runs record)
"Sam Fuld has been one of our key players throughout his career, and he's worked hard for this."
(on Sacramento State)
"Sacramento State always plays us well. We're looking forward to a couple of very competitive games with them."
STANFORD COACHING STAFF
Dean Stotz is in his 28th campaign with Stanford Baseball and his fifth 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 is in his fifth season as Stanford's pitching coach, while Dave Nakama is in his fifth year overall as a Stanford assistant coach.
STANFORD BASEBALL HISTORY
Now in its 111th season, Stanford's storied baseball program has had many highlights since the program began in 1892 ... Stanford has won two NCAA titles (1987, `88) and made 15 appearances in the College World Series, also finishing as the runner-up on three occasions (2000, `01, `03) ... Stanford has also won five NCAA Super Regional titles ... Stanford has qualified for the NCAA Tournament 24 times ... Stanford has won 19 conference championships ... Stanford began the 2004 season with 38 winning seasons in the last 39 campaigns and 55 in its last 57 seasons ... Stanford has won 50 or more games four times in the last five years and six times in school history ... Stanford has won 40 or more games in a school record nine consecutive years and 18 times in school history ... Stanford has an all-time record of 2407-1489-32 (.617) ... A total of 69 former Stanford players have became Major League Baseball players with six participating in the Major Leagues in 2004 (Eric Bruntlett - Houston Astros; Jody Gerut - Cleveland Indians; Jeffrey Hammonds - San Francisco Giants; Dave McCarty - Boston Red Sox; Mike Mussina - New York Yankees; Justin Wayne - Florida Marlins) ... Stanford has also had 14 players selected in the first round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft in the last 17 years ... Stanford has boasted 44 All-Americans that have combined to win 54 All-American honors ... Stanford has garnered three NCAA Players of the Year in Jeff Austin (1998), David McCarty (1991) and Steve Dunning (1970) ... Stanford has had an even 100 players earn a combined 133 All-Conference honors ... Six Stanford players earned All-Pac-10 honors in each of the last two seasons, breaking the previous mark of five previously set in 1985, `90 and `94.